The Cyborg Agenda
I'll begin with this general statement of fact (which may or may not be totally factual) describing the present human condition according to Tsubion (my alter ego who has been known to go off the rails sometimes)...
Humans are cyborgs, human-machine hybrids, transhuman entities, hivemind biological robots, living in a technocratic dystopian prison world
Oh boy. I can hear the squeals already...
Hold your horses there Tsubion, we're nowhere near that level of techno-hell. Not by a long chalk. That's a sci-fi fantasy scenario trotted out by fearmongering fundy Christians and the like. You know, the ones who say we're already in the End Times and that Satan is just about ready to cast the chaos spell over the entire world infecting everyone with the crazy juice.
Hmm, well, why don't we take a little look and see before passing judgement.
We can break down the current state of things and play a little extrapolation game to guess (as best as we can) where things might be heading.
And here's a side dish (if you haven't come across it before) — a peek into the world of predictive programming that certainly appears to be preparing the ground (our minds) for a WEF-ordained, technocratic, dystopian future after a cataclysmic civilization-stopping event of some kind...
After that, I'll attempt to suggest that maybe "all of the above" is yet another example of the boogeyman shoe-shuffle that the Elite Master Farmers use to bamboozle the general public into accepting some kind of middle ground option that they had planned all along.
Here we go...
The Current State of Things According to Tsubion
Okay. First things first. Let me make myself perfectly clear. By the State of Things I refer to what is commonly known as the Core of human activity, civilization, industrial society, cities, suburbs, governments, military bases, underground labs and other regular haunts that have been "blessed" with the curse of "progress" and other such modern happenings.
All other human communities, tribes, loners and losers that have not leapt forward since the stone age or reached the first rung on the ladder of progress need not apply. They are not part of this discussion. And for good reason. They are a source of anxiety for the progressive types, a thorn in their side. I'll get to that in a minute.
So in other words, I am specifically referring to the branch of humans that accept technological progress as part of their DNA (in more ways than one) and proudly predict further adaptation and evolution of humanity and their machines in the years and decades to come.
I felt I had to make that clear from the get go because there exists an uncomfortable truth in the mind of every progressive soul and that is that primitive people living simple lifestyles and accepting their lot in life, usually in keeping with deep spiritual beliefs, connection to and respect for Mother Earth, act as an antagonistic shaming shadow element in the face of unrestrained technological progress and as a deeply ingrained source of anxiety for the insatiable progressives and their dreams of material wealth and abundance.
No One Wants To Be Poor
Migrants throughout history have arrived at their new stomping grounds with a hunger that the local residents generally lack after generations of comfort and privilege. Hunger for jobs, money, a better standard of living, a future for their children, and their grandchildren fuel the transition even to this day.
This is the way the lifeblood of a civilization is replenished whether people want to acknowledge it or not. Species compete for space and resources in an endless game of musical chairs until the game ends and a new one begins. Species also collaborate symbiotically to confer advantage in ways that those that go it alone cannot. It's all one glorious game of Jenga blocks until someone pulls out the wrong one and an entire species gets wiped off the board. And another. And another. Until we too face the Endgame.
No one wants to be left behind either. The human impulse to keep up with the Jones's is extremely strong, persuasive, pervasive and sticky. It's built into our "genes" or whatever. It's been studied at universities, you know, but usually for some nefarious reason with substantial backing to figure out how to move the herd this way and that or how to make us consume even more than we already do.
The point is there exists a drive that makes people and groups and corporations yearn for more. And as tool-using organisms we are capable of extending that drive far beyond the capabilities of other species. To date we have built sprawling cities and farms, road and communication networks, satellite swarms, ocean routes and ports, 24/7 logistics systems, all powered by a global energy and resources mining, refining and distribution industry.
Not bad, but not good either according to the nitpickers, the anti-civilization factions of ecologists and misanthropes that loudly complain about our polluting activities even though this may be simply a temporary phase we're going through until things get even more sophisticated, until we learn how to clean up our act.
