When was the last time you joked about having the memory of a goldfish? I’m sure it was a crowd-pleaser. I used to do it myself, never imagining that one day, it may very well be a reality. Today, the average human attention span has dropped to 8.25 seconds, yes, less than that of a goldfish. Ironic, isn’t it?

But if you narrow in on what “attention” truly means, it’s far more than focus. William James, often called the father of modern psychology, described it as “…the taking possession by the mind of one out of several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought.” In other words, our brains are designed to focus on one thing at a time. What they’re not built for is overstimulation. And yet, in today’s digitized, hyperconnected world, overstimulation has become the default setting.

We thrive on distractions now. We scroll, swipe, binge, reply. One moment, you’re deep into a show; the next, an ad pops up. Then a text about weekend plans. A flight search. A promo notification. Suddenly, you’re five tabs away from where you started. In this era of infinite content and distractions, our attention isn’t just borrowed – it’s ripped.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: for many marketers and digital platforms, this chaos has become the goal. Extract as much attention as possible, by any means necessary. We’ve begun to treat attention as if it’s infinite, when in reality, it’s anything but.

You might believe that algorithms follow your interests. But more often than not, they manufacture them. Notifications aren’t merely there to inform us, they provoke us. They keep us in a loop of compulsive checking, infinite scrolling, mindless tapping. For years, we’ve measured success through legacy metrics: impressions, click-throughs, time spent. Sure, they’re useful indicators. But they’re also shallow. They just capture visibility, not value. Presence, not participation. We celebrate volume while quietly neglecting depth.

As a strategist, I find myself returning to one simple but radical idea or rather a question: “What if we stopped trying to capture attention and started honoring it?”

The real opportunity isn’t about inventing new ways to hijack attention. It’s about designing systems that respect it. Because when attention is earned, rather than coerced, it becomes transformational. Not just for marketing KPIs, but for trust, affinity, and long-term value.

That means rethinking how we build digital experiences. Rather than chasing scale and saturation, we need to cultivate resonance. In practical terms, that looks like:

• Creating touchpoints that reduce friction rather than amplify noise 
• Prioritizing clarity over complexity 
• Designing for emotional connection, not just visual relevance 

In short, we need to craft experiences that don’t fight for attention but are simply worth paying attention to.

So where does AI come into play in all this?

There’s an inherent contradiction here. If you really think about it, technology has accelerated the problem, but it also holds the key to solving it. Used responsibly, AI can guide us toward more meaningful, intentional engagement.

At AnyMind, we’re already seeing this shift across our product ecosystem. AI helps us understand user intent not just based on clicks, but in context. It reduces cognitive load by surfacing the right message at the right moment. It elevates utility, turning ads into moments of discovery and commerce into narratives. This isn’t about automating attention capture, it’s about designing for attentional integrity. When timing, value, and relevance align, we move from interruption to invitation.

But let’s be clear, this isn’t easy. AI at scale can be a sledgehammer or a scalpel. The difference lies in intention. And that brings us to the deeper question of responsibility.

If human attention is the new oil, then we must learn from our past mistakes. Overextraction. Under-regulation. Exploitation. We cannot afford to treat attention the same way we treated fossil fuels.

We need a more human-centered philosophy of engagement. One that understands that time isn’t just money, it’s memory. It’s an emotion. It’s trust. The most forward-thinking brands are already asking themselves:

• Did we respect the user’s time? 
• Did we create meaning, not just motion? 
• Did we offer a signal in a world full of noise? 

Because in a landscape where everything is competing for a sliver of your gaze, the true power lies in giving people a reason to stay. Maybe the better question isn’t “How do we get more attention?” but “How do we deserve the little we already get?”

In a world drowning in content, distractions, and noise, that might just be the most important strategic shift of it all.