There are probably many moments when our minds would rather drift off into fantasy rather than deal with the reality of global calamities. Who could blame us?
But author Jonathan Taplin, who is director emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California, argues that a fantasy world is deliberately built around and for us while democracy and the commons are stolen from under our feet.
In The End of Reality: How 4 Billionaires are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto, Taplin outlines how the Technocrats Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Elon Musk (SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter/X), Peter Thiel (Paypal, Facebook) and Marc Andreesen (Netscape, Bitcoin) are intent on dismantling democracy for their own profits by creating a fantasy world for us based on virtual reality, avatars, Marvel Movies, trips to Mars, transhumanism and/or living to age 200.
John Locher / The Associated Press files
Cutline TK
As Taplin suggests,The Technocrats have risen to levels of previously unimagined wealth while providing tools to autocrats around the world. At the same time, they are centrally focused on using public money to fund space exploration and other strange projects, while some, like Musk and Thiel, seem eager to fan the flames of fascism.
And for Taplin, Andressen, Musk, Thiel and Zuckerbergs disruptions of our notions of both capitalism and democracy are only going to increase in the coming years. This will usher in more autocratic states, an expansion of the social class he refers to as the Precariat, and a fantasy world that has all of us spouting hateful things online, betting on sports online and creating more perfect forms of ourselves.
Leaning on George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, Taplin builds the case that our society is at a tipping point where we are eating each other alive while these four, and others, are becoming immeasurably richer at our expense. Taplin calls for a greater collective criticality where we ask ourselves if investing trillions in virtual reality or going to Mars will add to the collective wealth of society, through real, productive growth.
Through contemporary bread and circuses, billionaires are attempting to create a utopian society for themselves, while dangling this utopia in front of our eyes through Captain America, TikTok stars and the Metaverse. Taplin takes the reader through a deep dive of each of the Technocrats, outlining how each grew up focused on science fiction and in contexts where social interaction and healthy relationships were devoid from their experience.
In 2023, our digital social networks will have been created by those who have not developed significant and non-digital social relationships and by four men who would rather live in a utopian world where their awkwardness is shielded. Meta and the Metaverse to Taplin are stark examples of how the Technocrats are engineering a more perfect social network and society while providing insidious forces a platform and space to dull our criticality.
For Taplin, Meta and similar social networks are at best an opioid for Gen Z and at worst a stomping ground for neo-fascism. As he argues, Meta proposes complete elimination of the boundaries between truth and fiction, between real and unreal. This is what Trumpism and fascism produce and need. For Taplin, Zuckerbergs company has almost destroyed civil society and our democracy.
So where is the hope? Taplin suggests we have two choices: succumb or wake up. Waking up involves not letting our children use VR, not buying into cryptocurrency, standing up to the misuse of public dollars for childish space fantasies. And, above all, getting back to humanism, the humanities and the arts. It is within these where revolution and healthy social networks and societies are created.
The End of Reality
For educators, the examination of the Technocrats is an opportunity for learners to fully reflect on the forces that are fully engineered to dissuade them from reality. From Instagram, YouTube and Marvel movies (Taplins rant on Marvel is worth the price of the book alone) to TikTok, are young people able to understand the negative impact the fantasy world has on individuals and our relationships with others?
Educators (and thats all adults): begin with Orwell and Huxley with our teens, and then have them fully investigate the Technocrats. Have them challenge the inevitability of a bleak and engineered modernity. Have them imagine the possibilities that reside in the exciting notion that The brilliance of democracy is that it allows for improvisation, the greatest power of the creative spirit.
Matt Henderson is superintendent of Winnipeg School Division.
See the original post:
Virtual insanity Winnipeg Free Press - Winnipeg Free Press
- Transhuman's Amanda Johnstone on the future of AI and emotions - The Examiner - January 27th, 2024 [January 27th, 2024]
- Transhumanism: billionaires want to use tech to enhance our abilities the outcomes could change what it means to ... - The Conversation - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- The Nazis and Their Transhumanist Delusion - Discovery Institute - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Conspiracy Theories, Some with Antisemitic Roots, Crop Up in 2023 ... - ADL - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- 10 of The Wildest Fictional Drugs from Transmetropolitan - Screen Rant - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Sam Altman's Second Coming Sparks New Fears of the AI Apocalypse - WIRED - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- The New Progressive Nihilism - Compact Mag - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Is Laughter All Weve Got? On David Baddiels The God Desire - lareviewofbooks - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Luxury industry set to reach $1.6 trillion in sales this year - Glossy - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- SKILLET's JOHN COOPER Explains Why He Believes 'Queer ... - BLABBERMOUTH.NET - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- DC This Week Roundup - Superheroes Across Space and Time - GeekDad - November 28th, 2023 [November 28th, 2023]
- Transcending Time. The Transhumanist Challenge To | by ... - Medium - October 31st, 2023 [October 31st, 2023]
- From Trans Healthcare to Transhumanism: Reality vs. Conspiracy at ... - Colorado Times Recorder - October 31st, 2023 [October 31st, 2023]
- Opinion | The Reactionary Futurism of Marc Andreessen - The New York Times - October 31st, 2023 [October 31st, 2023]
- Pursuing the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare - Cedars-Sinai - October 31st, 2023 [October 31st, 2023]
- Curse God and Die, They Said. It Will Be Fun, They Said - The Stream - October 31st, 2023 [October 31st, 2023]
- Cardinal Hollerich: The openness of the Synod on Synodality 'will ... - Catholic World Report - October 31st, 2023 [October 31st, 2023]
