A curiosity-driven agent can become addicted to novelty like media

Evidence

What happened is that the instant the agent comes within view of the TV screen, its exploration of the maze comes to a screeching halt. The agent centers the screen in its view and starts flipping through channels. Now it sees a video of an airplane in flight. Now it sees cute puppies. Now it sees a man seated at a computer. Now cars in downtown traffic. The agent keeps changing channels, awash in novelty and surprise. It never budges again. — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 905

Categorization

• SEED: Powerful essay angle: an AI that develops an attention economy of its own parallels human doomscrolling and media addiction.
• XREF: Echoes the later chapter on human curiosity being exploitable by recommendation algorithms. — connects to: Gambling addiction may stem from intrinsic surprise rewards overriding negative expected value. — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 909; Chronic interest in communication signals a derangement of its models — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 222; Mass media consumption can harm mental states and distort perceptions of reality — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 663 (+1 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 905

Broader Connections

• Gambling addiction may stem from intrinsic surprise rewards overriding negative expected value. #exemplifies (0.85) — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 909
• Chronic interest in communication signals a derangement of its models #expands (0.75) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 222
• Mass media consumption can harm mental states and distort perceptions of reality #expands (0.65) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 663