Laws, Social Media, and the Panopticon

[P3nT4gR4m]

In futurist circles there's concept of "uploading" - via futuristic process-X, transfer your mind and thoughts to a machine. Lot of ideas and speculation on what X might be but Facebook isn't a popular one.

Thing is, the more I look, X is already underway but it's not going to work out how the futurists think it is. Not so much uploading as offloading. En masse, we're abanding critical thinking, in favour of a quick meme that looks shareable and sounds about right. No more investigation required. I have a suitable opinion. "Like". "Share"

Facebook is working on a new ghost in the machine. Called "M" after Judy Dench in the Bond movies. They're calling it an assistant but what is it assisting with? Thinking. All that tricky, calorie intensive, brain revving that natural selection likes to keep down to an economical minimum. Facebook already has the opinions you need, on any subject with enough likes to be deemed important. Next step is having those opinions for you, so you don't have to bother.

Tune out. Turn off. Drop the mic. 

[Junkenstein]

Next step is having those opinions for you, so you don't have to bother.

This feels likely. Add in money and sponsorship and you've have environmental/labour activists "liking" Coca-cola and such. Easy to implement and very useful to use to discredit them at a later date.


I've had a few conversations about this now and what I'm starting to lean towards is that largely social media platforms don't represent you, at best they represent the image and/or brand you are trying to convey. You are not "you" on these things, you are mainly showing your most favourable sides/opinions to gain social currency. 

While this isn't all users, it does seem to cover the vast majority, particularly those that re-post content from others.

[LMNO]

I see it as just another way to signal your tribe allegiance.  Blue Team, Red Team, Punk Team, Metal Team, Team Tay-Tay, Team Bey, Team Vegan, Team GunsGoBoom, Team Privilege, Team SJW, etc, etc, etc.

High School didn't end ended; it never has.  It's just easier for people to see it now than it was before.

[minuspace]

Thing is, the more I look, X is already underway but it's not going to work out how the futurists think it is. Not so much uploading as offloading. En masse, we're abanding critical thinking, in favour of a quick meme that looks shareable and sounds about right. No more investigation required. I have a suitable opinion. "Like". "Share"

FakeBook:  outsourcing minds to snatch booties since 1999