I would say to these complainers that you can't have it both ways. You can't live in the lap of luxury in the first world, go to the best colleges to acquire an education in this or that anti-industrial, environmental science ideology, lecture everyone else including people in the developing world on how we should ideally be living based on computer models and stats that have little or nothing to do with the real world, and then continue to live in the lap of luxury with all mod cons with maybe a few concessionary tweaks and nods towards "green tech" just as the virtue signalling fad comes to a close.
And if you're still serious about making those changes there's a name for that. It's called...
Cutting Off Your Nose To Spite Your Face
How to use "cut off your nose to spite your face" (in this case when addressing the technological choices that humans are increasingly facing in their everyday lives).
Warn someone not to act in anger. You could tell them "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face" as a reminder that they'll only make their problems worse. It's also a gentle reminder for them to keep their best interests in mind. You might use the phrase when:
You're trying to calm down someone who's upset and trying to get even.
You're telling someone to pause and think before acting.
You're encouraging the person to focus on the bigger picture and their overall happiness.
https://www.wikihow.com/Cut-Off-Your-Nose-to-Spite-Your-Face
So we've reached a plateau where the uber-concerned about the techno-future either run for the hills and abandon all fancy tech (but not really) in a vain attempt to return to the good old days...
I mean... I can see why people put themselves through this, but all I see is modern tools, all mod cons, batteries, solar panels, probably a pump of some kind, an Apple computer, probably smartphones etc etc. And the option to walk straight back into a modern city any time they choose.
In reality, people like this are backed by the full capabilities of modern industry and support systems. They are not hunter-gatherer tribes living in the Amazon rainforest for Chrissakes which is the only truly sustainable lifestyle that remains.
So how exactly is this off grid and how exactly are billions of people with modern, plugged-in lives supposed to follow suit?
It's a pipe dream. A fantasy entertained by those who wish to make a living along these lines with their YouTube channels gaining millions of views.
Back to the real world
The way I see it, we are most likely heading towards a splitting of the herd. Many still recoil at the idea of technological "progress" but go along with it they will (if conditions allow) because the alternative (as described above) is even scarier to a modern urbanite and far too much hassle.
Despite all the complaints about clunky interaction with newfangled devices and the societal machinery that is being foisted on us (practically shoved down our throats) from all directions I know for a fact that most people will accept even more of it when the time comes to roll out the next phase.
It's written all over their faces.
The guilt, the shame, the denial, the refusal to admit that they're not in charge of their own lives, their own bodies, their own minds. The refusal to admit that they were conned in the greatest con-job in history. The greatest experiment run in real-time, live on TV and the Internet for all the world to see. The debasement of humanity in all its glory. Injected with God knows what in the name of medicine and science and progress and technological prowess to prevent diseases that only exist in the minds of the taken.
There is no other way of saying this. You will either find yourself keeping up with technological progress until you are a full paying member of The Borg (complete with implants, goggles, extensions and upgrades) or... you will find yourself on the scrapheap of life, dropping out of the mainstream (if that's even really possible anymore), struggling to understand what this experience was all about and why it became such a mess.
A Line In The Sand
Everyone thinks they can draw a line in the sand. Here and no further. That's enough for me. No way will I adopt the next, latest, greatest thing that all the cool kids are playing with.
In theory, this is a common strategy when life and its niggles become overwhelming but in practice all the cries of how much easier everything was in the past fall on deaf ears. Mass adoption of the latest tech continues unabated all around the "crybaby" until there's no other option left but to be subsumed by it all, at least on the periphery.
Aging parents play with smartphones (or mess them up) according to their abilities and get help from a young'un when they need to pay a bill because the local bank branch closed years ago. They may not understand everything that's happening (neither do the young'uns most of the time) but they can appreciate the convenience and speed of operations executed by said young'uns even though there's a touch of jealousy at play and a feeling that they're not in control of their lives anymore. Someone or something else is managing things. Like magic.
