I’m writing this on a Friday afternoon. It’s been a tumultuous week, one that followed many other tumultuous weeks. And, honestly, it’s been a barrage of news for years now. It seems unending, and, somehow, we’re only just at the beginning of whatever’s next.
Regarding the news, it’s been fairly stunning to see how ill-equipped our media environment is to handle what’s been happening, what will continue to happen. A billionaire, speaking on behalf of a cabal of billionaires (some of whom now join in), presenting outlandish views. Yet so much of the media has breathlessly reported on these events while looking past the specifics, failing to ask follow-up questions, and generally amplifying talking points to an extent that it’s not clear what’s journalism and what’s a press release. They’re not asking “How would THAT work?” or “Isn’t that, like, a TERRIBLE idea that’s going to hurt a LOT of people?” Instead we’re left with information outlets, themselves owned by billionaires, beating a drum of “inevitability.” It’s left us in a state where what was unthinkable even a couple of years ago is being normalized right before our eyes. The framing is: “This is our reality now. You need to work within it.”
While we’re here, I’ll note that this inevitability has already spread into institutions, including our universities.
I go back and forth with being confused and angry. I know a lot of people embrace these ideas. And they aren’t an abstraction! I live around these people! They’re my co-workers, they’re my neighbors, in all likelihood, they’re in my family. They think it’s okay.
So I try to be empathetic. I try to understand how they got to this point. One idea I’ve seen raised, one that’s stuck with me, is that this whole worldview is, essentially, a blank slate. You can project whatever you want to onto it and assume that you will benefit. Whatever you want, whatever you need, you’ll get it now. You haven’t been treated well in the past, but that’s about to change.
And this dogma also gives people permission to say the quiet parts out loud, to admit all the things they don’t value. Part of the pitch is selling people on all of the things they don’t have to worry about anymore.
Because of these (empty) promises, so many people are willing to look past the consequences, which… for me it’s the lying I can’t stand. Just outright lying! Complete and utter bullshit coming out constantly, which everyone acknowledges is complete and utter bullshit. And there are people who I know otherwise to be intelligent and thoughtful who are willing to excuse the lying because they think the net gain to them is somehow worth it.
And our communities, our environment, are clearly suffering because of it. There’s no doubt in my mind that the effects of what we’re doing in the United States right now will make the planet less safe and more precarious. We seemed to be going in a more positive direction, and now we’ve essentially thrown it into reverse. The consequences of what’s happening today will have to be dealt with for the rest of our lives. And, again, the reporting is like, “Yeah, but… this is really good for the stock market,” which is perhaps the most powerful form of inevitability.
I guess the view comes down to “This is good for me” outweighs “This is a bad thing for others, driven by falsities, that’s destroying the world.” It’s hard not to frame that view as utter selfishness, but I’m also well aware of how pervasive it is.
Anyway, I’ve been hesitant to write about generative AI, but it seemed like the time might be right.