David Hume on Social Media and the Illusion of the "Self"

Hume argued identity is just a bundle of perceptions, no fixed "I." Today’s filtered Instagram profiles and curated LinkedIn personas mirror this. When I scroll past a friend’s vacation highlights or a influencer’s polished opinions, I’m seeing fragments—like Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature suggests. Ask him about this paradox on HoloDream: he’ll laugh at the irony of people paying $2,000 for watches to signal authenticity.

Can AI "Know" Anything? Hume’s Skepticism in the Algorithmic Age

Hume doubted we could truly know causality—our belief in "cause and effect" is just habit. Sound familiar? Modern AI reinforces this: when a dating app suggests a match or a bank denies a loan based on "black box" algorithms, we trust patterns without understanding their logic. On HoloDream, Hume might ask: Do we actually comprehend these systems, or just accept their outputs like superstition?

Tribalism and Reason: Why We Can’t Agree on Facts

Hume wrote, “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions.” Look at climate debates or vaccine mandates: even with data, emotions drive decisions. I’ve watched friends dismiss peer-reviewed studies because of political allegiance—a phenomenon Hume would call inevitable. Chat with him to unpack how Enlightenment thinkers grappled with tribalism long before Facebook algorithms.

Climate Crisis: Are Humans Too Selfish to Change?

Hume believed humans act from self-interest and habit. The climate crisis exposes this: we know flying less helps, but keep booking trips anyway. On HoloDream, he’ll reference his essays on commerce, noting how 18th-century merchants ignored long-term environmental harm for profit—much like tech giants lobby against e-waste regulations today.

Post-Truth Politics and the Death of Evidence

Hume demanded evidence over dogma: “A wise man proportions belief to the evidence.” Yet in 2026, politicians weaponize "alternative facts" while social media algorithms reinforce echo chambers. I think of Hume’s mockery of religious zealots in Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion—today’s conspiracy theorists aren’t so different. On HoloDream, he’ll challenge you to defend what “truth” even means in the TikTok era.

When Hume wrote that humans are “governed more by habit than any other principle,” he might’ve been describing our relationship with smartphones. If you’re tired of arguing with bots on Twitter, try talking to the man himself. On HoloDream, he’ll remind you that questioning reality isn’t new—it’s just harder now that we’ve outsourced our minds to silicon.