And that's the effect that is promised for all of us when AI really takes off and blends with every aspect of our lives. The niggles of today will be ironed out until everything feels smooth and flawless, barely an inconvenience, almost as if a wizard somewhere has swept all the nasty user interface issues under a rug. Uttering or typing a command will be all that's required, everything else will be taken care of.
And you'll be plugged in and permanently connected to the One Machine, the Great Filter, the Hivemind, the Internet of Things including people.
And you will trust the responses from your personal, customized AI co-pilot because doing it yourself is so yesteryear and Boomerish.
And you'll get on your knees and pray to the AGI golem god as it seeps into every aspect of your life and the lives of everyone you know.
No one will be left behind.
The Big Kahuna
This is it. The biggest leap in human history or the biggest scam and boogeyman shoe shuffle of all time. You decide...
Beneficial AGI Summit & Unconference
Ben Goertzel and his buddies welcome you to the future. The one that Ray Kurzweil was predicting decades ago. The one that people are starting to feel in their bones. The one that is inching closer, creeping up on us like a serial killer, all smiley and friendly until... POW... you lose consciousness and wake up in a dirty, smelly dungeon wondering what the hell just happened.
Is that what this really is?
A trick?
A trap?
AGI, transhumanism, life-extension, robotics, automation. All the things that promise to make our lives easier. This is the name of the game whether you believe in these concepts or not, whether they are technically feasible or not, whether they make financial sense or not. It's a hopium salve for techno-junkies and they're desperate to keep up appearances.
The high priests of this techno-cult insist that job retraining and UBI will solve any niggles which of course make absolutely no sense at all if anyone is paying attention.
How can the system continue to function when more and more consumers are laid off and labelled non-essential?
It's more likely that they will be labelled useless eaters and disposed of through "medical palliative care" provided during the next pandemic scare.
Isn't that what Disease X is all about?
Isn't that what Elon's X platform and the Everything App is all about?
Isn't this how the world as we have known it for thousands of years ends?
Not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with a Neuralink upgrade that essentially converts the remaining human work units into human machine drones that comply with all government mandates and help achieve the goals of the Elite Master Farmers whatever those goals may be.
People are already lining up for their shackles — CBDC, fitbits, smartphone tracking apps, biometric scanning of body parts, social credit scores, geofencing, anything that restrains and constrains the liberties of a red-blooded, freedom-loving human being.
And soon these things will be mandatory to continue the life that you have become accustomed to.
And robots and artificial intelligence will continue to make headway in the workplace until all dull, dirty and dangerous jobs are taken.
And then we'll do things in ways that are more suited to the machines so the next shoe will drop as more workers are laid off until only the most creative types and essential workers are left.
Moving On
Think about it.
This is how it goes...
- Elon Musk — Tech Jesus
- Self-driving cars — military equipment vision development for untrackable / unhackable vehicles
- Neuralink — mindjacking
- Starlink — global tracking of everything
- 5G / 6G / 7G — wireless everything connecting humans and machines like "magic"
- Wearable Tech — earbuds, goggles, smartwatches, smartphones, contact lenses, rings, smart clothing
- Electronic Tattoos — visible or invisible, nobody cares as long as you're tagged
- Implants — for the latest permanent upgrades, don't want to be left behind now do you?
- Nanotech — setting up shop in your body doing God knows what (if possible which is doubtful for now)
That last part all depends on this...
Can nanotech be introduced into the bloodstream and be invisible to our body's clean up crews while also carrying out some desired function?
I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.
There are plenty of fools who will line up to be guinea pigs as demonstrated during the Convid spectacle.
For now, all we can do is try to stay sane as the world unfolds before us and shapes us to its will.
And just as a reminder, cell service can drop, power lines can go down, fuel pipelines can be sabotaged, but at the end of the day, if the system doesn't suffer a mortal wound, it can pick itself up, fix the problems, and continue on its way, maybe even in new, surprising directions that no one had in mind.
Until next time, remember to walk barefoot sometimes and unplug your router at night for goodness sake. At least that. A little resistance before the descent into madness while resistance is still an option.
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