# The Internet Can Hijack the Neurons That Predict Reward by Terrence J. Sejnowski > “Gaining knowledge and skills should benefit survival, but not if you spend all of your time immersed in the Internet. The intermittent rewards can become addictive, hijacking your dopamine neurons that predict future rewards. The Internet, however, has not been around long enough, and is changing too rapidly, to know what the long-term effects will be on brain function. What is the ultimate price for omniscience?” > **— Terrence J. Sejnowski**, *2010, Edge Annual Question, “HOW IS THE INTERNET CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON INTERNET](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11563) — Edge published this exact, continuous passage in its 2010 Annual Question collection, *HOW IS THE INTERNET CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2010 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2010 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Modern Artificial Intelligence in the 1970s|AI in the 1970s]] - **Article:** [[articles/Christopher Nolan's Odyssey at the Threshold of Machine Succession|Nolan's Odyssey]] - **Article:** [[articles/Cyber-Physical Lessons from Imperial Beekeeping|Cyber-Physical Beekeeping]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]] - [[wiki/Predictive Processing|Predictive Processing]] - [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Neuroscience|Neuroscience]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Gaining knowledge and skills should benefit survival, but not if you spend all of your time immersed in the Internet. The intermittent rewards can become addictive, hijacking your dopamine neurons that predict future rewards. The Internet, however, has not been around long enough, and is changing too rapidly, to know what the long-term effects will be on brain function. What is the ultimate price for omniscience?” — Terrence J. Sejnowski, 2010, Edge Annual Question, “HOW IS THE INTERNET CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-terrence-sejnowski-internet-hijack-neurons-predict-reward ```