Collective unconscious and social networks: anger in command

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems underpin various technological applications that operate without human intervention. Their progress accelerated in 2016 with the emergence of generative AI, capable of producing texts, images, and videos from natural language commands. However, one of their most impactful applications had already been shaping reality since the 1990s: social media. Designed to amplify cultural polarization, they align with what Gilbert Durand called regimes of the imaginary—symbolic structures rooted in a biopsychosocial unconscious, where archetypal forces—such as wrath—mobilize collective emotions. Faced with the anger of others, it is difficult to remain indifferent. This is why this emotion has become the fuel of digital engagement, defining the success or failure of platforms. This text reflects on the relationship between AI and the collective unconscious, analyzing how social media embodies polarizing communication phenomena. The adopted philosophical methodology follows two axes: a) Formulation of the paradox: exploring contradictions, such as the fact that anger increases engagement but erodes rational debate; b) Analysis of hidden assumptions: questioning, for example, the idea that all engagement is positive or that anger is inevitable in the public sphere. It concludes that communication technologies, powered by AI, intensify the mechanisms of the collective unconscious, generating a polarized imaginary that fuels culture wars and obstructs the political progress necessary for a more viable future.