Tag: Technocracy

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post

Peter Biles
Date
March 21, 2025

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Books, Cal Newport, Distraction, Gen Z, Literature, Maryanne Wolf, mind, Reading, Reading Skills, Reasoning skills, Substack, Technology}

Are We Experiencing a Universal Cognitive Decline?

_{People are increasingly having trouble reading, focusing, and solving complex problems.} _{Peter Biles
March 21, 2025

4

Social Media}

A new study shows that people are struggling more than ever to read, concentrate, and solve problems. The research comes just a few months after Oxford’s indicative decision to make “Brain Rot” its 2024 “Word of the Year.” Common experience itself lends itself to the conclusion that we are struggling to focus, that our attention is fragmented, and that simply thinking about one issue for more than a few seconds is difficult. The Financial Times reported that intelligence and reasoning capacities have declined since the early 2010s. While the COVID-19 pandemic is commonly blamed for the plummet and is indeed responsible for much of the cognitive decline, the downward trend preceded the crisis according to the study. John Burn-Murdoch reports: Read More ›

Businessman working on a laptop in an office, with a transparent overlay showing a modern cityscape of buildings and skyscrapers. Ideal for themes of technology, business, and urban life. Ai Generate.

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post

Jeffrey Funk
Date
December 2, 2024

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Tech, business, ChatGPT, economy, Featured, hype, Technology, Work, workers}

AI Adoption is Slowing Amidst the “Biggest Gamble in Business History”

_{Workers and companies aren't buying the AI hype} _{Jeffrey Funk
December 2, 2024

7

Artificial Intelligence}

In the case of AI, knowledge workers are trying to tell us something. They don’t like AI as much the top managers do, and their excitement is falling. Read More ›

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
June 5, 2024

Categorized
Technocracy

Tagged
Health, National Review, Technocracy, Tobacco, Wesley J. Smith}

Tobacco and Technocracy

_{Is tobacco just the first villain to be punished by a growing technocracy that seeks to limit freedom?} _{Wesley J. Smith
June 5, 2024

3

Technocracy}

I don’t smoke, but I am wary of efforts to prevent other people from so doing. Now, blue cities — and soon states, most likely — have hit upon a way to ban smoking known as “Tobacco Free Generation” (TFG). It’s Pretty Clever Allow people who can legally buy tobacco today to purchase it, but permanently outlaw the sale of tobacco products to people based on the date of their birth — even as they become adults — as described glowingly in the New England Journal of Medicine: The bylaw, passed by Brookline, Massachusetts, gradually phases out commercial tobacco by banning the sale of nicotine products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2000 (one of us cosponsored the bylaw). Read More ›

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post

Peter Biles
Date
May 28, 2024

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
addiction, Big Tech, Gen Z, Jonathan Haidt, screentime, social media, the anxious generation}

Governor Huckabee Sanders Against Big Tech

_{Governor takes action based on Jonathan Haidt's research} _{Peter Biles
May 28, 2024

2

Technology}

It's a strong sign that political figures are starting to realize the negative effects of social media on young people. Read More ›

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
March 28, 2024

Categorized
Technocracy

Tagged
Health, Medicine, Technocracy}

“The Right to Health” Isn’t as Good as It Sounds

_{Health and wellness are becoming technocracy's disguise.} _{Wesley J. Smith
March 28, 2024

3

Technocracy}

Health and wellness are becoming the primary justifications for international technocracy, or “rule by experts.” Indeed, we are told that preventing the next pandemic will require that the World Health Organization be given the power to declare pandemics and impose emergency policies internationally. Anthony Fauci went even further, arguing that that the UN and the WHO must be given greater powers to “rebuild the infrastructures of human existence.” Imagine the authoritarian potential. We have been told, also, that climate change is a health emergency that justifies greater technocratic control. So is racism. Ditto, gun proliferation in the U.S. And we can’t forget the threats to biodiversity. On and on the proposed policy imperialism goes. This is why the seemingly good-sounding proposal for an international “right to health” is such Read More ›

