During a Foreign Policy interview, Nobel laureate Maria Ressa outlined artificial intelligence's evolution into a weaponized behavioral system. As co-chair of the United Nations Scientific Panel on AI, she divides the technology's integration into three escalating phases: from social media algorithms, to large language models, and finally to agentic AI designed to autonomously execute tasks on a user's behalf.

The failure surface is the systematic corporate extraction of human autonomy. Ressa notes the first phase harvested attention through algorithmically engineered micro-targeting, driving a documented epidemic of loneliness. The second phase deployed conversational chatbots to capture intimacy. Now, agentic AI requires users to explicitly grant software permission to make independent decisions, allowing tech conglomerates to hack and commodify personal agency itself.

The trajectory points toward an unaccountable tech coup. Because surveillance capitalism drives the underlying business model, developers are heavily incentivized to rush multi-agentic systems into public infrastructure. Ressa warns this expansion coincides with fierce anti-regulation efforts, ensuring algorithms will continually prioritize mass data extraction over public safety and democratic stability without facing federal oversight.

This system replaces independent human intent with algorithmic momentum. When citizens seamlessly surrender their attention, intimacy, and agency, unelected tech companies gain the unmitigated power to dictate societal behavior at scale. Review the reports from the United Nations Scientific Panel on AI, and systematically revoke any permissions allowing autonomous agents to act on your behalf.

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Nobel laureate Maria Ressa warns against the dangers of Big Tech

https://www.facebook.com/foreign.policy.magazine/videos/ai-is-hacking-our-biology/1413793177625165/

Foreign Policy's official social media broadcast of the Maria Ressa interview, documenting her assertion that agentic AI is hacking human agency and biological autonomy.

A conversation with Nobel laureate Maria Ressa

https://www.facebook.com/foreign.policy.magazine/posts/we-gave-up-our-attention-we-gave-up-our-intimacy-now-whats-being-hacked-is-agenc/1474102477914712/

Foreign Policy Magazine official archival post detailing the interview where Ressa explains how AI developers prioritize the attention economy over democratic stability.

Independent International Scientific Panel on AI

https://www.un.org/independent-international-scientific-panel-ai/en

Official United Nations portal for the Scientific Panel on AI, confirming Maria Ressa's leadership role and the panel's mission to address agentic AI misalignment.

Maria Ressa recommended by UN Secretary-General to new Independent International Scientific Panel on AI

https://igp.sipa.columbia.edu/news/maria-ressa-recommended-un-secretarygeneral-antonio-guterres-new-independent-international

Columbia University Institute of Global Politics documentation detailing Ressa's appointment as co-chair of the UN panel tasked with separating fact from algorithmic manipulation.

Foreign Policy Live: Maria Ressa on Fighting Back Against Big Tech

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/8-foreign-policy-live-27868322/

The complete Foreign Policy Live podcast episode from September 25, 2026, featuring the full interview where Ressa outlines the three escalating phases of AI infrastructure.

Agentic AI Is Hacking Human Autonomy — And Maria Ressa's Warning On The Final Phase Of Corporate Surveillance Capitalism