Dancing with Robots
There is a scene I recall from the prescient 1983 film Wargames where the teenage protagonist is trying to get through to the American Ministry of Defence to warn them that their computer is about to create World War Three. However, he can’t get through and is given the runaround by the switchboard operator. In desperation, he begs, ‘Isn’t there a computer I can talk to?’ It is partly because of unexpected humour like this, juxtaposed with the very serious message it is imparting, that the film was so successful.
To stay with cinematic examples for now, Demolition Man made in 1993 is about a utopian society which deep freezes serious criminals cryogenically rather than executing them. Accidentally a dangerous criminal is unfrozen and proceeds to wreak havoc. With a society that has grown soft with ease of life and political correctness, he can make his way through it like a hot knife through butter. Of course, they have to unfreeze a maverick police officer from the past in order to deal with the situation. The strange thing is, both the criminal and the cop bring a surge of life into the society that had become limp. The bad guy is bad but you also feel some sympathy for him.
I mention these entertaining films because with the march of AI data centres and a general hopelessness which people can feel, that sense of being insignificant in the face of our loony tech overlords, it seems important to respond with life and humour. I enjoyed a recent rant from Frank Skinner (who also features in my previous post coincidentally) that smartphones have taken a lot of creativity out of discussions, where you could talk all sorts of imaginary BS and get away with it. As the title of his article goes in The Observer ‘There’s no joy an idiot with a smartphone can’t kill.’ I appreciated his nostalgia for what he considers a sort of folk art in lively debate, and his line: ‘The smartphone is the antithesis of the Brain Gym. It does all the work for you.’
End Times Fascism is a new book by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor. I have relied on Klein for a breath of common sense in the midst of great lunacy in the past. Her Doppelganger book helped me come to terms with the pandemic and its aftershock, and it sits neatly on my shelf alongside a book by Naomi Wolf – an erudite joke that some will understand. (Ask your smartphone for the connection!) This new book explores the ‘new, apocalyptic alliance of religious fundamentalists, billionaire Silicon Valley tech kings and ethno-nationalists’, as they summarise on its Penguin webpage. I haven’t read it yet but am pleased to see that even this dissection of the ‘doom loop’ ends with productive and creative ideas of how to get out of it. I’m pretty sure one of the solutions will be to kick up a fuss when a data centre attempts to set up in your backyard, sucking all the water out the land and, in return, flooding it with toxins.
One may infer from all this, a luddite reaction to the new technology. On the contrary, I know it has plenty to offer. What concerns me is how ungrounded it is, created by men who have probably never planted a potato in their lives. Furthermore, it reminds me of the Indian saying that the mind is a great servant, but a terrible master. We are in danger of allowing our extended mind to become that master, a truly terrible one. The mystic Maharishikaa speaks of us being turned into AI bots, yet insists that those who are in touch with the Truth within should have no fear.1 Another notable teacher of our time Eckhart Tolle has a characteristic mischievious glint in his eye as he states ‘So far my iPhone has not become conscious. Every day I look at it and say, “No, not yet.”’ 2
So how to ensure that we remain the masters rather than the servants? Well, everyone has their own journey and their own awareness, but for me personally two small, hopefully humorous, anecdotes spring to mind.
Firstly, a while back I was being besieged by flat-earthers who were adamant that they were right, despite me insisting that I lived by the sea and have watched large ships slip below the curved horizon in the distance. However, I enjoy lively debates and value contradictory opinions, particularly if they make me question what I really do know. So I watched several flat earth theories on YouTube. The problem was when I searched for the counterpoint i.e. the standard spherical Earth model, YouTube had already identified me as a flat earther and only supplied evidence that supported that. This wasn’t science, it was an echo chamber. It was a loop I couldn’t get out of at the time, though I have managed since.
I came to realise the nature of the YouTube algorithm was quite basic yet, paradoxically, could really surprise one. That is, it provides feeds that are too obvious and quite wrong, then suddenly – as if in a flash of realisation – it comes up with something quite brilliant. I have no idea why it thought I would like the Mexican heavy metal band The Warning, as I never actually listen to that genre, but now I’m completely sold on this particular group at least. And it has led me to other enriching avenues. Thank you, algorithm! My way now of getting it to work for me is to be very precise with what I’m looking for, but also be open to unexpected delights.
Netflix provided a different challenge. I get streaming channels to work for me by subscribing for a month or two, watching what I want during that time, then unsubscribing. That way I don’t get lulled in. But early on with Netflix, my problem was that its algorithm’s suggestions were complete nonsense. Then I realised the issue was that my taste was too eclectic, it couldn’t identify common factors in my selections. So I decided to take action.
I created three profiles: me, my African-American wife Aaliyah and our ten-year old daughter Tatiana. I very carefully told the algorithm what our varying tastes were: action movies and thrillers for me, rom-coms plus anything with Queen Latifah for Aaliyah – we both liked documentaries and art house movies – and mostly cartoons like DC Supergirls and Teen Titans Go! for Tatiana.
Everything was fine after that. The algorithm suggestions made sense and I could try the appropriate ones for whatever I was in the mood for. Of course, the only problem then was ending up with a family to take care of. That Tatiana could be a right handful! It is now many years later though, she has gone to college, and there are only two profiles with our recent subscription. Life has become much simpler, though we do miss her at times.
Notes
1 To watch the Maharishikaa darshan:
2 To watch the Eckhart Tolle lecture:
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