IO+ Week: Smarter than ever, yet still so unpredictable
Every Sunday, we present an overview of the most striking stories from the past week. This is this week's harvest.
Published on February 22, 2026
Bart, co-founder of Media52 and Professor of Journalism oversees IO+, events, and Laio. A journalist at heart, he keeps writing as many stories as possible.
We live in an era of rapid innovation: AI systems manage cities, chip factories are rising from the ground, and new materials and energy solutions are emerging at a rapid pace. If you look purely at technology, humanity seems smarter than ever. And yet reality tells a different story: we continue to make irrational, sometimes downright foolish decisions. In train stations, we blindly follow the person in front of us instead of taking the fastest route. In geopolitics and industry, we often do the same.
New research from Eindhoven showed this week just how strongly herd behavior undermines our efficiency. In crowded stations, people collectively choose suboptimal routes simply because others do. Such “avalanches of choice” are a powerful metaphor for broader systems. In economics, defense, and technology, we are often guided by imitation, short-term incentives, or entrenched patterns — even when the knowledge and tools to act differently are readily available.
Take technology exports. Despite sanctions, European high-tech components are still finding their way into Russian drones through indirect routes. That is not the intention of the manufacturers, yet in a complex chain full of intermediaries and compliance gaps, it happens nonetheless. The same tension appears in defense policy: Germany’s decision to purchase American F-35s may be rational in the short term, but it also weakens Europe’s strategic autonomy. Smart systems, fragmented choices.
The paradox is equally visible in the startup ecosystem. The Netherlands and Europe invest billions in innovation, yet struggle to scale companies. The solution may lie closer to home than expected: experienced founders mentoring the next generation. In essence, this is a plea for less individual optimization and more collective learning, countering the herd instinct that leads everyone to reinvent the wheel.
Meanwhile, the scale of our ambitions continues to grow. In India, an entire “mega data city” is taking shape, built around digital infrastructure and AI-driven planning. It demonstrates just how far our technical capabilities have advanced. Yet even there, the question remains: are we designing systems for rational users, or for real people with habits and biases? Ignore the latter, and inefficiency will inevitably follow.
Then there is personal technology. Smart doorbell cameras enhance security but also raise concerns about privacy and surveillance. Alternatives to dominant platforms are gaining traction as users realize that convenience is not always the smartest choice. Here, too, technological rationality collides with human behavior and trust.
Unpredictable beings
The common thread? We are building ever-smarter systems, yet we ourselves remain unpredictable, social creatures. Innovation solves many problems, but not our tendency to follow the crowd, prioritize short-term gains, or overlook complex consequences. Perhaps the real challenge of our time is not creating ever-smarter technology, but better understanding our own irrationality.
Only when we acknowledge that can we design technology that is not just impressive, but truly works for the people who use it. See you next week.
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