Two things strike me when reading this excerpt from Orwell’s 1984:

1. Orwell warns for the dangers of any totalitarian regime
2. Orwell states that gambling is mostly filling the minds of the people

 

On the first point we must bear in mind the timeframe Orwell wrote his dystopian novel. It was mostly a warning against totalitarian regimes, the omni-present government. The ramifications are well known.

 

In present times accusations of an all-controlling elite are swelling even more than usual. In all aspects of life, one sees the influence of some elitist. I find this rather peculiar. To me it feels as the same mechanism as religion. The cause of an unwanted reality lies not within my influence so it must be the work of a greater power, therefore absolving me of any responsibility to actively address this. Another response we see quite frequently is over-aggressive behaviour (like playing in a Blackmetal band) trying to dominate the selected culprit. This is in fact the same mechanism, but to me it feels even more ridiculous. You are trying to get to the position of “elitist” hence being even worse than the original mofo’s. It all comes down to insecurity, lacking responsibility for your own actions and awareness of your surrounding world. In defence of Blackmetal, we try to be over-aggressive in a socially awkward but mostly legally accept fashion.

 

That’s were the second point comes to mind. We transformed from a “gambling species” to a species that needs a level of security that is completely unreasonable. We (in majority) freeze, fight or flee in the face of a serious challenge. It feels like freezing and fleeing are winning from fighting.

It that sense it is way easier to control the masses in the present day. Just keep the challenges and crisis piling up.

This could be a reason why the “elitists” are not that intelligent anymore. We as a people need more and more confirmation of our survival, so throw in a little chaos, pretend to know the answer (usually by just shouting a lot of one-liners), and the masses will follow your degenerate arse, or scatter around ferally which is just as fine if the keep away from your interests. And if they do act against your elitist interest, you bomb the crap out of them.

The rise of AI doesn’t help the levels of intelligence of any group in society and will propel the degeneration of both the horde and the Sheppard.

 

Ray Kurzweil (a well-known American inventor, futurologist and entrepreneur) amongst others argues that advances in artificial intelligence, nanobots, and brain-cloud backups could enable people to become eternal by 2030. He sees life expectancy rising annually as nanobots fix cellular damage and connect human brains to the cloud. Kurzweil’s optimism originates from his successful technical predictions, such as portable computers and AI.
Although nanotechnology and brain-computer interfaces have shown promise in the medical field, Kurzweil's vision of improved brainpower and memory backups is still a ways off. His prediction is consistent with the AI-driven "singularity" that he believes will occur by 2045.

 

Implying that AI doesn’t follow the evolutionary principles of survival of the fittest. If it does, then the current generation will see the day that the degeneration of man will level with the development of artificial neural systems, in essence making human existence obsolete for the survival of AI. At that point we are done in our current form of existence. At best we would evolve in a form of symbiosis with artificial intelligence, which is also what Kurzweil predicts. That will be the point in time when we cannot speak of artificial-non-biological intelligence anymore.

It makes you wander …

 

When you ask ChatGPT how humanity will end, you get the following answer:

 

There are many theories and possibilities about how humanity might end, and while we can't predict the future with certainty, here are some of the most discussed scenarios:

1. Environmental Collapse: Ongoing climate change, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity could lead to severe environmental changes, such as extreme weather, rising sea levels, and food scarcity, which might make life unsustainable for humans.
2. Nuclear War: The possibility of nuclear conflict between nations could lead to widespread devastation, either through direct attacks or through nuclear winter, which could severely disrupt agriculture and make the planet uninhabitable.
3. Pandemics: As demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, infectious diseases can spread rapidly across the globe. A more deadly and contagious virus could potentially cause mass fatalities and destabilize societies.
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Risks: The rise of advanced AI and autonomous systems could lead to unintended consequences, including the potential for an AI-driven existential threat. This could occur if AI surpasses human intelligence and acts in ways that are harmful to humanity.
5. Asteroid Impact: A large asteroid or comet impact could cause catastrophic damage to the planet, including widespread fires, tsunamis, and a "nuclear winter" effect, which could wipe out life on Earth.
6. Resource Depletion: Overconsumption of natural resources like fossil fuels, water, and rare earth metals could lead to scarcity, economic collapse, and the collapse of global civilizations.
7. Supervolcanoes: A massive volcanic eruption, such as the eruption of a supervolcano, could release enormous amounts of ash and gases into the atmosphere, drastically altering the climate and potentially leading to mass extinction.
8. Cosmic Events: Events such as a nearby supernova or gamma-ray burst could have devastating effects on Earth, although such events are exceedingly rare.
9. Technological Accidents: Advances in technologies such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and particle physics could potentially lead to accidents or misuse, with catastrophic consequences if experiments or developments go awry.
10. Global Social or Political Collapse: Long-term economic inequality, social unrest, or political instability could destabilize global systems, leading to widespread conflict, societal breakdown, or even collapse of civilization.

While each of these scenarios is theoretical, the most likely end would likely come from a combination of these factors, especially if humanity doesn't take action to mitigate risks such as climate change, nuclear proliferation, or the misuse of technology.

 

It’s kind of badass to list yourself as one of the potential risks to mankind’s end.

Maybe AI adopted more of the Blackmetal essence then we anticipated.

 

ISB