TheFriar

I mean, I read it. I don’t know anything about the author, but the article is interesting enough. Especially the part talking about how China see the US. It’s all spot-on: basically rudderless, paralyzed with empty addictions to endless commodification, how we’re basically on a disastrous path because we have no spiritual needs met and we fill that hole with mindless indulgences.

The country has become severed from its traditions and is so individualistic it can’t make up its mind what it as a nation believes. Without an overarching culture maintaining its values, the government’s regulatory powers are weak, easily corrupted by lobbying or paralyzed by partisan bickering. As such, the nation’s progress is directed mostly by blind market forces… Thus, by turning everything into a product, Western capitalism devours every aspect of American culture, including the traditions that bind it together as a nation, leading to atomization and polarization. The commodification also devours meaning and purpose, and to plug the expanding spiritual hole that this leaves, Americans turn to momentary pleasures—drugs, fast food, and amusements—driving the nation further into decadence and decay.

Now, while all that is true, this person (china’s apparent “societal teacher” or something like that) has the wrong answer:

Wang wrote that the only way a nation can avoid the US’s problems is by instilling “core values”—a national consensus of beliefs and principles rooted in the traditions of the past and directed toward a clear goal in the future….To prevent China’s own technological advancement leading it down the same perilous path, Wang proposed an extreme solution: neo-authoritarianism.

That’s the most cynical possible takeaway from this very real problem. The answer, if you ask me, is not limiting people’s ability to indulge, but by offering spiritual fulfillment. That means taking those blind market forces and putting a short leash on them. Instead of letting the market lead us all astray, chain the markets and work for the betterment of society, not for profit.

In short, curtail capitalism.

The article was interesting. I’d suggest you guys read it.

It’s the fuckig NY Post. They took a few quotes from someone saying what they wanted to hear, and made it seem like it should be on everyone’s radar. Gtfoh

US: continually decides to not fund scientific exploration of space

Also US: GUYS! BE AFRAID! ANOTHER COUNTRY DID DECIDE TO SPEND MONEY ON IT! NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IF…UM…WELL, I GUESS IF THEY TAKE OVER SPACE…? Or…wait, what are we concerned about? Ah, fuck it. Cut NASA’s budget again. We got genocide to fund and taxes to cut for the wealthy.

I’d say it’s never been clearer that Sundar Pichai is to google as Jonathan Loepner is to Loepner Pneumatics Industries Co. But that’s just me.

If only we had 20 years. In 20 years this shit won’t matter because we’ll be on the other side of that precipice, barreling toward oblivion.

I’ve been trying tofind it since your comment and I just can’t place where I came across it! It was an opinion piece on some low rent looking leftist blog, so it’s hard to search for. I will keep looking though, because I’d like to find it again and I’ll share it when I do.

I thought air Canada bot gave out wrong info to the customer, who the company then said wasn’t entitled to the rebate program the bot told the customer was a thing, so the customer had to sue them for the extra money the bot told the customer to spend. There was ANOTHER AI fuckup by aircanada? Lol

So not only are they making the user experience way, way worse, they are trying to cut all costs and shovel them off onto us. I don’t remember where I read it, probably here a couple weeks ago, but I read and article stating how companies use the internet backwards. Instead of the internet being a tool for its customers, companies use it as a tool to protect themselves from the customers. We are filtered through purposefully aggravating automated call systems, or put through Chatbots as a measure to simplify us.

Is anyone down for a fucking Revolution against this insanely backwards concept of modern life? I am.

I love how in the “FAQs” of that agreement, there is no “why.” Which is surely the most F of the A’d Q’s.

lol it’s not. That’s the point. It’s all the same sort of companies putting these fucking things out. Google and Facebook are both working on their own AI. It’s been shown over and over how they’re scraping all available data—public or private when available—so why the fuck would a newer tech company be any different? It’s the state of capitalism. The markets are focusing more on hyper focused data, so that’s what any profitable tech company is doing. Invading your fucking privacy.

That’s why it’s not a surprise. Because Facebook and google helped set the trend and determine the current tech market. And that’s the world these new “AI girlfriends” are existing in.

I mean, I’m all for better insulated homes. I will say it’ll be hard to convince people to go for this aesthetic, though. It’s very 80s.

An explosion of CP, probably.