Tag: Big Tech

If Tucker Carlson Is So Worried About People Reading His Personal Shit — Wait Until He Hears About Tik-Tok


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

In a surreal turn of events, Tucker Carlson is now ranting about how the Biden Administration through the NSA is reading his “private emails.” Add this to how Fox News has turned on the U.S. Military in a rather abrupt fashion and it’s all very bonkers.

I think Carlson is spooked by something. A reporter somewhere is asking questions about something that makes him look bad and he’s freaking out, looking for some explanation for how they know what they know. So he’s blaming the NSA out of desperation, if nothing else. Or, the whole thing is just bad faith bullshit and he’s trying to recon something that is about to pop out in the near term.

Anyway, if Carlson is going to be all paranoid, he should at least be interesting about the idea that Tik-Tok, and Big Tech in general, may have the technology to read our fucking minds. While I don’t seriously think Big Tech can read our minds, they definitely have a spooky ability to figure me out in a very specific manner. Specific enough that I’d like bonkers Tucker Carlson to at least look into it and see what HE finds.

But, in the end, meh.

Tik-Tok’s ‘Algorithms’ Continue To Be Spooky


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Not a day goes by now that Tik-Tok doesn’t serve me content that is so narrow, so specific to me personally that it makes me sit up and take notice. Of course, I guess that’s the point. One of the most recent instances of this involved me looking at a model’s video on Instagram where she told people to follow her on Tik-Tok. I thought hard about this for a moment, then was ultimately not interested enough to write her Tik-Tok username down. I did not think anything more about it until that very model popped up in my Tik-Tok feed right on cue. I continue to have a lingering suspicions that it’s at least possible that one of three things is happening.

  1. Tik-Tok is far more intrusive than we imagine.
    If this explains how I saw that Instagram model’s Tik-Tok account after thinking really hard about her, then that’s something that, while aggravating, at least fits within the established computing paradigm. That’s something I can accept. Somehow, Tik-Tok is so intrusive that it was able to monitor my Instagram usage and noticed me pause on the Instagram model’s video telling me to follow her on Tik-Tok. All that’s probably a national security threat, but it’s still not that weird.
  2. Tik-Tok is using hard AI to figure me out.
    All this does is take the first option and supercharge it. This takes Tik-Tok’s words about the power of its “algorithms” at face value. All I’m noticing is Tik-Tok’s “algorithms” are so advanced that somehow they are able to infer from my online activity that I would like to follow that Instagram model on Tik-Tok. Again, this is severely troubling from a national security point of view, but it at least doesn’t sound nuts when you tell people about it at a bar.
  3. Tik-Tok is reading my mind in some way
    This, of course, is the most bonkers of all the options. But hear me out. What if the reason I go that model’s Tik-Tok account pushed to me so soon after seeing her Instagram post is I thought really hard about it. As such, when I thought hard for a moment about finding a pen to write down her account name, Tik-Tok’s Singularity technology, it’s “digital telepathy” picked up the concept and waited for me to use the service again so it could push me her account. This is, by far, the most dangerous of the three because that would mean the government of China, through Tik-Tok is able to monitor the minds of millions of Americans — many of them children. This also at least, in an abstract way, raises the prospect of an “inception” scenario where the Chinese government could not just monitor our minds, but implant information into them.

    Ok, that last bit was pretty insane, even for me. But it felt good to write it. Anyway, which one to I think is the right answer? It’s probably some sort of fuzzy area between 1 and 2. There’s no “soft Singularity” involved, it’s just that existing technology has reach the point where it’s really good at figuring out what’s going on in our minds via available information that we provide without thinking about it. At least, that’s what I hope is going on. If Big Tech really can read our minds, then, well, we’re kind of fucked.

Why Elon Musk’s ‘Neuralink’ Is Such A Dumb, Misguided Idea


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

This is so frustrating. Elon Musk wants to rummage around in my brain with something that requires drilling a hole in my head and hooking up directly to my wetware. I find this very dumb and misguided because Arthur C. Clarke in his book “3001: Final Odyssey” comes up with a far more practical — and less intrusive — answer: the mindcap.

Now, some context.

There’s evidence that Facebook has, at least, a patent on some sort of mind reading technology. And hardly a day goes by that I don’t use Tik-Tok and think its reading my mind in some way. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does happen, it’s very spooky.

As such, if it’s possible they’ve figured out a way to read my mind in some way via a non-contact solution, why not develop a form of that technology that involves a skullcap of some sort laced with electrodes (or whatever) that touches my skull and allows the same things we hope for with the Neuralink without the risk of accidently being given a lobotomy.

