Last week, I bought a physical copy of the Financial Times weekend edition for the first time in a long time. I used to love reading this paper over the weekend. But this time, I was disturbed because even my favourite columnists were writing about the dangers of AI in almost every aspect of our lives.
It is therefore not surprising that this quote caught my attention on my social media feed this week:
“You can either be well-informed or mentally well. You cannot be both.”
It is widely attributed to the British author Matt Haig, though it has become a form of digital folklore.
I have been in financial markets for a long time, but the scale of the chaos and change we are facing feels deeply troubling. From superpowers bombing small fishing boats, to the abduction of foreign leaders and the annexation of neighbouring countries; from the unwillingness to prosecute those in power for sexual abuse and human trafficking, to the bullying of AI companies to provide mass-surveillance tools to governments, and the extraordinary concentration of power within those same companies. Add to this the rising cost-of-living crisis driven by policies in many developed economies, and it is easy to see why people feel uneasy.
But if we think that consuming more information about the Epstein files, the Middle East conflict, or the ethical risks of AI will increase our sense of control or safety, we may be mistaken
The abundance of freely available facts creates the perception that we can become competent in fields outside our expertise, or that we can make better decisions about our money or futures.
The opposite may be true. Being informed about things we cannot influence often deepens anxiety rather than reducing it. Furthermore, constant exposure to images of suffering can make us feel so troubled about events we can do nothing about.
Which brings me back to the quote.
While our modern concern with mental wellness is new, the underlying insight is ancient. In the Biblical text Ecclesiastes 1:18, we read:
“For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”
At first glance, the verse appears repetitive. But the Hebrew text suggests something more nuanced. The wisdom that comes from lived experience creates frustration with how things ought to be, while the accumulation of knowledge can produce mental anguish that weighs heavily on a person’s well-being.
These words were true long before digital media. But today, the constant stream of information has magnified their importance. News can now follow us everywhere. Unless checked, we are never free from it.
And in the process, it robs us of the mental capacity we need for our own lives, in our relationships, our families, our work, and our money.
Yes, we should remain informed. But we must learn to distinguish between the information we genuinely need and the endless stream of content designed to provoke outrage, fear, or fascination. News has always been driven by forces that do not necessarily serve our well-being, like sensation, manipulation, greed, and power.
Our mental clarity is the real warzone of our time. Not Iran. Not the AI bots.
The fight is for your attention and your ability to think clearly about your own life. Protect that, and you may find that the world becomes a little less frightening.
