Will’s stance recites the core of liberal theories of politics, i.e. the marketplace of ideas, the notion that politics is primarily (and even naturally) decided by discourse and rhetoric, and this conception has been inherited by neoliberalism except they approach it much more cynically

in industrialized countries jic u wanna to get a gotcha skeet

believe it or not literacy rates weren’t ubiquitous until the 20th century

in the ancient world people used to recite long form epic poetry from memory. Crime and Punishment was serially published in a newspaper as entertainment for the literate. reading novels was commonplace over the last 100 years. don't project the present onto the past, we're on some other shit now

just using smartphones has forced a more intimate connection with suggestion and abandonment of our faculties to its assistance, so much so that people’s temperaments and attitudes are vastly different now, and its only been a couple of decades

people’s attention spans grow shorter. i have to worry ive already written too much to get my point across, even though i think this level of detail is important to consider. what happens when even the most mild suggestion is allowed to proceed over the course of centuries?

consider that the very definition of a mundane task shifts. could reading itself be a mundane task in the future if voice synthesis becomes the predominant way to consume digital content? this already seems be the case for people used to watching tiktoks and yt videos as their primary info sources

we’ve observed the consequences of propaganda, or of the effect that machines have had on the labor process. we observe what consumerism has done to promote a certain sort of culture

corporations and the state are a sort of AI, a primitive form to be sure, composed of neuronal networks of people and with dynamics that evolve in relation to their environment. we observe changes in people’s behavior in line with the imperatives set by these agents over long timescales

of course theres the possibility of technology to improve standards of living, but the history of industrialization is also the history of the political control over the form and function of tech. the problem with AI as we are is that the timescale of capital is much longer than of people

given a long enough timescale the mundane things in life are the decisive ones

but of course

I think its time for bot blocklists

be thankful. not everyone has the conviction that their inner life and perceptions are meaningful and worth sharing with others in such depth and precision. personally, I contemplate what that means about our society and the times we live in

i know its like a trope now but i try to shift my focus towards being kind and not 'nice'. give your energy and consideration where you feel its warranted but treat it like what it is: a rare gift and delight. you can be moved to be generous in dispensing it but aren't obliged to do so

omg this is all so relatable idk ive just gotten used to the sense that i will be a polarizing person. but also in my 30s im realizing that theres no reason to explain so much because most people dont actually care enough to know the reasons for things

people are saying this