Digital Economy, Attention Architecture & Information Ecology

Evenings on how your attention is monetised — and what to do about it on Monday.

Booking now

Each session1 hr 30 min a session

How oftenOnce a week

Cohort10–14 per cohort

SeasonYear-round · a new cohort starts each month

What you leave with

A personal technology charter, written by you, that you have actually agreed to

The business models powering platforms, algorithmic feeds and surveillance capitalism, led by people who built them. Then the practical part: digital hygiene habits that survive contact with a working week.

The opening stage includes auditing your own screen time, which is the least comfortable and most useful ninety minutes of the month.

What makes this one worth it

The Economics of Attention & Variable Reward Loops
Algorithmic Amplification, Outrage & Polarization
Surveillance Capitalism & Personal Data Extraction
Digital Minimalism & Reclaiming Cognitive Sovereignty

What is included

All 4 sessions of the 4-week cohort — 6 hours of instruction
A place held for you for the whole run, in a cohort of 10–14
Every piece of equipment listed below, provided on the day
Your instructor, and their attention in a group this size

What to bring

Water, and something to eat if you want it
Nothing else — the kit is provided

How it runs

Once a week · 1 hr 30 min a session

Frequency: 1x / week — 90 minutes, evenings
Session length: 1 hr 30 min
Each month: 4 sessions, about 6 hours
Cohort size: 10 – 14 participants
Where: Community lounge / digital wellness workshop space
Level: All Levels
Commitment: Monthly — stay as long as it is worth it

What you cover, in rotation

The group works through these in order and then begins again on fresh ground. Join at whatever stage it is on — nothing here assumes you were there for the last one, and nothing runs out — or drop in for a single session if that is all you can manage.

Stage 1The Economics of Attention & Variable Reward Loops
- Advertising business models, and what it means to be the product.
- Operant conditioning and variable ratio schedules in notifications and infinite scroll.
- Tracking your own screen time, app unlocks and cognitive switching costs.
Stage 2Algorithmic Amplification, Outrage & Polarization
- How recommendation algorithms optimise for engagement through outrage.
- Echo chambers, filter bubbles and information cascades.
- Analysing the recommender systems behind the major platforms.
Stage 3Surveillance Capitalism & Personal Data Extraction
- Zuboff's framework: behavioural surplus and prediction products.
- Data brokers, cookies, fingerprinting and targeted advertising mechanics.
- Practical privacy tools and open-source alternatives.
Stage 4Digital Minimalism & Reclaiming Cognitive Sovereignty
- Designing a sustainable personal digital environment.
- Establishing high-quality analogue leisure routines.
- Writing a personal technology charter and celebrating offline presence.