Author: marc (Page 4 of 60)

John Oliver recently ran a story on homeowner associations (HOAs). The story was centered on the worst aspects of that particular – and almost universally despised – facet of suburban life.

I generally agree, and a selling point of the house in which I currently live was that it is not associated with an HOA.

But …

I just wanted to present a bit of a counterpoint. On the one hand, a house with a staid, conservative façade will hardly be noticed in an outlandish Miami neighborhood. But on the other, a garish and colorful house among a sea of bland and stately houses.

There is a reason for aesthetic standards.

But …

When I lived on a rural backroad (and prior to the advent of civilian-use GPS), my home was very hard to find. We eventually figured out an easy-to-follow set of instructions. These directions were basically as follows:

1. [blah]
2. [blah]
3. [blah]
4. Then, when you get to this *god-awful* green house, take a right.
5. [blah]

No one ever failed to find my house.

Since the recent popularization of large language model artificial intelligence applications, voices have sprung up stating one answer or the other to the question, “Is AI dangerous?”

The answer is an obvious, “Yes.”

The variety of answers helps muddle this in a way that almost seems by design.

Propaganda has a long history. The overarching goal is to inform (sometimes disinform) selectively in a manner intended to induce an emotional response. It may be spread for good, for evil, or anywhere in between.

Propaganda has historically been spread by two sorts of people: activists and shills. Shilling – the informational equivalent of prostitution – has a downside. The sort of person who knowingly spreads disinformation for personal profit is not generally trustworthy. As we move along the continuum from “neutral” towards “evil,” the ethical requirement moves from “morally questionable” towards “amoral.”

Propaganda in support of evil has always had a boundary. The number of amoral people (both activists and shills) capable of presenting propaganda in a believable manner is limited. As well, the extent to which an individual is willing to go is typically limited by an instinct for self-preservation. Criminal activities – such as actively calling for the murder of a particular out group – may bring consequences. For a bot, even the potential for consequences does not exist. Without the step of finding a reasonably charismatic amoral who presents a veneer of intelligence, a bottleneck is removed.

The skids have been greased, and we should expect a rapid descent. first deeper into kleptocracy, thence into an increasingly concentrated plutocracy, and – perhaps – ultimately culminating in a pure dictatorship.

Few of those stationed as saboteurs even try to give an impression of serving as honest brokers. Yet the corporate press continues to treat them as such.

Odd.

Whenever a news organization speaks of one of the vast cadre of judicial saboteurs are doing the job of interpreting the law, that organization is actively promoting the fiction that the saboteurs are somehow impartial.

From “subscription” for a [relatively] stable software suite to “tips,” which serve as a class demarcation to “toll roads” which serve as a subsidy for the non-poor, modern business models all push in the direction of the confidence game.