The Hmm @ Brainwash Festival

Townhall: From doom scroll to hope core

We’ve all heard the diagnosis. Algorithms are rotting our brains, shortening our attention spans, and turning us into passive consumers of an endless feed. But what does the evidence actually say? And more importantly: what do we want to do about it?

In the last ten years, the chronological timeline gave way to the algorithmic feed, and with it, the way we think, communicate, and tell stories shifted with it. We consume more content than ever, but do we recognise what’s authentic anymore? And is there anything worth saving in a life mediated by social media, ChatGPT, and an app for everything?

These are the questions we’re bringing to Brainwash Festival. As part of the “technology = god” programme strand, we’re hosting a Townhall that asks: when does convenience become obedience, and who’s actually in control?

About Brainwash Festival

Brainwash Festival is the place to be for thought-provoking ideas and visions of the future. At Brainwash Festival, philosophers, scientists, artists and writers come together to explore the big questions of our time and challenge the status quo. We bring together established figures and new voices. We celebrate thinking, doubt and your curiosity.

Brainwash Festival 2026 takes up the theme ‘the shape of us’, through which it explores, from different perspectives, what it means to live together.

More information about the programme TBA.

📅 Date: 31 October
📍 Tolhuistuin and livestream on The Inbetween
🎟️ Tickets: via Brainwash

♿ Accessibility notes
Find more info on the Tolhuistuin website.