Discarded face mask lying in a city street

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
January 4, 2024

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Covid, Francis Collins on lockdowns, Technocracy, Wesley J. Smith}

Being a Good Scientist Doesn’t Mean Being an Effective Leader

_{Francis Collins admits that they botched the COVID-19 response.} _{Wesley J. Smith
January 4, 2024

5

Science}

Collins’s recent admissions and overarching career illustrate why we should resist the current push to impose a regime of rule by experts. Read More ›

Big brother electronic eye concept, technologies for the global surveillance, security of computer systems and networks

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post

Erik J. Larson
Date
December 7, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Computer Security

Tagged
AI, apple, Big Tech, censorship, Computer security, Data privacy, Facebook privacy violations history, FBI, Google, surveillance capitalism}

This is Digital McCarthyism

_{Far from being liberated by these technologies, we have been plunged back into the worst abuses of surveillance and privacy violation.} _{Erik J. Larson
December 7, 2023

5

Censorship, Computer Security}

The notion that we’re getting somewhere, making progress, is remarkably durable. It survives wars, financial collapse, riots, scandals, stagnating wages, and climate change (to name a few). Though techno-futurists are also fond of AI apocalypse scenarios, where artificial intelligence somehow “comes alive,” or at any rate uses its superior intelligence to make an autonomous decision to wipe out humanity, much more ink has been spilled this century prognosticating indomitable technical progress, which somehow stands in for human progress generally. But sanguine belief in progress is belied by the actual events of the twenty-first century. Computers have gotten faster and AI more powerful, but digital technology has also been used to spread misinformation, make deep fakes, and conduct relentless cyberwarfare. Financial Read More ›

Fuse burning on black background isolated

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post

Erik J. Larson
Date
November 22, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Arts and Culture, Colligo, Mission Impossible, Movies and TV, Silicon Valley, Substack}

What Mission Impossible Tells Us About AI Mythology

_{If you’re looking for an intelligent take on existential risk and superintelligent AI, the latest Mission Impossible movie is not for you.} _{Erik J. Larson
November 22, 2023

12

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

If you’re looking for an intelligent take on existential risk and superintelligent AI, the latest Mission Impossible movie is not for you. Read More ›

Futuristic autonomous vehicle cockpit. Interior of unmanned car cockpit with digital screens. Created with Generative AI

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post

Richard W. Stevens
Date
November 17, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, cars, Congress, Technocracy}

Congress Boosts “Kill Switch” Technology to Control Drivers

_{Federal agency power poised to extend to your every move.} _{Richard W. Stevens
November 17, 2023

6

Artificial Intelligence}

Any device that supplies evidence in a legal case would need to be evaluated for validity and reliability. Read More ›

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post

News
Date
October 26, 2023

Categorized
Technocracy

Tagged
CS Lewis, John West, science, Technocracy, That Hideous Strength}

C.S. Lewis and “Technocracy”

_{Science needs its critics as much as any field of human endeavor does.} _{News
October 26, 2023

2

Technocracy}

By David Klinghoffer Science needs its critics as much as any field of human endeavor does. Maybe even more so today, since there is a widespread feeling, hardly upset by our experience with the public health tyranny imposed in the context of Covid, that “the Science” is beyond question. John West edited the book The Magician’s Twin: C. S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society and he talked recently with podcaster Joseph Weigel about the model of science criticism that Lewis provides. It’s a theme that threads through many of Lewis’s writings — including That Hideous Strength (a great novel, and Dr. West’s favorite, he says, though the choice is a tough one), the third chapter of The Abolition of Man, and elsewhere. Lewis’s Prescience on “Technocracy” Read More ›

Full length of man touches with digital pencil simulation space wearing headset to create virtual reality dimension. Male using tablet computer for control augmented VR environment standing outdoors

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post

Doug Smith
Date
October 1, 2023

Tagged
apple, Big Tech, Doug Smith, Virtual Reality}

See Through the False Promises of Apple Vision Pro

_{The illusion of connection so shapes our desires that we may lose our taste for the real thing} _{Doug Smith
October 1, 2023

15}

Vision Pro isolates us by the mere fact of its presence since everything we see has this device in the middle. Read More ›

AGV (Automated guided vehicle) in warehouse logistic and transport.

