Lesswrong might be the only site on the internet where "mass-deployed BCI telepathy" is considered a more immediate threat to social cohesion than social media, propaganda or advertising.
It's a shame that today's "technologists" are eager to ignore the political axis of technology if it means they get to talk about ESP or Von Neumann machines. It's like I'm watching the field progress in reverse, transitioning from a crowd of self-righteous and skeptical consumers to a mystic and eschatological identity that eschews understanding.
mcphage•45m ago
> It's a shame that today's "technologists" are eager to ignore the political axis of technology if it means they get to talk about ESP
Your comment reads to me like a criticism of lesswrong, but the linked article is entirely about the political axis of a potential technology. Am I misunderstanding your comment?
bigyabai•12m ago
Their argument against BCI is that it will be used in government-mandated purity tests to forcibly rally their subjects. But that's a political objective, and one that you don't need mind control or ESP to achieve. We already have extremely effective social controls in the form of Twitter/X, daytime television and mass advertisement. What use is mind reading in a world where you already control what most people think?
Look at the Patriot Act, or any other military censor you choose. Same concept - we need to peek into people's private communications to determine if they're a terrorist! We need to scan their photo gallery to prevent them from abusing children! All are means to the same ends, the state wants to enforce absolute loyalty by sucking out any room for protest. Throughout history you can very easily ascertain that authoritarianism isn't restrained by a lack of mind control, for every life Oskar Schindler saved there's another 1,000 bodies buried in Babi Yar. The fact that ESP might have prevented those 1,000 lives from being saved somewhat glosses over the millions that were ostensibly genocided without using psychic domination.
bigyabai•1h ago
It's a shame that today's "technologists" are eager to ignore the political axis of technology if it means they get to talk about ESP or Von Neumann machines. It's like I'm watching the field progress in reverse, transitioning from a crowd of self-righteous and skeptical consumers to a mystic and eschatological identity that eschews understanding.
mcphage•45m ago
Your comment reads to me like a criticism of lesswrong, but the linked article is entirely about the political axis of a potential technology. Am I misunderstanding your comment?
bigyabai•12m ago
Look at the Patriot Act, or any other military censor you choose. Same concept - we need to peek into people's private communications to determine if they're a terrorist! We need to scan their photo gallery to prevent them from abusing children! All are means to the same ends, the state wants to enforce absolute loyalty by sucking out any room for protest. Throughout history you can very easily ascertain that authoritarianism isn't restrained by a lack of mind control, for every life Oskar Schindler saved there's another 1,000 bodies buried in Babi Yar. The fact that ESP might have prevented those 1,000 lives from being saved somewhat glosses over the millions that were ostensibly genocided without using psychic domination.