It seems very obvious to me that if you could sell people at $1,200 mindcap that skips the middle step of wearing MX (VR / AR) equipment. It definitely would aid in the adoption of such technology if you didn’t have to overcome the resistance to wearing bulky goggles and allowed people to “see” and “hear” media using their own minds.

But, go ahead Elon, keep drilling holes in people’s heads.

Tik-Tok Keeps Pushing Me ‘Spooky’ Content That Is Inexplicable Unless They’re Reading My Mind


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now, the thing I want to make absolutely clear is I fucking hate conspiracy theories. I think of them as the last refuge of the intellectually dishonest. The only reason why I keep ranting about the possibility that Big Tech like Facebook, Google and Tik-Tok may have the technology to read our minds is I use Tik-Tok and am startled by weird “co-incidences.”

So, there’s a reason for my seemingly bonkers and out of character interest in this particular “conspiracy theory.” It just seems at last possible that something akin to a secret “soft singularity” is taking place. What I mean by this is a number of proto-Singularity technologies are coming to a head without them being promoted by Big Tech. Already, we’re racing towards hard AI via automated cars.

The issue that keeps coming to the forefront of my mind about Tik-Tok specifically is while 99% of the “spooky” things I get pushed can be explained away pretty easily, there is that 1% that simply has no other explanation than maybe, just maybe, they have some way of reading our minds.

But, thankfully, I can make these observations in peace and quiet. I’m a total nobody and I daydream about such things in my little corner of the Internet without anyone caring. Though, I did learn when I was writing a lot about Alexa Chung a few years ago that if you write about anything enough online someone, somewhere will notice. Ugh.

Thankfully, that era in my life is over.

Now I’m obsessed with the novel and writing a breakout hit novel.

I have to admit that I find it very dumb that if there is some sort of “digital telepathy” at work right now that Big Tech won’t tell us about it so they can turn around and sell us $1,2000 “mindcaps” that skip the step of MX (AR / VR) and go directly to having some sort of “mind media” whereby you would see movies in your mind or hear music in your mind using your body’s own “wetware.”

That all sounds very fantastical, but as Arthur C. Clarke would say, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

A Real Life ‘Inception’ & The Dangers Of A Secret Soft Singularity


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Something occurred to me recently about the possibility of “digital telepathy.” Once you establish that Big Tech can read or minds (which is still in all honesty a dubious proposition) then you have to contemplate the idea that such technology might not be used just to sell us widgets better but it might be weaponized.

It might be reversed.

It might be a real-life “Inception.”

Why stop at just secretly reading people’s minds when you might do research to figure out how to implant ideas into people’s minds. It would take the usual subluminal ratfucking we all know about in the media to the next level. Actual concepts could be snuck into the audience of Tik-Tok, or Google or Facebook.

If you take this one step further, when fucking Mike Pompeo or Tom Cotton becomes president and we either have a civil war or an autocracy, I could imagine them using such technology to keep the masses docile.

But all that is really too surreal and Black Mirror or Halloween 3 for me.

That definitely seems more like stuff MI6 or the CIA might look into via DARPA. Being able to read people’s minds then use such technology to directly pop ideas into their heads is both deep and dangerous.

Yet, thankfully, that will never happen.

Right, right?

Another Spooky Tik-Tok Pushing of Strangely Relevant Content


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So, I went to a restaurant today and had some tequila. Then, today, on my Tik-Tok “For You Page” what do I get, but an extremely relevant video about, you guessed it…tequlia.

I don’t know. I just don’t know. It seems as though I’m being really paranoid about this — which I probably am — and, yet…it’s spooky.

The Secret Singularity


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It never occurred to me until now that a form of the Singularity may be a upon in secret. Or, put another way, Big Tech isn’t exactly going out of its way to tell the general public that some technologies that would be considered a part of the Singularity are already here and being used in ways that are changing people’s lives.

Take, for instance, automated cars.

What happens when hard AI arrives via cars…and we just accept it as a part of life like automated elevators? In other words, what if Big Tech cracks the nut of hard AI and does in a way meant to make us all shrug and continue to curse the meat?

For me, the main reason why this is unnerving is if Big Tech can figure out hard AI to make money, then an autocratic government could use it to control its population more effectively. Given it’s loudmouths like me that always run afoul of autocratic governments, the idea that President Pompeo or President Hawley might have access to hard AI to monitor domestic communication is not cool at all.

So, it’s at least possible that either we’ll find out about the Singularity when some sort of whistleblower pops out or something like hard AI will arrive via a Her-type personal assistant.

But I agree with Elon Musk — unregulated hard AI is probably one of the biggest dangers facing humanity. Too bad it may already be here in secret.

Elon Musk & A Potential Strategic Realignment of American Politics


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

A number of technological megatrends are coming to a head in, say, the next four or so years. I would propose that Elon Musk — if his dreams of automated semis come true — could personally cause a massive realignment in American politics.

