Human beings have a set of evolved motivational systems designed to deal with adaptive problems our ancestors faced: satisfying basic physiological needs such as hunger, protecting ourselves from the bad guys, making friends, winning status, finding mates, hanging on to those mates (a very different problem), and caring for our kin. My colleagues and I have arranged these different motives into a renovated version of Maslow’s classic pyramid. I’ll discuss some of the research that has been generated by this approach, and also consider a big problem: Although these systems were designed to function adaptively in ancestral environments, they are often mismatched to modern social ecologies. Indeed, they make us easy prey for parasitic exploitation by modern technologies that promise immediate gratification, but may have harmful long-term consequences. I’ll consider how Ben and Jerry’s chocolate-chip cookie-dough ice cream, scary New York Times headlines on our cellphones, Facebook, Fortnite, Ashley Madison, and iPads for our toddlers each generate immense profits by parasitizing our fundamental motivational systems in different ways. I’ll also consider some possible psychological interventions to defend ourselves.