Courage is normally associated with a threat to our physical safety. The typical cool bravery-under-fire scenes in war movies. Grit, or perseverance is needed to keep on going in the face of adversity. Why do we need them in a changing world?
Because many of the changes are going to need brave people to stand up and start conversations about the effect of those changes on our lives.
It takes courage to ask questions when the “experts” politicians, the media and public opinion all promote drastic changes as the answer to all of mankind’s problems.
Courage to resist surrendering control of our lives
Let’s use Automation and Artificial Intelligence as an example.
This was sent to me yesterday by a friend. It’s been doing the rounds of email in boxes so skip ahead if you have already seen it.
One more reason not to trust Big Business:
CALLER: Is this Gordon’s Pizza?
GOOGLE: No sir, it’s Google Pizza.
CALLER: I must have dialed a wrong number. Sorry.
GOOGLE: No sir, Google bought Gordon’s Pizza last month..
CALLER: OK. I would like to order a pizza.
GOOGLE: Do you want your usual, sir?
CALLER: My usual? You know me?
GOOGLE: According to our caller ID data sheet, the last 12 times you called
you ordered an extra-large pizza with three cheeses, sausage, pepperoni,
mushrooms and meatballs on a thick crust.
CALLER: OK! That’s what I want …
GOOGLE: May I suggest that this time you order a pizza with ricotta, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives on a whole wheat gluten-free thin crust?
CALLER: What? I detest vegetable!
GOOGLE: Your cholesterol is not good, sir.
CALLER: How the hell do you know!
GOOGLE: Well, we cross-referenced your home phone number with your medical records. We have the result of your blood tests for the last 7 years.
CALLER: Okay, but I do not want your rotten vegetable pizza! I already take medication for my cholesterol.
GOOGLE: Excuse me sir, but you have not taken your medication regularly.
According to our database, you only purchased a box of 30 cholesterol tablets
once, at Drug RX Network, 4 month ago.
CALLER: I bought more from another drugstore.
GOOGLE: That doesn’t show on your credit card statement..
CALLER: I paid in cash.
GOOGLE: But you did not withdraw enough cash according to your bank statement.
CALLER: I have other sources of cash.
GOOGLE: That doesn’t show on your last tax return unless you bought them using an undeclared income source, which is against the law.
CALLER: WHAT THE HELL!!!
GOOGLE: I’m sorry, sir, we use such information only with the sole intention of
helping you.CALLER: Enough already! I’m sick to death of Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and all the others. I’m going to an island without internet, cable TV, where there is no cell phone service and no one to watch me or spy on me.
GOOGLE: I understand sir, but you need to renew your passport first.
Sadly, all the skills, technology and information gathering expertise necessary for this to become reality are already available. The only thing protecting us from this nightmare scenario is a supposed firewall between big business and government databases.
I am certain that barrier is soon going to disappear when various levels of government realise how easy it will be to control populations by collaborating with the likes of Google and Amazon. Being prudent about what you post on Facebook will not be enough to protect you. Big brother will know when what and how often you buy anything online and which sites you visit.
Having the information is bad enough. The real danger is what will the possessors of that information will do with it.
A Guaranteed Basic income is being proposed in many countries because of the belief that automation and artificial intelligence will destroy huge numbers of jobs. I wrote about it in this post.
I also wrote about my concerns with a cashless society in this post.
Courage to take a stand
The unrestricted sharing of our buying and internet surfing habits, allows any organisation with all our data to see exactly what we are doing, when and with who and how we are paying for it.
Couple that to dependence on a card with a chip or phone to pay for goods and services electronically and we have surrendered all our decision-making freedom to someone else. Either human or Artificial.
Finally, render a large segment of the population totally dependent on the government for every cent of its members’ income through some form of guaranteed basic income payments and total control is almost complete.
That might sound like a good idea to combat crimes of, identity theft, money laundering and tax evasion. However, armed with that power, the holder of our data can stop individuals or groups that offend it in any way from travelling, buying food, paying for shelter or anything at all. That’s without dispatching a single armed security force member, starting up a patrol car or populating a courtroom with judges and prosecutors.
For the victim and his or her family, it could mean starvation and homelessness without recourse to the law or legal representation.
As long as cash is still legal tender, we keep some flexibility and a means of survival. Without cash, other media of exchange will emerge. Historically, gold other precious metals or gemstones have been used. Digital currencies like Bitcoin offer some protection but are useless without internet access which would be one of the first services to be denied when all our information and habits are on file.
It is going to take a lot of courage from a lot of people to take a stand against losing control of our freedom to make choices for ourselves. It’s going to take grit and perseverance to keep on taking that stand.
Am I being paranoid? I do not think so. I have experienced at great cost what happens when a government decides to abandon the rule of law and deprive people of their assets. More brilliant minds than mine are pondering on the downside of automation and artificial intelligence.
In this article in The Guardian, Elon Musk believes artificial intelligence is the biggest existential threat mankind faces.
Many other business leaders are finding the courage to speak about the dangers ahead.
Will you have the courage to protect your independence?
courage graphic by Alexas_Photos / Pixabay
resistance graphic by Johnhain / Pixabay