Brilliant, B2. And very, very scary. Enlist AI in the goal of controlling/ conditioning people's behavior, and the dystopian "managed world" becomes a nightmarish possibility of a regime, self-perpetuating, that could be stable for centuries and not even have humans at the controls. What China is doing is just a foretaste. Unplug from social media, survive off the grid as much as possible (not very anymore), turn off/ disable all the tracking software in your devices, buy old cars that don't report on your activities. Use cash as much as possible... But it still won't be enough in all likelihood, - laws will probably be enacted forcing participation.. Restacking this essay to Notes!
Thanks Michael! I also find this stuff very scary, because it works. With large social media platforms, these algorithms can influence the behavior of millions of people. It's a quantum leap in corporate and government control. I'm not a "black helicopters/tinfoil hat" type, but this could get bad.
D'accord! I know my comment comes off as rather survivalist/prepper paranoid, but I visualize a future, arriving in slow incremental changes, each step motivated by high aspirations of protecting people from themselves. Google is already doing an incredible amount of tracking our internet behavior and purchases-all with the seemingly benign goal of "optimizing" our online experience. The same company is invested heavily in AI research. Two plus Two sometimes does equal four.
Here's another thing your essay makes me wonder about. If the little dopamine hits from the "like" buttons are sufficient to manipulate large numbers of people, what is the impact of having, say, one percent of the population bigoted enough to give whole classes of people occasional reminders of "dislike." I wonder what studies exist on living with that. As an example, it's probably rare to be ejected from a flight for being Black, but it happens. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c722ejmvlwno
Thanks for another great essay. The TV show Black Mirror did a brilliant episode titled Nosedive on what you mention China is now working on. If you haven't seen it, I can guarantee it will interest you. In fact, Black Mirror should probably be used in college courses. Dark humor is the court jester of our day..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosedive_(Black_Mirror)
Thanks Mitch! Yes, the "Nosedive" episode is indeed a perfect presentation of the algorithm. I'm working on an essay to be titled "Social media addiction as compulsive status checking" that gets into how the algorithm hacks into our need for approval. If a company can manipulate your money and social status, they've got you right where they want you. Ugh.
I just posted a piece on Medium titled "Medium is a slot machine", because they're running some sneaky algorithms over there. Substack strikes me as more transparent: we write, people subscribe, writer gets 87% of any money. Simple.
Thanks Michelle! What I find most creepy about these algorithms is how they are mostly hidden from view and operate on an almost subliminal level. That makes them very powerful control agents. So yes to friends ... and beautiful gardens!
The only way to win is to not play the game: disconnect.
Maybe “quiet quitting” social media will catch on. One can hope.
100% agree with you about that Jan. I was never a big consumer of FB, Xitter etc, and I'm glad!
Brilliant, B2. And very, very scary. Enlist AI in the goal of controlling/ conditioning people's behavior, and the dystopian "managed world" becomes a nightmarish possibility of a regime, self-perpetuating, that could be stable for centuries and not even have humans at the controls. What China is doing is just a foretaste. Unplug from social media, survive off the grid as much as possible (not very anymore), turn off/ disable all the tracking software in your devices, buy old cars that don't report on your activities. Use cash as much as possible... But it still won't be enough in all likelihood, - laws will probably be enacted forcing participation.. Restacking this essay to Notes!
Thanks Michael! I also find this stuff very scary, because it works. With large social media platforms, these algorithms can influence the behavior of millions of people. It's a quantum leap in corporate and government control. I'm not a "black helicopters/tinfoil hat" type, but this could get bad.
D'accord! I know my comment comes off as rather survivalist/prepper paranoid, but I visualize a future, arriving in slow incremental changes, each step motivated by high aspirations of protecting people from themselves. Google is already doing an incredible amount of tracking our internet behavior and purchases-all with the seemingly benign goal of "optimizing" our online experience. The same company is invested heavily in AI research. Two plus Two sometimes does equal four.
" I know my comment comes off as rather survivalist/prepper paranoid"
As they say, just 'cause we're paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to get us!
Here's another thing your essay makes me wonder about. If the little dopamine hits from the "like" buttons are sufficient to manipulate large numbers of people, what is the impact of having, say, one percent of the population bigoted enough to give whole classes of people occasional reminders of "dislike." I wonder what studies exist on living with that. As an example, it's probably rare to be ejected from a flight for being Black, but it happens. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c722ejmvlwno
It's all very complicated!
Thanks for another great essay. The TV show Black Mirror did a brilliant episode titled Nosedive on what you mention China is now working on. If you haven't seen it, I can guarantee it will interest you. In fact, Black Mirror should probably be used in college courses. Dark humor is the court jester of our day..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosedive_(Black_Mirror)
Thanks Mitch! Yes, the "Nosedive" episode is indeed a perfect presentation of the algorithm. I'm working on an essay to be titled "Social media addiction as compulsive status checking" that gets into how the algorithm hacks into our need for approval. If a company can manipulate your money and social status, they've got you right where they want you. Ugh.
Inevitably we must talk of Substack itself.
I just posted a piece on Medium titled "Medium is a slot machine", because they're running some sneaky algorithms over there. Substack strikes me as more transparent: we write, people subscribe, writer gets 87% of any money. Simple.
Fascinating as always and chilling too. I love that last hint, time spent in nature and with family and friends. As long as the phone stays away.
Thanks Michelle! What I find most creepy about these algorithms is how they are mostly hidden from view and operate on an almost subliminal level. That makes them very powerful control agents. So yes to friends ... and beautiful gardens!