- Interview In praise of failure - Morning Star Online - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- I used Grimes' AI vocals to make a hit here's how I did it - NME - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- ric Sadin and the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence - Exploring your Mind - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Crazy Town: Episode 73. How Longtermism Became the Most ... - Resilience - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Why Warhammer 40K fans keep arguing about the Emperors terrible sons - Polygon - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Are We Co-Creators with God? - Answers In Genesis - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Why Is Everything 'Punk' Now? - TheGamer - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Let 3 from Croatia: "We want to heal the world from hate and stupidity" - Eurovisionworld - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Prominent Dutch Philosopher and Convert Charts Her Path to the Catholic Church - National Catholic Register - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Is There a Best Way to Think About the Future of Earth? - Inverse - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- 'Infinity Pool' Review: Skarsgrd and Goth Star in Disgusting and Hypnotic Horror - The Indiependent - March 24th, 2023 [March 24th, 2023]
- What is transhumanism? | GotQuestions.org - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Elon Musk & Neuralink to start human trials of his computer chip brain ... - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Transhuman Space - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Dr. Carrie Madej: why vaccines alter the human DNA - Stop World Control - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Transhuman online - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Transhumanist Bill of Rights Version 3.0 - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Transhuman Aliens - TV Tropes - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- DARPA's New Biotech Division Wants To Create A Transhuman Future - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Transhuman Space | GURPS Wiki | Fandom - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Transhuman Overhaul [Half-Life 2] [Mods] - GameBanana - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Transhumanism: The Final Frontier? - Evening Standard - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Former GOP candidates push baseless QAnon conspiracy theory that Hurricane Ian was created to punish DeSantis - The Independent - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Is the body key to understanding consciousness? - The Guardian - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Cyborg Sapiens Book Opening Window on Future Presented in Athens - The National Herald - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- America embraces the fourth industrial revolution - The Post - UnHerd - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- You need to watch 2022's best video game adaptation ASAP - Inverse - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Top 10 Magic Churches Through Which To Work Out My Real World Feelings About Religion - Hipsters of the Coast - Hipsters of the Coast - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Dr. Carrie Madej Out of Georgia | American Media Periscope - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Not Applicable Website for Not Applicable label and artists ... - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Review: BBC PROMS AND THE ENO at Printworks London - Broadway World - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- The fruit of the transhumanist project will not be a better human being - TVP World - September 2nd, 2022 [September 2nd, 2022]
- WEF agenda envisions an augmented society ruled by Internet of Bodies, digital ID - The Sociable - September 2nd, 2022 [September 2nd, 2022]
- Prebunking Disinformation | prebunking disinformation - Patheos - September 2nd, 2022 [September 2nd, 2022]
- What Is A Human? - The American Conservative - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Stray - A simple and focused game in a world of games that go astray - Flayrah - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- McDermott: Pinner may have been crackers, but in today's GOP, she was practically normal - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Axiom Verge 2 The Games Sole Creator, Thomas Happ, Discusses How Science Fiction Impacted Bot... - Happy Gamer - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- From Silk Road to NFTs: Why Musician and Artist Tycho Sees Web3 as the Endgame - Decrypt - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- The Three-City Problem of Modern Life - WIRED - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Transhumanists want to upload their minds to a computer. They really won't like the result - Big Think - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- A fake salsa band ignites the rebirth of an old New York record label - EL PAS USA - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- WISeKey Strengthens its Technology Portfolio Across Cybersecurity, IoT, NFT and the Metaverse - MarTech Series - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Artist Stelarcs creature comes to life at Science Gallery - The Age - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- The Wearable Cyberpunk Future on the Horizon - Hackster.io - August 2nd, 2022 [August 2nd, 2022]
- This Boulder art exhibit is beautiful and ugly all at once - The Denver Post - August 2nd, 2022 [August 2nd, 2022]
- WISeKey Announces the Launch of "The Code to The Metaverse" an Interactive Multi-Media Platform at Davos Event - GuruFocus.com - June 30th, 2022 [June 30th, 2022]
- The 10 best games of 2022 (so far) - The A.V. Club - June 30th, 2022 [June 30th, 2022]
- Transhuman Elon Musk: Your Brain Will Get Its Own USB-C Port - June 3rd, 2022 [June 3rd, 2022]
- SRMs Road to The US Open Seattle Part 6: Transhuman in the Box - June 3rd, 2022 [June 3rd, 2022]
- Elon Musk unveils Optimus: A humanoid robot where you will ... - Marca - June 3rd, 2022 [June 3rd, 2022]
- WISeKey Announces the Launch of The Code to The Metaverse an Interactive Multi-Media Platform at Davos Event - GlobeNewswire - June 3rd, 2022 [June 3rd, 2022]
- Secrets and Lies Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Ghosts of Illyria - Tor.com - May 23rd, 2022 [May 23rd, 2022]
- The Cyberpunk Genre Is Broken, And The Creator Of Citizen Sleeper Agrees - Kotaku - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- 4 Lessons the Era of Technology Has Taught Us - Sprout Wired - April 27th, 2022 [April 27th, 2022]
- danish pavilion unveils transhuman installation 'we walked the earth' at venice art biennale - Designboom - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- There Is No New Normal - Caffeinated Thoughts - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- Watch: First Trailer for Body Horror movie 'Crimes of the Future' - We Got This Covered - April 15th, 2022 [April 15th, 2022]
- 4 Female Digital Artists on the Future of NFTs and the Metaverse - HYPEBAE - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Returns in New Trailer - The Daily Beast - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- 'The Flight Attendant' Season 2 Trailer Introduces a Kaley Cuoco Multiverse - The Daily Beast - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- Re-Open the Floodgates of American Energy to Prevent an Oil-pocalypse - California Globe - April 4th, 2022 [April 4th, 2022]
- Extra, extra! News and tidings, March 30, 2022 Catholic World Report - Catholic World Report - March 31st, 2022 [March 31st, 2022]