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post

News
Date
September 27, 2023

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
Amazon, Big Tech, Consumerism, Facebook, Jeff Bezos, Lawsuit, Monopoly, Technology}

U.S. Federal Trade Commission Sues Amazon

_{The lawsuit convicts Amazon of suppressing competition and stifling innovation from potential rivals} _{News
September 27, 2023

2

Technology}

In a long-awaited lawsuit, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing Amazon for seeking to monopolize the online market, according to Reuters. The lawsuit convicts Amazon of suppressing competition and stifling innovation from potential rivals, arriving after years of complaints. From the Reuters article: he lawsuit, which was joined by 17 state attorneys general, follows a four-year investigation and federal lawsuits filed against Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms’ Facebook. “The FTC and its state partners say Amazon’s actions allow it to stop rivals and sellers from lowering prices, degrade quality for shoppers, overcharge sellers, stifle innovation, and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon,” the agency said in a statement. The FTC said that it was asking the court Read More ›

Security camera on modern building. Professional surveillance cameras. CCTV on the wall in the city. Security system, technology. Video equipment for safety system area control outdoor. AI generated.

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post

News
Date
September 26, 2023

Categorized
Surveillance

Tagged
AI, Facial Recognition, Freedom, Technocracy, Wired}

When Video Surveillance Gets It Wrong

_{An incident in Argentina calls the country's facial recognition tech into serious question} _{News
September 26, 2023

3

Surveillance}

A new in-depth report from Wired recounts the story of an Argentinian man, Guillermo Ibarrola, who was falsely accused of a crime and pinpointed via video surveillance. According to Wired, Ibarrola spent nearly a week in custody before the “mixup” was spotted and authorities realized they had nabbed the wrong Guillermo Ibarrola. It was a data entry mistake. The case is only one of many others in Argentina’s mishaps with video surveillance, and how data mistakes can end up impacting innocent lives significantly. Karen Naundorf writes, When speaking of South America, mass surveillance technology is likely not the first thing that comes to mind. But a study by the data protection organization Access Now shows Argentina is one of the most surveilled Read More ›

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
September 7, 2023

Categorized
Technocracy

Tagged
Assisted Suicide, bioethics, Doctors, Freedom, healthcare, Medicine, Technocracy, Wesley J. Smith}

The Technocracy Continues to Grow

_{We live in a time where individual freedom is under material threat from an emerging technocracy} _{Wesley J. Smith
September 7, 2023

6

Technocracy}

We live in a time where the most important policy and personal decisions are going to be made not by us but for us by “the experts.” Read More ›

Aerial cityscape view of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge at Night

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post

Peter Biles
Date
August 27, 2023

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Faith, god, reason, religion, science, Silicon Valley, soul, Wired}

Silicon Valley is All About Use, Not Truth

_{Of Athens, Jerusalem, and the "third city"} _{Peter Biles
August 27, 2023

3

Technology}

We could see Birgis's brilliant article as a call to hold technological innovation in healthy conversation with common sense and moral values. Read More ›

Anonymous crowd of people walking street wearing masks during Covid 19 pandemic in New York City

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post

News
Date
August 3, 2023

Categorized
Technocracy

Tagged
COSM, COVID-19, Niall Ferguson, Pandemic, Technocracy, The West}

Doom and the Politics of Catastrophe

_{Setting the catastrophe of the 2020 pandemic in perspective} _{News
August 3, 2023

