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Big data, machine learning and things like facial recognition in the public space is exceedingly leading us toward a society of total control. We are not there
by eksemplar 9y ago
Big data, machine learning and things like facial recognition in the public space is exceedingly leading us toward a society of total control.
We are not there yet, but I personally fear, that all it would take is the political realization, that the ability to predict behavior leads to more efficient governance.
Technology has the ability to "set us free" or "enslave us", but it's up to the people to decide which they want in a democracy. In the current conservative climate, we're certainly heading more toward dystopia, racing rapidly to make some of the darker cyberpunk come true.
- EGreg 9y agoHumans are building a zoo for themselves. And turning the world into farms. What do you see as pros and cons?
- mark_edward 9y agofarm animals are more productive, and spread quickly look at how many cows there are. on the downside, look at how they live. I'm afraid this comment isn't up to HN standards, but i've always thought the teleological end of humanity was something that resembles an ant colony more than pack wolves, i'm not sure there's anything to be done to avoid it.
- coldtea 9y agoI find both the ant colony and pack wolves to be bad outcomes -- and something in between, an actual community that doesn't solely "exist to produce", but its also neither "each man for themselves", much better. It's also funny how "ant colony" seems to be the direction of both the now deceased USSR-style socialism and modern capitalism -- with elites on top, total surveillance, and everything, just with different names.
- tomrod 9y agoDavid Brin calls this drive by the elites a meme of feudalism in his essay _Otherness_: > Feudalism is one of the oldest. It may appear to be rare nowadays, but some philosophers and historians have called it the “most natural” of human societies, simply because it cropped up in so many places throughout the millennia -- everywhere, in fact, that metallurgy and agriculture combined to let close-knit groups establish and enforce inherited aristocracies.
- coldtea 9y agoEven companies are basically feudal kingdoms, with the owner/CEO as ruler.
- macawfish 9y agomore productive in what sense? the rainforest itself is incredibly productive, although not in a monocultural way.
- mark_edward 9y agowell productivity in terms of reproduction. there wouldn't be as many cows or chickens or pigs, etc. without use breeding them, is what I meant. sorry for lack of clarity
- netsharc 9y agoThe ability to predict behavior using data, and change it, has lead to Brexit and Trump. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great... In short, they identified easily manipulated people by analyzing Facebook profiles, and manipulated them through Facebook ads. For me this is like a real-life botnet. The laws say 1 person, 1 vote, so why not manipulate the person to vote the way "we" want them. In a big-data way, targeting swing states...
- marcosdumay 9y agoOh, the always present "people who disagree with me are mindless autmata" line.
- ryukafalz 9y agoNot GP, but: not just people who disagree with me. People are influenced by what they're exposed to[0], and even if that effect is small on an individual level, in aggregate it can impact large portions of the population if you're able to manipulate the information that reaches people. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect
- michaelmrose 9y agoMaybe just enough of them to make it worthwhile manipulating them?