i think there are a few ways to 'steel' yourself against this sort of manipulation:

1. **work on your emotional balance and grounding** - if you're not emotionally stable and reactable then you'll be easy prey for being pumped and dumped (in all senses)
2. **cultivate a sense of purpose and direction** - if you know what YOU want out of life then you'll be less able to be 'hijacked' by someone/something else's desires
3. **understand how the monkey mind works** - learn about memetics, how ideas spread, and the ways in which you can get psychologically hacked
4. **develop your own media literacy** - as new formats emerge (e.g. AI generated videos) it'll be important to know how they're made and what their limitations are so you can't be duped by deepfakes etc.

i don't think it necessarily needs to be a competition between who can run the most powerful ai, although that WILL be a dynamic at play

what i think would be better is if we could develop a new set of 'tools for thought' and a new cultural orientation that lets us use these powerful engines for cognition in a way that's aligned with our collective humanity.

obviously this is a HUGE ask but i don't think we have much choice - the cats are out of the bag and it's only a matter of time before we see some seriously wild shit

as someone who is 'terminally online' i think it's on you to make sure your own mental hygiene is good and that you're not overexposed to things that might be harmful. 

it's also worth thinking about how YOU personally are going to make a positive impact with the tools that are available to you - if everyone does that then we'll at least have a chance of steering the ship in a more positive direction!