Luddistic

Stream Unconsciousness

Luddistic. I just made up that word. It comes from The Luddites. The Luddites were this secret, radical organization that tried to destroy textile machinery back when that was the latest technological invention. They were concerned about being replaced which is understandable. This guy Ned Ludd was a bigwig in the organization, hence the name. So today anyone who fights against new technology, especially in the field of IT, is a Luddite.

I've never used this word--either one--luddite or luddistic-- and I'm not even sure how to pronounce either one particularly since the latter one is not a word. I was on a Zoom call and someone said, “Sorry, I’m such a Luddite!” It sounded so cornball and I didn't know the definition but understood it by way of context. It's gotten more popular with the advent of exponentially more and more technology. I use the word idiot when I am technologically challenged. Anyway it got me thinking about an article I recently read where Elon Musk says he thinks we should put a moratorium on ChatGPT. I think that's being luddistic. Here's what and why. Ironic part #1 is that I am using it in reference to the most brilliant man alive who has created SpaceX, Tesla, The Boring Company. Ironic part #2, he is partially responsible for OpenAI. The very man who helped create it, now wants to slow it the fuck down.  He co-founded it with the present CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman. 

Elon has been quite vocal about OpenAI's threat to humankind despite being a co-founder. He left the company 5 years ago and has openly stated that he is concerned about the vast amount of money the company has gotten from Microsoft. Apparently OpenAI started as a nonprofit research lab back in 2015. Now there are many companies like Google which has released Bard (I assume it's named after Shakespeare who was the Bard of Avalon meaning poet) and Amazon and Facebook are racing to be next. I'm sure there are many others and once it goes public it will probably crash the stockmarket. I should buy some Microsoft now! Ok I just did! I'll keep you posted. 

For now Microsoft leads the race with their OpenAI. Here's the link...https://chat.openai.com

It's pretty incredible with both the speed by which it answers you and the concise yet comprehensive information. A short time ago, that would have sounded like something alien but now it's all the rage. It's getting more and more advanced and we had better go with the current instead of struggling to swim upstream. 

It seems there are people who never learn. Remember Napster, that music file sharing service where you could share your MP3 files (remember those?) I remember Metallica sued them as did others. I think the case got settled and they stopped the sharing of music files of any artist that did not want their music to be shared. Some argued that file sharing actually increased the demand for concerts and concert prices because the artists would become more well-known and popular. Bottom line is the old way of accessing music changed pretty much overnight on June 1, 1999. Today, live shows are a musician's largest source of revenue. That along with merchandise, streaming royalties, licensing fees and brand partnerships. So essentially technology continued to move forward and the business model had to change to accommodate this new technology. That's how it goes.

There are a lot of movies about people fighting new technology. Man vs. machine. Some were so accurate in their futuristic depictions. For instance, The Terminator movies,  2001: A Space Odyssey which was made in 1968 by the almost always brilliant Stanley Kubrick (I thought Eyes Wide Shut was overrated although I did like the sex stuff but Tom Cruise is so not sexy to me for some reason.) 1968! But wait there's more! Blade Runner, Ex-Machina and the king of them all--The Matrix. I just rewatched it. God it's so good. Made in 1999. 1999 was quite the year. Prince sang that top hit, 1999. Oh one more—the movie Her. Anything with Joaquin Phoenix is always sensational! And Scarlett Johanssen may just have the sexiest voice in the world!

The Amish may just be the best example of a large group of Luddites. They forgo electricity, computers, phones and cars. Then they have this crazy thing called Rumspringa which sounds like the worst idea I can think of. Essentially, when Amish children turn 16, they are allowed to go experience the modern world. They do this so that any member is free to leave however if they decide to leave permanently, they will be shunned by all including their families. Cut off completely. Sounds a little Scientolgyish to me. Imagine getting completely cut off from all of your friends and family at such a young age. Why can't they leave AND stay in touch with their family and friends?  It's almost better not to have Rumspringa. I bet a lot of these kids overdose on alcohol and drugs having never been exposed to it. 

The Orthodox Jews are another group who are luddistic. They have a lot of rules. They don't get a Rumspringa but some (very few) decide to leave. It is no easy task. One of the best series about this topic or really any topic, is called Unorthodox on Netflix. Here's the trailer...it's amazing...

