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Algocracy [1] sounds somewhat better, but as any barbarism, Medieval Latin algorismus, a mangled transliteration of the Arabic al-Khwarizmi + kratos, Ancient Gr

Algocracy [1] sounds somewhat better, but as any barbarism, Medieval Latin algorismus, a mangled transliteration of the Arabic al-Khwarizmi + kratos, Ancient Greek word for power, is just as wrong. The issue however is that society does not have a technology problem, it has a metaphysics problem: under, over, and for what should there be a we. Hence why all the futures we imagine through technology can barely go beyond a boring distopia. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_by_algorithm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_by_algorithm

hemmert 4y ago
I think we're losing that 'we' in many instances, even if it feels like being 'more connected', it's less 'together' often.
- prox 4y ago
  Going back to etymology: the word relationship comes from “act of telling or relating in words.” You can’t have a “we” if you don’t directly connect in a meaningful way your experiences.
nonrandomstring 4y ago
> The issue however is that society does not have a technology problem, it has a metaphysics problem: Wrote the same thing yesterday in this Techrights piece [1] I think there's a genuine danger in writing "dystopian warnings" like this. Plenty of people are now actually at the stage where they cannot see the joke. Christopher Hitchens wrote on North Korea's Kim Jong-Un (and later Cory Doctorow said something similar), that Orwell's warning had simply been taken as a blueprint. For the same reason psychotherapists refuse to treat psychopaths - it arms them with better ways to be manipulative. The problem with satirical tech-critique is that for a lot of people our "Dystopia" is their "Utopia", and our frightening visions just gives them ideas. [1] https://techrights.org/2023/01/28/unmasking-ai/ https://techrights.org/2023/01/28/unmasking-ai/
- m-watson 4y ago
  That is exactly the reason I have tried to explore the Solarpunk sub-genre[0]. It isn't that the work is necessary optimistic but it seems like the genre focuses on problems that currently exist and where to go from here. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solarpunk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solarpunk
ETH_start 4y ago
A utopia for some is going to be a dystopia for others. That's why I prefer a heterotopia: https://bilibili.com/video/BV1EW41177v6 https://bilibili.com/video/BV1EW41177v6
someotherperson 4y ago
What makes you think its mangled?
- ly3xqhl8g9 4y ago
  "mangled transliteration" is the unquoted expression used by etymonline [1]. I suppose it's mangled since Khwa becomes go without too much thinking on the Latin side. In the case of of alkali, from the Arabic al-qaliy "burnt ashes" [2], there is a bit more care. Perhaps a better transliteration would have been alquarismus, 800+ years too late [3]. [1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/algorithm#etymonline_v_8145 https://www.etymonline.com/word/algorithm#etymonline_v_8145 [2] https://www.etymonline.com/word/alkali#etymonline_v_8163 https://www.etymonline.com/word/alkali#etymonline_v_8163 [3] Alexander of Villedieu published Carmen de Algorismo, Poem about Arithmetic, around 1200 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Villedieu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Villedieu
  - someotherperson 4y ago
    I'm not sure how I feel about the letter /q/ substituting the letter خ but it's interesting to note that the letter matches the softened /g/ in dutch. I wonder if that shift played a role in the reason why it is spelt the way it is.
deleted 4y ago
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hemmert 4y ago

I think we're losing that 'we' in many instances, even if it feels like being 'more connected', it's less 'together' often.

prox 4y ago
Going back to etymology: the word relationship comes from “act of telling or relating in words.” You can’t have a “we” if you don’t directly connect in a meaningful way your experiences.

nonrandomstring 4y ago

> The issue however is that society does not have a technology problem, it has a metaphysics problem: Wrote the same thing yesterday in this Techrights piece [1] I think there's a genuine danger in writing "dystopian warnings" like this. Plenty of people are now actually at the stage where they cannot see the joke. Christopher Hitchens wrote on North Korea's Kim Jong-Un (and later Cory Doctorow said something similar), that Orwell's warning had simply been taken as a blueprint. For the same reason psychotherapists refuse to treat psychopaths - it arms them with better ways to be manipulative. The problem with satirical tech-critique is that for a lot of people our "Dystopia" is their "Utopia", and our frightening visions just gives them ideas. [1] https://techrights.org/2023/01/28/unmasking-ai/ https://techrights.org/2023/01/28/unmasking-ai/

m-watson 4y ago
That is exactly the reason I have tried to explore the Solarpunk sub-genre[0]. It isn't that the work is necessary optimistic but it seems like the genre focuses on problems that currently exist and where to go from here. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solarpunk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solarpunk

ETH_start 4y ago

A utopia for some is going to be a dystopia for others. That's why I prefer a heterotopia: https://bilibili.com/video/BV1EW41177v6 https://bilibili.com/video/BV1EW41177v6

someotherperson 4y ago

What makes you think its mangled?

ly3xqhl8g9 4y ago
"mangled transliteration" is the unquoted expression used by etymonline [1]. I suppose it's mangled since Khwa becomes go without too much thinking on the Latin side. In the case of of alkali, from the Arabic al-qaliy "burnt ashes" [2], there is a bit more care. Perhaps a better transliteration would have been alquarismus, 800+ years too late [3]. [1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/algorithm#etymonline_v_8145 https://www.etymonline.com/word/algorithm#etymonline_v_8145 [2] https://www.etymonline.com/word/alkali#etymonline_v_8163 https://www.etymonline.com/word/alkali#etymonline_v_8163 [3] Alexander of Villedieu published Carmen de Algorismo, Poem about Arithmetic, around 1200 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Villedieu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Villedieu
- someotherperson 4y ago
  I'm not sure how I feel about the letter /q/ substituting the letter خ but it's interesting to note that the letter matches the softened /g/ in dutch. I wonder if that shift played a role in the reason why it is spelt the way it is.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]