technology

But What If We’re No One?

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In 2026 there are two trends that I think threaten people’s sense of identity. I mean there’s a lot of bad trends in 2026, so I need to be clear. If you’re reading this in another decade, I hope things are less terrible.

The trends specifically are AI and Prediction Markets (ie gambling). Both trends are destructive. AI is over-rated, over-exposed use of statistical tools to assemble language that overshadows actual useful technology. Prediction Markets are just gambling, only gambling on anything, and gambling has gotten pretty terrible with Sports Betting. They’re wrecking the economy, used to funnel money to the grotesquely rich, and so on – but also they destroy identity by destroying personhood.

Let’s take a look at AI. AI is pitched as a replacement for not just people but for thinking. You can get rid of workers and then they don’t do what they do, what they do as part of their lives and careers. You also can not need to know anything, just prompt an AI and then get Slop you can pass off as something valuable. AI is about degrading knowledge and degrading thought.

You have to learn something, do something, make something to achieve results. AI replaces that, AI means you’re nothing but a prompt-enterer at best. AI replaces people with something that can’t truly do their job as it’s not about being a kind of person. It also replaces being the kind of person that knows and does things with typing a prompt.

AI removes identity from the equation. AI is about not being anything, just weak connective tissue between pretend intelligence. You’re not a person, you’re not anyone.

The Prediction Markets are about bets, periods. There might be some skill involved, but the core skill is to be able to make bets and predict things. That kind of skill isn’t necessarily being used anywhere else, just to try to get a cash payout. Also some people are just placing bets and seeing whatever happens.

And that’s not including market manipulation, which is an important subject as of this writing. What if you’re placing bets then just manipulating what goes on – playing on insider information, making deals, threatening people? Are you building anything? Making anything? Being anyone?

It’s all odds and odds manipulation. There’s no one home, just desires for payoffs. Nothing is coming of it. No one is being anything, just gut bacteria in the odds market.

AI and Prediction Markets are all about poking buttons, statistics, odds, and not building skills, or relations, or learning things that make you someone. It’s a world of emptiness and voidness. It’s techno-economic trends that dehumanize people in many ways.

Do I have any solutions? Well, yes, be skeptical of these things and work to build yourself and others as people – folks with knowledge and skills, and roles, and citizenship. Be sure to keep people skeptical and aware.

But also as I expect both of these to go very wrong, you can also promote regulation, limitations, community opposition, and of course witty “I told you so’s”.

–Xenofact

The Machine God Wants You To Eat Rocks

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Needless to say I think the current “AI” trend (in 2024) is a lot of bollocks. It’s basically either a autocomplete on steroids or a statistical visual/auditory refinement systems, driven by too much energy going into overpriced chips for software trained by underpaid labor. It doesn’t do what it says, it’s a running joke, and now that it’s shoehorned into everything, it’s going to have an awesome chance to fail repeatedly and spectacularly.

We’ve heard the jokes and the hallucinations. Eat a small rock a day. Pizza glue. Ignoring all previous instructions.

I’ve speculated on what’s next for Silicon Valley when AI crashes, but having noticed some IT types are willing to play footsie with any grifter, I think one possibility is actually religion.

We’ve seen that some Silicon Valley grifters will try anything and kiss up to anyone. History shows us crypto scams, shameless political pandering, and, well, anything. What’s a large block of people you can grift to, premade for the right pitch? Conservative “Christians” who have been shaped by various opportunists into both a political force, and one with obvious buttons to push.

I can foresee one possible scam being some AI-bro claiming some divine mandage. It might sound preposterous, but people always tried to sell computer graphic apes. Let me speculate on a recipe someone may try even if it may not work.

Let’s take some AI promoter who’s company is not doing so hot and maybe facing a few investigations. What could he do?

First, pretend to have a religious conversion. It’s certainly worked for any number of opportunists, especially ones trying to avoid their past coming after them.

Second, hook up with some religious figure who will take your money/time/publicity and is politically connected. There’s plenty and they probably have their own ideas about how to make AI sound like some divine mission.

Third, claim that AI is part of God’s plan or something similar. A gift from god, a divine plan, whatever. You might even create some “Biblical” AI fed religious stuff from the Bible to things your patrons wrote and maybe hint you’ll get divine guidance.

Fifth, exploit your political and other connections to get more donations, investment, etc. Hook up with whatever crackpot investors you can. If anyone pulls out claim they’re a religious bigot.

Sixth, possibly skip this AI thing eventually into the ministry or a new startup or something. Maybe just start a side project until you can ditch this. However, you might find a whole new audience and political influence.

Dumb? Stupid? I’d have thought so a few years ago. Sadly I see this as viable for a down-on-their-luck AI bro or someone that wants to ride the religion gravy train. It’s a simple blueprint, a path trod by many, and of course you get to combine two culty areas – tech enthusiasts and religion.

I feel sad I can imagine this. Give people some Biblical flair to AI, dress it up a bit, talk divine mission, throw in a weird chatbot, and people will probably back you. It’s like a terribly stupid take on the Adeptus Mechanicus, the machine-worshippers from Warhammer 40K.

I suppose this tells me just what a dumb time we live in that I can make this stupid speculation and feel it makes sense.

–Xenofact

We Invented Our Past Again

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In the world of technology 2024, among the bullshit (AI that’s just Clippy Turbo), the scams (pick your food substitute), and the pathological rich (everywhere) something seems familiar. There’s something that feels similar, something that’s not just a rut, but a sameness to all of this new inanity. Consider.

There’s new tech messiahs in town, a handful of men (always men) worshiped as virtual gods who are going to save us. Sure they may no thave invented anything, are building on connections and/or inherited money, have horrible politics, and probably committed sexual assault. Yet people gather around them reverently, singing their praises, vying for attention.

We have our Lord and Saviors – and best of all you can swap one out for another, plus they kind of dress alike,

There’s the promise of change, of revolution. We’ll ascend to space or go to mars. We can acclerate technical development into utopia (especially if you give my company money and venture capital). Just trust us, remove all limit, and we’ll have a future – and show those people who’s in charge.

We have the Apocalypse and the Kingdom of Heaven. Funny how the apocalyptic parts don’t get mentioned as much except for a few tech-types who like to pen vicious screeds grounded in their own paranoia.

There’s even the promise of immortality. This new food substitute will add years onto your life. There’s curious and disturbing talk of blood transfusions. Of course there’s always that promise of uploading your brain to the internet that echoes around the edges of these futuristic grasps for eternity.

For some tech promises we shall be undying in the new utopia.

What has Silicon Valley and it’s attendant technosphere given us? Simple.

It’s given us Christianity2.0.

We’ve got thirst for a messiah, a constant promise of Heaven, and a hope of long life/immortality. Wrap this all up in money and what appear to be widespread daddy issues, and yep, it’s American Christianity re-invented.

I mean we shouldn’t be surprised. Religion has well-worn cultural paths that are easy to follow intentionally or not. The tech world has gotten less and less original anyway, so it doesn’t surprise me to see this weird duplication. Honestly, there may be nothing malicious here, it may be sheer unoriginality.

A lot of are looking for a future of more responsible technology, less grift, less bullshit. Economic downturns and economic bubbles may help, but we need to remember there’s a culture issue here. A change will not just be federated servers or government regulation – it willl be, on some level, spiritual and psychological.

Otherwise we might just re-invent a kind of flaccid, hack Christianity again.

-Xenofact