Surviving Tech
The following is a Q and A with tech expert and writer James Howard Kunstler.
The New American: What do authoritarian technocratic elites have in mind for AI tech?
James Howard Kunstler: Control — of everything they can possibly control. That impulse is well underway, starting with control of our money and surveillance of our movements. Central bank digital currencies are on their way, with ghastly implications for our economic liberty. Authorities can track what you spend money on, ration it (disallow your purchases), limit your participation in all sorts of activities, punish you, take wealth directly from your account and call it “taxation.” There’s no end of chicanery and mischief they can apply. The diminishing returns of technology will also mess with us. For instance, surely robotic friendships will be marketed — even robotic “girlfriends” or “boyfriends.” They will prove to be addictive but ultimately unsatisfying — just like video games are. The lesson will be: “virtual” is not an adequate replacement for “authentic.” It will be a painful lesson to learn.
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