

I’ve always thought that in the very long term there is hope, and I used to share your viewpoint entirely, but I’ve come to disagree with you. Whether we will live in a utopia or a dystopia depends entirely on politics, not technical solutions. Giving the public new technical solutions empowers the public in the very short term, but those who are in a position of control always have greater capability to utilize those same technical solutions than those who are not. Those in power also have the ability to shape the development of technical solutions to solidify their own position, either through investment in the R&D itself or through the legal system. Introduction of new technology ultimately has no long-term effect on the balance of power. What does have an effect is widespread, unified political movements. I don’t currently see any sign of that occurring, and the prospects for it occurring are actively getting worse, due largely to the influence of the same technology that was briefly liberating us. Unless everyone’s lives get so bad that we no longer have anything to lose, I don’t see that situation changing.









One time I brought my work laptop out to the park and connected to it through VNC via a smartphone in a cheap “augmented reality” head mounted concave mirror contraption that made it look like a large monitor. Worked surprisingly well, and the stares I got while working were hilarious.