Post #1918838

Here's a little thought experiment. Just imagine we made a machine. A little one. So small it fits in your pocket. And what this machine will do is show you a thing. Words, or pictures, or videos. At any time, you can make it show you different words, pictures, or videos. What the machine will do is monitor your reaction to the thing it shows you. If you react, it will show you more of that thing. Any reaction. Good. Bad. Happy. Sad. Angry. Concerned. You get more of that thing. Conversely, if you make it show a different thing, or stop using the little machine, then it will show you less of that thing. Over time, it will calculate what things are the most likely to make you react. It will then show you the things it calculates you are most likely to react to. It may be a truth. It may be a lie. Whatever you react to. Whatever makes you keep looking at the little machine instead of putting it away. Eventually it will find the things you can't stop looking at, that you can't help reacting to. And it will show you more and more of those things. Maybe that thing will be puppies and kittens. Maybe it will be a message that some people who are different to you in some way are a threat and deserve violence. You will know that the next thing the little machine will show you will be a thing you want to look at, and will react to. You won't be able to help but look at the little machine. Often, real life will be less interesting than the thing the little machine shows you. Now imagine almost everyone in the world has a little machine. Each one showing them things they react to. Some people will make their little machine show them great works of literature and music. Some people will make their little machine show them art and philosophy. Or beautiful music. Some people will make their little machine give them tips that are useful. Some people will make their little machine show them news, or sport, or celebrities, or puppies, or makeup, or pretty dresses. It may be true. It may be a lie. Whatever they react to. All the time. Always. Often, real life will be less interesting than the thing the little machine shows them. Some people will make their little machine reenforce their prejudice. Some people will make the little machine show them their darkest fears and fantasies. Some people will make their little machine show them messages saying that other people deserve cruelty and violence. It may be true. It may be a lie. Whatever they react to. All the time. Always. All people will be shown things they react to. Healthy people. Sick people. Traumatised people. Generous people. Selfish people. Narcissistic people. Prejudiced people. The little machine will always show them things it calculates they'll react to. When they're happy. Or sad. Or angry. Or hurt. Or frustrated. Or scared. Or lonely. Or lost. Or isolated. It may be true. It may be a lie. Whatever they react to. All the time. Always. The people who made the little machine get wealthier the more people look at the little machine. They didn't care what kind of world they were creating by making people constantly react. It may be true. It may be a lie. Whatever people react to. All the time. Always. The people react because they feel things when they see the things on the little machine. But just imagine what kind of world would be created by people who feel things because they're constantly seeing things that made them react? And that's the world you live in. But is it the world you want? How do you react? How do you feel? #tech #technology #socialmedia #meta #Facebook #Instagram #twitter #X #Google #openai #ChatGPT #Google #Microsoft #apple #capitalism #politics #socialism #government #society #auspol #uspol #musk #ElonMusk