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> [AI] requires the surveillance business model I think this is putting the horse before the cart. There is no doubt that the surveillance business model has
by nologic01 3y ago
> [AI] requires the surveillance business model
I think this is putting the horse before the cart.
There is no doubt that the surveillance business model has captured tech. But "AI" - which to me is just the shortest possible way to say "algorithmic processing of digital information" - is just one more category of tools exploited to buttress and expand the dominance of said business model. It just happens that while other innovations (blockchain, quantum computing etc) are not immediately (or ever) usable, AI tools are practical and deployable here and now.
To better understand my point imagine the polar opposite system: a digital universe that fully respects our various professed humanistic values and uses technology only to empower individuals, bind society together etc. We would still need large scale algorithmic support if we are to manage interfacing our biologically defined brain bandwidth with the vast and growing silicon exo-brain.
In other words, lets us not concede that surveillance capitalism owns every possible future of tech.
- qp11 3y agoScale requires Purpose. When there is no Purpose, or no Purpose that Everyone accepts, and yet things are mindlessly scaled up, the scaler makes enemies. And its all pure chaos what happens next.
- nonrandomstring 3y agoUbiquity is the materialised love-child of two other monsters, omnipotence and omniscience. Whereas we recognise the pathological parents for what they are, we still think ubiquity is adorable.
- api 3y ago> lets us not concede that surveillance capitalism owns every possible future of tech. It does as long as it's the only way to finance tech, which seems to be the case.
- nologic01 3y agowhy is that such a popular opinion. Tech has been financed for decades by individuals, corporates and public sector actors. Even today a large fraction is financed by "healthy" tech services demand. One of the many dramatic flaws of surveillance capitalism is that it cannot really provide the entire tech stack society needs. It thrives as a parasitic model, predicated on political dysfunction and public ignorance. Society must finance the bulk of the infrastructure and then hand over the keys to the digital kingdom as it were. What is undeniable is that surveillance is the most lucrative mode. This is not surprising: borderline legal / morally dubious activities are always the most profitable.
- api 3y agoPeople have been conditioned to see software and even online services as something that should be "free." That's what I'm referring to. It's obviously a bigger issue for B2C than B2B. If everything has to be "free" then it becomes impossible to create sophisticated software or run any kind of service without finding some scuzzy way to double-dip and sell out your users. There is no viable business model that aligns the producer with the customer.
- nologic01 3y agoYes, that is alas a prevailing mindset in consumer behavior. But it is indeed a case of "conditioning" which requires authorities to offer tacit approval for these freebies. Do you remember, e.g., how India snubbed facebook's "free basics" plan? > it becomes impossible to create sophisticated software or run any kind of service This. While monetizing user behavior is very valuable there is a ceiling to it. It can't make up for the huge potential value of all the things one can possibly build. At some point we might be forced to conclude that surveillance capitalism makes no long-term economic sense. It is either a bubble or actually a political choice to sacrifice a real digital economy in favor of control.