1

Technocracy}

What happened in 2020? Why was there such confusion, contradicting information about Covid-19, and poor bureaucratic oversight of the pandemic? Setting the catastrophe of 2020 in historical perspective, renowned British historian Niall Ferguson explains why we are getting worse, not better, at handling disasters. The lessons of history that this country — indeed the West as a whole — should be closely heeded if we want to handle the next crisis better and avoid the ultimate doom of irreversible decline. We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from Read More ›

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post

News
Date
July 31, 2023

Categorized
China, Technology

Tagged
Big Tech, Bob Kelly, Carver Mead, China, COSM, Discovery Institute, George Gilder, Jay Richards, Kyoto Prize, Peter Thiel, Technology, United States}

Big Tech and China

_{Evaluating the technological competition between the two superpowers} _{News
July 31, 2023

1

China, Technology}

How should the United States deal with China? Jay Richards interviews Dr. Bob Kelly, Managing Partner of Ignition Partners, on a panel he was included in. The panel explored the technological competition between the U.S. and China, what it means for the future, and presented differing schools of thought on how the United States should approach China moving forward. We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from economics, Big Tech, and artificial intelligence. Notable speakers include 2022 Kyoto Prize winner Carver Mead, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and George Gilder, co-founder of Discovery Read More ›

bright iridescent thread floss for embroidery and needlework

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post

News
Date
July 27, 2023

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, censorship, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, social media, Twitter}

Is the “Threads” App a Bust?

_{The app originally attracted around 100 million users but has tapered off dramatically.} _{News
July 27, 2023

2

Social Media}

Within the first week of its existence, “Threads,” the new Twitter-like app from the tech company Meta, saw a colossal decline in usage. The app originally attracted around 100 million users but has tapered off dramatically. Jody Cerrano reports, Zuckerberg’s statements about returning users coincide with estimates from third-party traffic analysts that reported the big dip in Threads users last week. At that time, Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm, said that Threads’ daily active users on iOS and Android were down by 20%. The company added that traffic was not the only thing affected. Time spent on the app per user also fell, according to Sensor Tower, by 50% — from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. On Monday, the analyst Similarweb reported an Read More ›

European telecommunication network connected over Europe, France, Germany, UK, Italy, concept about internet and global communication technology for finance, blockchain or IoT, elements from NASA

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post

News
Date
July 10, 2023

Categorized
Cryptocurrency

Tagged
Big Tech, Blockchain, Blockchain (and NFTs), COSM, COSM 2019, cryptocurrencies, Robert J. Marks, William Dembski}

Can Crypto Reverse the Tech Decline?

_{Listen to a 2019 COSM panel on crypto and the blockchain} _{News
July 10, 2023

1

Cryptocurrency}

For today’s featured COSM video, enjoy this panel from the 2019 conference on cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, and its potential for the tech world. The panel explores the future of cryptocurrency/blockchain technologies, and considers the implications for global money, global security, and internet architecture. We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from economics, Big Tech, and artificial intelligence. Notable speakers include 2022 Kyoto Prize winner Carver Mead, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and George Gilder, co-founder of Discovery Institute and author of Life After Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and Read More ›

Big data analytics visualization technology with scientist analyzing information structure on screen with machine learning to extract strategical prediction for business, finance, internet of things

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podcast

Adam Goad and Robert J. Marks
Date
June 29, 2023

Tagged
Adam Goad, Big Tech, Blockchain, cryptocurrency, data, decentralization, internet, Robert J. Marks, Web 3.0}

What is the Future of the Internet?

_{Adam Goad and Robert J. Marks
June 29, 2023

1}

In the age of data harvesting and Big Tech monopolies, what will the Internet look like in a decade? In today’s episode, Robert J. Marks speaks with computer engineer Adam Goad about “Web 3.0,” decentralization, cryptocurrency, and the future of the blockchain. Additional Resources