French Literature Reviews - 2026

Yves Citton, Cultivating Curiosity in the Age of Algorithmic Delegation
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

To all appearances, curiosity is triumphing on all fronts. Never before have curious minds had so many resources to quench their thirst for discovery. Yet, is this golden age of curiosity not actually a dark age for true research? Instead of being actively engaged, our curiosity is being outsourced to AI algorithms. What will remain of us once our curiosity is entirely delegated to algorithms?

To fully grasp the scale of this issue, this book traces the history of both religious condemnations and scientific heroizations of curiosity. From this, it draws an original definition of curiosity—not as an individual trait, but as a social dynamic and an aspiration to break free from the rut of extractivist capitalism.

The central thesis of the work boils down to a stark choice: curiosity or collapse!

Read an excerpt from the book…

Yves Citton is a professor of literature and media at Paris 8 University, a member of the Institut Universitaire de France, and co-director of the journal Multitudes.

The historical trajectory of curiosity has long been marked by a dichotomy between theological suspicion and the celebration of scientific inquiry. The text examines how the concept has evolved from a potential moral vice to a foundational element of modern knowledge production, while tracing the transition from individual intellectual pursuit to a model mediated by automated systems. Readers interested in the intersection of media studies and the history of ideas may find this investigation into the social dimensions of human attention relevant to contemporary digital discourse.

The work addresses the implications of outsourcing cognitive processes to algorithmic structures, framing this shift as a challenge to human agency. By defining curiosity as a collective dynamic rather than a personal inclination, the author connects the preservation of critical inquiry to critiques of extractivist economic models. This perspective aligns with ongoing debates regarding the influence of digital platforms on intellectual autonomy, emphasizing the necessity of active engagement in research as a response to current technological and social environments.