I saw some people saying the internet, particularly brainrot social media, has made everyone mentally twelve years old. It feels like it could be true.

Twelve–year–olds aren't capable of dealing with responsibility or consequence.

>A brave new world that is post-truth, post-meaning, post-responsibility, and post-consequences. One where the AI's hallucinations eventually drag everyone with it and there's no other option but to hallucinate along.

That value proposition depends entirely on whether there is also an upside to all of that. Do you actually need truth, meaning, responsibility and consequences while you are tripping on acid? Do you even need to be alive and have a physical organic body for that? What if Ikari Gendo was actually right and everyone else are assholes who don't let him be with his wife.

Ultimately the goal is to have a system that prevents mistakes as much as possible adapts and self-corrects when they do happen. Even with science we acknowledge that mistakes happen and people draw incorrect conclusions, but the goal is to make that a temporary state that is fixed as more information comes in.

I'm not claiming to have all the answers about how to achieve that, but I am fairly certain punishment is not a necessary part of it.