In 2012, there was a rally of 40,000 mostly Hasidic Jewish men (women were not allowed) gathered at Citi Field which is a baseball stadium in NY and the home of the New York Mets. The rally was to protest the corrupting influence of the internet. They weren't wrong with a lot of what they said. They said things like the internet is all about instant gratification and causes us to waste productive hours. That people, children in particular are clicking themselves into oblivion. The problem is, the reality of life makes it nearly impossible to exist without the internet. Yes it's possible but extremely difficult. And here's where they lost me. One of the rabbis said, that, "Jews are pure and by going on the Internet—especially to social networking sites, it transforms us into a level equivalent to wild animals and makes us susceptible to Satan.” I'm not sure by what he meant by pure but I am Jewish and from what I understand the definition to be, I am not that! Also, in my strong opinion there is no Satan. There is just one strong beautiful force of nature which you are or are not in tune with at any given moment. Sometimes being out of tune and separated from your source energy, lasts a lifetime (i.e., Hitler.) Hard to picture Adolf Hitler as a baby but he was one. He certainly became a monster. He was evil personified. I wrote about this before but I went to Auschwitz and it was mind-numbing. The Polish government has done a fantastic job of preserving the camps.  The preservation is critical to ensure that the Holocaust is made verifiable for future generations and that the lessons learned from this horrific part of history continue to be analyzed and explored. Hitler used technology to destroy civilization and came pretty close to accomplishing just that.

As an aside, or digression as I tend to include, there's Operation Paperclip which marks a real stain on our government. From the internet--"Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from the former Nazi Germany to the U.S. for government employment after the end of World War II in Europe, between 1945 and 1959. Conducted by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA), it was largely carried out by special agents of the U.S. Army's Counterintelligence Corps (CIC). Many of these personnel were former members and some were former leaders of the Nazi Party." That's beyond disappointing. It's criminal. We must be vigilant and always question authority.

Now let's lighten things up with the Jehovah's witnesses! I just remember when I first moved here from NYC and I was at my friend's house in Orange County and someone rang the doorbell and she said not to answer it because it was the Jehovah's Witnesses. I was like who is Jehovah and why does he have witnesses? I seriously had never heard of them. They are actually not as stringent about the use of technology except when it comes to medical and life-saving technology which may be the most important of all of the technologies. In particular they don't believe in blood transfusions because apparently the Bible prohibits the consumption of blood. Who knew?

Also that Jehovah (a.k.a. God) will turn his back on anyone who accepts a blood transfusion. Here's more from the almighty itself, (according to me,) the internet--"JWs believe that they are living in the last days, and they look forward to the imminent establishment of God’s kingdom on earth, which will be headed by Christ and jointly administered by 144,000 human co-rulers." Where do they come up with this stuff? I am not picking on them in particular because religion when adhered to strictly as a fundamentalist does, usually comes up with some whacky shit that makes zero sense to me. Here's something that chapped my hide--"JWs consider smoking, together with alcoholism, drug abuse, and masturbation, as a weakness that should be treated appropriately, with the use of medical supervision, Bible study, prayer, and trusting congregational members for moral support." I understand their view although highly disagree about alcoholism and drug use but masturbation? You're going to be medically supervised and talk to your fellow members about masturbation?  Do they tell children and perhaps adults that they will go blind if they participate in said activities? They really hate the smokers. They can only get baptized if they have quit smoking for 6 months. Who comes up with these numbers and timeframes? Maybe it's a bunch of men who sat around getting high thinking, let's all throw a number into a hat and whichever one we pick that will be the new rule. Speaking of which, remember that show Bewitched? I heard that the writers used to take hallucinogenics before they wrote an episode. I just found a clip online that shows just how high these writers must have been. Oh and extremely sexist! 

Just to circle back to religion for a moment. I want to say that I think religion can be a really wonderful morally guiding force that can bring families together. I do think when people practice a religion they tend to be more empathetic and have stronger ties to their community. I just don't like when people proselytize. It's so interesting how the Christians attitude is, come, join us and you can convert right away as long as you accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior. The Jews on the other hand have a more rigorous process which takes about a year. They want you to really want to be Jewish. The truth of it is, most people do it for marriage. To each his own. 

I digressed a lot into religion and it's because I think it can be challenging for religions which have so many years of history, to adopt these new technologies. I remember telling my uncle about email when it first became a thing and he asked me how much it cost! Simply put change is harder for older people and even more so for older, religious people. I think with Covid, came the desire for many to turn to their respective faiths to deal with loss and all the rest of it. It also sort of forced the use of digital technologies in order to reach the masses that they could no longer do in person hence religious apps became more prevalent.

It's going to be interesting to see all of the different ways this pandemic has and continues to change society. Some for the better and some for the worse. Seeking to navigate the ethical, social, and environmental implications of technology is absolutely imperative in order to understand this whole new world which is overwhelming at times. I understand not going all in and crazy with stuff like social media and the endless apps but fighting against the evolution of technology has not worked thus far and we should learn from that going forward. That's all for now. 

Much Love, Sabrina