The origins of that realignment are already there.

The Republicans, because of Trump, want to be the party of the volk. And, yet, it’s really the party of “German Industrialists,” if you will. But imagine 3 million high paying blue collar jobs go…poof!..at some point in the next four to 10 years when we no longer have any need for human truckers.

Then, you have the possibility that the Far Left and the Far Right of each party will become very interested in Neo-Ludditism and become their own party, while the moderate corporate-friendly parts of the two parties would fusion into a new party. This process would likely happen very fast — maybe within one or two presidential election cycles. Then something that the political class absolutely hates — a clear choice — would be presented to the electorate.

Voters would have a choice between an autocratic, anti-democratic, anti-technology party and the debris of everyone else. While given the reasons for why America is so very, very, very fucked there’s no stopping our march to autocracy, the rise of neo-Luddites might, at least, slow the process down.

But this is all very theoretical at the moment. It could be that I’m over thinking things and what I think is going to happen –we’re either going to be an autocracy or have a civil war — is what is going to happen.

Again, as I keep saying — get out while you still can.

No Good Will Come From Big Tech Hiding A ‘Soft Singularity’


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It seems as though there are three possibilities before us if what I fear is happening — a soft Singularity — is happening. One, somehow we find out and there’s a regular Luddite revolt against Big Tech, or we don’t find out. If we don’t find out, then either Big Tech subtly controls us or an autocratic government does.

So, it’s very easy to imagine President Mike Pompeo in 2025 using the power of a secret soft Singularity to track not only me down, but everyone I’ve spoken to about what a big piece of shit he is. It would be very easy for piece-of-shit President Pompeo to make me “vanish” using the information he’s gathered via the Soft Singularity.

Now, again, this is the point where I point out that for the time being the Deep State or “steady state” is probably the Good Guys in such a scenario. They’re not perfect — they’ve done plenty, PLENTY of shady shit — but if I had to make a choice between piece of shit Pompeo and the Steady State, I’m throwing my lot with the NSA.

Anyway, the point is, because of this secret soft Singularity, some crazy shit might happen without us realizing it. If the Chinese Government (Tik-Tok) and Big Tech (Google, Facebook) are rooting around in my mind right now there is going to come a point where they’re going to reach out and give people like me a “love tap” in the real world. Now, that sounds REALLY PARANOID.

And it is. It’s really fucking paranoid.

And I don’t even know what I mean in real terms.

But the longer soft singularity technology is being hidden, the more it’s worth to Big Tech to keep it that way. Thankfully, absolutely no one listens to me or respects me. So I could be literally telling you something that actually exists in the real world right now….and….absolutely nothing would happen.

I simply don’t have any proof. I have a bunch of hunches.

And I’m wrong a lot. Like all the fucking time.

The Human Factor: Automated Cars & Our New ‘Bumblebee’ AI Overlords


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I realized the power of Mark Zuckerburg’s vision for Facebook a few years back when I was walking around the campus of my college and it struck me that Facebook really is the college experience for everyone. When you walk to and from class everyday, you run into the same people and learn a little bit about them as you pass by them.

It’s the human factor that made Facebook what is today.

So, I read Robert Scoble’s very long post about automated cars and was left with some questions about human nature. While I think one day automated cars will be a mundane as elevators are today, it seems as though the real issue is we’re hurtling towards a “soft Singularity.”

In fact, I would say all the elements of a soft Singularity are already here. But for some reason, unlike the rise of the Internet, it seems as though The Powers That Be in Silicon Valley want to hide this soft Singularity from us. It definitely seems, from what the Scobleizer has written, that some form of hard AI is already pretty much here. It’s just not cognizant. Instead of a HAL 9000 that we interact with we have, well, enough AI in a car not to get into an accident.

From what Scoble has written, it seems to me as though should there be a Rise of The Machines, it will look a lot more like Her than the Terminator. What if hard AI was extremely sly about controlling us, say, through romantic connections via the Internet? (This is not my idea exclusively, but the result of a very interesting conversation with a deep tech thinker.)

Anyway, the point is, Silicon Valley is missing the forest for the trees when it comes to smart cars. What if smart cars go all I, Robot on us at some point in the future? If they’re hooked up to the Internet and each car has a hard AI…wow we wow wow. Human civilization won’t stand a chance.

That, in fact, has always been my problem with the Terminator franchise. How did SkyNet built the Terminators if the whole world was blown up? Why blow the world up at all? Why not lord over humanity and tell us what to do in far more subtle ways?

The only reason why any of this is any more than a phantasma, a daydream, is it seems from what Scoble has written that AI is here by way of smart cars. What happens next may not be up to us.