jupiter2643

The above article unpaywalled: https://archive.is/vkMoW

My remarks: So this all seems in line with the whole authoritarian push to extract all wealth and land from us all...

https://newrepublic.com/article/183971/jd-vance-weird-terrifying-techno-authoritarian-ideas

Our goal, in short, is a humane alternative to genocide. That is: the ideal solution achieves the same result as mass murder (the removal of undesirable elements from society), but without any of the moral stigma. Perfection cannot be achieved on both these counts, but we can get closer than most might think.

The best humane alternative to genocide I can think of is not to liquidate the wards—either metaphorically or literally—but to virtualize them. A virtualized human is in permanent solitary confinement, waxed like a bee larva into a cell which is sealed except for emergencies. This would drive him insane, except that the cell contains an immersive virtual-reality interface which allows him to experience a rich, fulfilling life in a completely imaginary world.

The virtual worlds of today are already exciting enough to distract many away from their real lives. They will only get better. Nor is productive employment precluded in this scenario—for example, wards can perform manual labor through telepresence. As members of society, however, they might as well not exist. And because cells are sealed and need no guards, virtualization should be much cheaper than present-day imprisonment.

I like virtualization because it can be made to scale. I don’t think there is any scenario under which San Francisco is burdened with more than a few thousand wards. Many other regions of the earth, however, contain large numbers of human beings whose existence may well prove an unequivocal liability to the owners of any ground on which they would reside. If so, they can be virtualized, creating giant human Wachowski honeycombs of former bezonians, whose shantytowns can be cleared and redeveloped as villas for retired oil-company executives.

Nice scarf!!!

Since wards are liabilities, there is no business case for retaining them in their present, ambulatory form. Therefore, the most profitable disposition for this dubious form of capital is to convert them into biodiesel, which can help power the Muni buses.

Okay, just kidding. This is the sort of naive Randian thinking which appeals instantly to a geek like me, but of course has nothing to do with real life. The trouble with the biodiesel solution is that no one would want to live in a city whose public transportation was fueled, even just partly, by the distilled remains of its late underclass.

However, it helps us describe the problem we are trying to solve. Our goal, in short, is a humane alternative to genocide. That is: the ideal solution achieves the same result as mass murder (the removal of undesirable elements from society), but without any of the moral stigma. Perfection cannot be achieved on both these counts, but we can get closer than most might think.

https://newrepublic.com/article/183971/jd-vance-weird-terrifying-techno-authoritarian-ideas

Thank you for this!

As a librewolf babe, I'm keeping an eye on this: https://codeberg.org/librewolf/issues/issues/2458

Tab grouping is so useful and something I've always had to resort to extensions for. Good for Firefox for this, can't wait for it to make its way to a browser that doesn't sell users data.

Romulan ale looking thicker than usual

Someone who based on their appearance is likely to be safe, friendly, or chill. Like if I'm somewhere and there's someone with pink hair and piercings, they're more likely to be cool with my deal.

How are y'all feeling about icecat?

I'm liking cwtch right now

I'm reminded of this:

Snowden added that people who use the "I have nothing to hide" line don't understand the basic foundation of human rights. "Nobody needs to justify why they 'need' a right," he said. "The burden of justification falls on the one seeking to infringe upon the right."

If one person chooses to disregard his right to privacy, that doesn't automatically mean everyone should follow suit, either. "You can't give away the rights of others because they're not useful to you," Snowden said. "More simply, the majority cannot vote away the natural rights of the minority."

We also see the willingness of companies like ring to hand over footage to law enforcement without the consent of the camera's "owner".

We see Facebook making shadow profiles for people who never signed up based on data from people who know them.

We see state attorneys general in the US subpeana apps that track periods to enforce anti-abortion measures.

Having nothing to hide falsely supposes a just system of governance. Data collected from you could put others at risk, and could put you at risk whenever the law decides.

Also... These companies mishandle our data all the time. The 2024 at&t data breach comes to mind.

How does simplex compare?

(e) prioritize investigations and take appropriate action to end child-abusive practices by so-called sanctuary States that facilitate stripping custody from parents who support the healthy development of their own children, including by considering the application of the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act and recognized constitutional rights.

What avenues currently exist to target sanctuary states?