Optimization Trap Undermines Institutions

When smart actors treat rational tools (metrics, optimization routines, incentive models) as ends rather than instruments, organizations converge on locally optimal but systemically destructive equilibria. This produces selection pressure for cognition that maximizes reward signals (citations, returns, uptime) while eroding redundancy, public goods, and long‑term resilience. — Recognizing this pattern reframes many policy problems—from university incentives to supply chains and tech governance—as design failures of incentive architecture rather than moral failings of individuals.