3 ms·

Not that I'm pro being tracked or anything, but what difference does that make to your general existence and daily adventure if there is some sort of behind the

Not that I'm pro being tracked or anything, but what difference does that make to your general existence and daily adventure if there is some sort of behind the scenes tracking going on. Why would that prevent you from wandering?

ethbr1 1y ago
Tracking is a necessary precursor to being able to hassle wanderers. Absent mass automated surveillance, the state's ability to do so at scale was limited. Once implemented (and processed and stored), norms on use erode over time... and then anyone anomalous is being auto background-checked when showing up in a new area. Or do we think someone won't find a use for all the dark datacenter GPU power after AI pops?
- thaumasiotes 1y ago
  > and then anyone anomalous is being auto background-checked when showing up in a new area. That is the historical norm. Is it supposed to be a new concept?
  - pixl97 1y ago
    I mean, slavery is a historical norm. I'd rather not have it back.
  - ethbr1 1y ago
    When has that ever been the historical norm? Even the most closed societies (say, East Germany, the USSR, and the DPRK) only accomplished a fraction of what's now technically possible, and that historical analogue through a massive human labor force.
    - thaumasiotes 1y ago
      It's been the historical norm for all of time, except the extremely recent past. The norm is that you're born somewhere and you stay there forever. Everyone there knows you and they've known you since you, or they, were born. If a traveler happens to show up, everyone can recognize immediately, by looking at their face, that they're from somewhere else. Strangers get low levels of trust.
      - ethbr1 1y ago
        There have been cities for ~3000 years+, and a panopticon has never been the standard due to the logistical cost of establishing what we now have.
      - dyauspitr 1y ago
        Urban centers where that doesn’t hold have been around for thousands of years.

ethbr1 1y ago

Tracking is a necessary precursor to being able to hassle wanderers. Absent mass automated surveillance, the state's ability to do so at scale was limited. Once implemented (and processed and stored), norms on use erode over time... and then anyone anomalous is being auto background-checked when showing up in a new area. Or do we think someone won't find a use for all the dark datacenter GPU power after AI pops?

thaumasiotes 1y ago
> and then anyone anomalous is being auto background-checked when showing up in a new area. That is the historical norm. Is it supposed to be a new concept?
- pixl97 1y ago
  I mean, slavery is a historical norm. I'd rather not have it back.
- ethbr1 1y ago
  When has that ever been the historical norm? Even the most closed societies (say, East Germany, the USSR, and the DPRK) only accomplished a fraction of what's now technically possible, and that historical analogue through a massive human labor force.
  - thaumasiotes 1y ago
    It's been the historical norm for all of time, except the extremely recent past. The norm is that you're born somewhere and you stay there forever. Everyone there knows you and they've known you since you, or they, were born. If a traveler happens to show up, everyone can recognize immediately, by looking at their face, that they're from somewhere else. Strangers get low levels of trust.
    - ethbr1 1y ago
      There have been cities for ~3000 years+, and a panopticon has never been the standard due to the logistical cost of establishing what we now have.
    - dyauspitr 1y ago
      Urban centers where that doesn’t hold have been around for thousands of years.