Technological Hell
The new masters are in our pockets
Two weeks ago, I shared a fictional text. It told the story of a man invaded by algorithms. At the end of the day, he wondered if he’d made even one decision that day.
With this way of living his life, his whole life is decided for him. He has lost all intentionality. He is technologically determined. One might even wonder if he’s still alive? Or is he just a lifeless automaton? The only breath of life in him is that which enables him to move.
This text is our future. Technology continues to invade us every day, and whatever we do today, there’s a technology for that.
And soon, even worse.
We won’t have to think anymore, because there’ll be an AI to do it for us.
No need to learn how to write.
No need to learn how to draw.
No need to learn anything.
And when it’s not AI, it’ll be machines doing it for you.
The part of the equation we forget is that we live under thriving capitalist regimes. Technology doesn’t serve your happiness, it serves profit.
So, the choices you’re presented with seem to be the right ones. The best for you. But for the most part, they are calculated to maximize your engagement and the profits of the various parties exploiting your information.
The interests of these algorithms are not aligned with yours.
They’re just siren songs.
I’m in a phase where I want to escape.
I want power back.
I want to choose.
Why should I?
Why not!
Maybe life is better when you choose how to lead it.
Maybe life is better when you’re not trapped by your own emotions every day.
I proceeded to the big uninstall.
Apps, useless social networks, video games, streaming…
Anything that can artificially create fake dopamine= delete.
It sounds dramatic and overreacts.
But it’s just a succession of thoughts that led me to this.
How much time have I wasted on useless scrolls? No idea, but far too much.
How many series have I binge-watched like a zombie? Far too many.
How many times have I shortened my sleep so that I could watch a little later or play a little later?
Some people might say, “But you had fun.”
No, not really. I existed. I anesthetized my brain. And there’s nothing left of these frenetic sessions. Except the regret of having wasted my life.
I don’t aim to go to extremes.
I’ll still watch series or movies from time to time.
Just more consciously. It will be chosen. Fully. Not after: “You may like this?” And the Pavlovian response of mechanical behavior.
Our century is undergoing a great paradox. We’re in the most comfortable of times. And massively, many of our nations have never been so unhappy. The consumption of antidepressants is exploding.
Our lives are losing meaning. And if you ask me why.
A small part of the answer lies in the digitalization of our lives.
Technology has achieved the feat of allowing us to be alone together.
Every year, technology wrings a little more power from us.
Man is born free.
Without a master.
He's not meant to be a slave.
Especially not a slave to a screen.
The monetization of the Internet has isolated us from the intended initial purpose of creating globalized connection. Before the invasion of these big companies, (which figured out how to make money out of our attention and time) the inet was a pretty decent place for introverts to connect. Now, we don't have freedom to choose and connect freely: Facebook used to be a place to find out what was going on with my friends all around the world. Now, I am bombarded by useless noise trying to sell me something, I just ran away in horror because I cannot find them anymore. Algorithms are the hounds of capitalism, designed to block us from meaningful, soul enriching content. They worked for their lords, to make them money. I sound extremist, but we are all very lonely in this world if synthetic engagement.
Technology gives us cheap dopamine