How advertising machines broke the attention economy

In 2016, TV advertising faced challenges as cable subscriptions were being canceled rapidly and advertisers shifted their focus to digital platforms, promising greater audience reach at a lower cost. To boost viewership, Buzzfeed streamed a live video of two staff members wringing a watermelon with rubber bands until it burst, generating over 3 million views.

However, it was unclear how many viewers actually watched the entire spectacle. This marked a turning point in the advertising world, as advertising became a game of capturing attention. Attention is a finite resource, but algorithms driving digital advertising were designed to maximize ad revenue regardless of the actual engagement.

Advertisers began prioritizing quantity over quality, creating a flood of cheap, low-quality impressions. This led to a vicious cycle where television networks had to compete on the same terms as digital platforms, resulting in more commercials and a worse viewing experience. As traditional TV advertising became less valuable, networks experimented with new formats, but buyers were skeptical of paying more for fewer ads.

The rise of AI-generated content has further exacerbated the issue, with platforms automating advertising from writing to targeting, leading to an endless supply of content that devalues each impression. The future of advertising now hinges on whether AI can be built to serve people rather than merely optimize for scrolling, focusing on aspects such as culture, storytelling, trust, and human connection that machines struggle to measure.