did i hear Iain M. Banks? Because that sounds like Iain M. Banks.
"Don't fuck with the Culture. "
Fucks with the Culture
Gets the silent treatment for 2 millenia
Unfortunately, the Banksian vision of the future requires two things we haven't achieved: eternal benevolent dictatorship, and post scarcity. Furthermore, he also posits that for something like the Culture to emerge, civilizations need to be mobile (ships) in order to be unconquerable.
The closest we could do with current tech is some sort of Waterworld type thing in international waters with flotillas that are inherently sovereign. But the earth is small and it wouldn't last. Plus, nukes.
We're already post scarcity, we're just stuck on artificial scarcity for profit.
I'm kinda hoping there's a GCU already in orbit. If there is, and you see this, ship, I'm ready to be uplifted now.
Who's the eternal benevolent dictator of the Culture?
AI
No single Mind has dictatorial authority over the Culture though. I could see an argument for it being oligarchal or even a caste society. But I'm not following your reasoning on the enlightened dictatorship part. Could you elaborate?
The Minds do most of the work of controlling things. This is mostly administrative tasks. If they wanted to dominate, they're in a position to easily take over, but they have no wish to do so.
Minds are already the primary movers and shakers of Culture society, they don't need to take over, the status quo has already been aligned with their interests. Minds are created by other Minds performing essentially mental eugenics, the desire to dominate others would be a dangerous trait for them to let slip into the population.
I wish the left was more about doing that and less about social media drama.
Boomers continue to fuck over every progressive and leftist effort in the primaries.
I call it FAPCo
It's all dudes though
pansexual
Doesn't matter, man.
True that.
That Actually sounds really sick
Don't we have better communist role models than Lenin? How about Marx, Rosa Luxemburg or Karl Liebknecht?
Um, can confirm. We call it post-scarcity communism and is an ideal where everyone can get what they need (and plenty of extras to keep them happy and comfy) automatically printed for them, and we'd provide for the acceptance and safety of every behavior people are interested in, even those that are countercultural.
This is the togas and spires utopia that is used in political theory as a far-off ideal, though it doesn't necessarily have togas or crystal spires (much the way Mars colonies are signaled with domed cities on Mars)
What is interesting is how the capitalists don't really have a notion of a globalized ideal. They personally want to be rich and live in luxury, but also want a fiefdom teeming with obedient serfs. The stratification and labor is built into the ideology, even if they automate the bottom tiers, there will always be a laboring underclass that is required to suffer for the pleasure of the aristocracy.
Excuse me, but this is missing the ever-important "luxury" and "space" parts. I want my Star Trek future specifically, damn it!
(And yes, I recognize the irony of demanding that in 2024. But still...!)
God. What I was wouldn't do to be in that timeline.
That wasn't my plan before, but it is now.
The Right: Is it true that you're trying to ?
The Left: Well I wasn't before but I am now
did i hear Iain M. Banks? Because that sounds like Iain M. Banks.
"Don't fuck with the Culture. "
Unfortunately, the Banksian vision of the future requires two things we haven't achieved: eternal benevolent dictatorship, and post scarcity. Furthermore, he also posits that for something like the Culture to emerge, civilizations need to be mobile (ships) in order to be unconquerable.
The closest we could do with current tech is some sort of Waterworld type thing in international waters with flotillas that are inherently sovereign. But the earth is small and it wouldn't last. Plus, nukes.
We're already post scarcity, we're just stuck on artificial scarcity for profit.
Giant spaceship dwelling benevolent machine overlords? Tricky.
I'm kinda hoping there's a GCU already in orbit. If there is, and you see this, ship, I'm ready to be uplifted now.
Who's the eternal benevolent dictator of the Culture?
AI
No single Mind has dictatorial authority over the Culture though. I could see an argument for it being oligarchal or even a caste society. But I'm not following your reasoning on the enlightened dictatorship part. Could you elaborate?
The Minds do most of the work of controlling things. This is mostly administrative tasks. If they wanted to dominate, they're in a position to easily take over, but they have no wish to do so.
Minds are already the primary movers and shakers of Culture society, they don't need to take over, the status quo has already been aligned with their interests. Minds are created by other Minds performing essentially mental eugenics, the desire to dominate others would be a dangerous trait for them to let slip into the population.
I wish the left was more about doing that and less about social media drama.
Boomers continue to fuck over every progressive and leftist effort in the primaries.
I call it FAPCo
It's all dudes though
Doesn't matter, man.
True that.
That Actually sounds really sick
Don't we have better communist role models than Lenin? How about Marx, Rosa Luxemburg or Karl Liebknecht?
Lenin can suck it, it's a meme
Um, can confirm. We call it post-scarcity communism and is an ideal where everyone can get what they need (and plenty of extras to keep them happy and comfy) automatically printed for them, and we'd provide for the acceptance and safety of every behavior people are interested in, even those that are countercultural.
This is the togas and spires utopia that is used in political theory as a far-off ideal, though it doesn't necessarily have togas or crystal spires (much the way Mars colonies are signaled with domed cities on Mars)
What is interesting is how the capitalists don't really have a notion of a globalized ideal. They personally want to be rich and live in luxury, but also want a fiefdom teeming with obedient serfs. The stratification and labor is built into the ideology, even if they automate the bottom tiers, there will always be a laboring underclass that is required to suffer for the pleasure of the aristocracy.
Well as long as the fun parts aren’t automated.