In the true sense where you're militarizing and committing acts of sabotage on others' property (so-called "monkeywrenching")? And then, getting suppressed and eradicated/killed by the government?
No.
I prefer the "Calm Technology"[1] approach as espoused by Amber Case[2]. I think this is the saner path forward.
Yes. If you're exposed to one entrenched end of the spectrum or another, you might notice the rhetoric and threats have picked up quite a bit on both sides. Language and actions are becoming more divisive and more violent.
I increasingly hear insane not-in-passing phrases like "Someone should just [commit some violent act to further the speaker's political beliefs]." Lately, it's about sabotaging data centers and killing CEOs.
And it's not just talk, this stuff starts by motivating the loonier members of a group to commit acts like mass shootings, the Charlie Kirk assassination, violence against LGBTQ people and other targeted groups, and so on.
I feel like some weird outsider, sitting in center-left.
We're way past it, sadly. Luigi was insanely popular for the cold blooded murder of a CEO. Hundreds of thousands of people celebrated Charlie Kirk's murder within minutes of it happening, let alone the discourse you see now, a year later. Plenty of people, even on this forum, openly advocate for "the funniest thing" happening to Elon.
What I find interesting is how the tone seems to have changed in swathes of tech industry. Until LLMs were a thing, techno-optimism and sola technologia fundamentalism seems to have been a more prominent fetish. When LLMs began having a practical and tangible effect, much of the same cohort seems to have pivoted toward aversion. If this is true—and this perception could be an artifact of selection bias driven by those with the loudest voices, though I strongly suspect it is not that entirely—then it cannot be denied how self-serving it is. Sure, we can automate away all sorts of jobs, confident that our own is the only constant and the one thing that would survive automation. But then, the cunning of reality cut down that hubris.
Of course, I do think technology ought to be adopted with prudence and wisdom. We must always remember the purpose of technology which is serving the objective human good, but to be able to do that requires more than narrow technical savvy. You need a wise and substantive grasp of the broader context within which technology is located.
Techno-optimism entered decay in the 2010's, as it became clear that advertising companies that mined personal data and actively manipulated political and social sentiment were the unchecked winners of the age. Turns out we were in the Gibson timeline.
But participation as both employees and consumers was juiced by ZIRP, and so the bottom didn't fall out until the later post-COVID economic turn.
The many controversies LLM's are just icing on the thoroughly baked cake.
This word has lost any meaning, if anything the current anti-tech wave is far closer to Amish views (subjective vetoing of new tech to avoid centralization and preserve the way of life) than to historical Luddism.
The term luddite is like the term pharisee. It's a pejorative removed from it's historical context. Actual Luddites and Pharisees would have not agreed that they were against technology or legalistic hypocrites, even though their critics tried to paint them with that brush.
Actual Luddite: your employees who are going through layoffs while your profits are rising.
Luddite according to the boss: somebody who is trying to prevent me from doing what I want to do when I want to do it just because there's 100 of them and one of me.
I was in Amish country last week, watching in bemusement as elderly women zoomed down the street in e-bikes. I thought to myself that it was understandable given that they lived on uneven terrain. But then, I wondered, why did they choose such a place to live if they were not willing to use technology, and why did e-bikes get a pass while cars didn't?
What do I mean by that? No one knows. But it's provocative -- it gets the comments going!
(despite being a dumb comment, this is my attempt to express the serious point that Luddism is a beautiful, admirable movement, and we are in a position where it can and will be redefined completely to fit this new world; don't let anyone convince you that their Luddism is the only true Luddism, at least not yet!)
In the true sense where you're militarizing and committing acts of sabotage on others' property (so-called "monkeywrenching")? And then, getting suppressed and eradicated/killed by the government?
No.
I prefer the "Calm Technology"[1] approach as espoused by Amber Case[2]. I think this is the saner path forward.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calm_technology
2. https://a.co/d/02kdlV3p
What are some of your favorite devices/software that follow this idea? I can list mine:
- Supernote by Ratta https://supernote.com
- Air Lab by Networked Artifacts https://networkedartifacts.com
- Xteink X4 (or equivalent) https://www.xteink.com
- Zeroink Writer - my kids use it to practice typing and write letters I can print out. Essentially digital typewriter. https://www.crowdsupply.com/zerowriter/zerowriter-ink
- Readwise - enables me to review highlighted passages and ideas from things I read
- Obsidian - I dump text files into it, it syncs it around for me to review or edit.
Unfortunately I imagine your modern AI data centre has better security than a 19th century textile mill.
Unfortunately? Are we really at the point of supporting terrorism of the “correct” political persuasion?
Yes. If you're exposed to one entrenched end of the spectrum or another, you might notice the rhetoric and threats have picked up quite a bit on both sides. Language and actions are becoming more divisive and more violent.
I increasingly hear insane not-in-passing phrases like "Someone should just [commit some violent act to further the speaker's political beliefs]." Lately, it's about sabotaging data centers and killing CEOs.
And it's not just talk, this stuff starts by motivating the loonier members of a group to commit acts like mass shootings, the Charlie Kirk assassination, violence against LGBTQ people and other targeted groups, and so on.
I feel like some weird outsider, sitting in center-left.
We're way past it, sadly. Luigi was insanely popular for the cold blooded murder of a CEO. Hundreds of thousands of people celebrated Charlie Kirk's murder within minutes of it happening, let alone the discourse you see now, a year later. Plenty of people, even on this forum, openly advocate for "the funniest thing" happening to Elon.
Terrorism and murder are in vogue.
There's a lot of folks out there with champagne bottles and party poppers earmarked for when it happens.
Are we at the point where we allow companies to just hack other companies and do nothing about it?
if i steal a lollipop from the store, that's my problem
if i am OpenAI stealing a lollipop from your store, that's your problem
Sam: you want it to be one way, but it's the other way
For rethinking the Luddite movement I recommend the book Blood in the Machine (I think I learned about it here on HN)
What I find interesting is how the tone seems to have changed in swathes of tech industry. Until LLMs were a thing, techno-optimism and sola technologia fundamentalism seems to have been a more prominent fetish. When LLMs began having a practical and tangible effect, much of the same cohort seems to have pivoted toward aversion. If this is true—and this perception could be an artifact of selection bias driven by those with the loudest voices, though I strongly suspect it is not that entirely—then it cannot be denied how self-serving it is. Sure, we can automate away all sorts of jobs, confident that our own is the only constant and the one thing that would survive automation. But then, the cunning of reality cut down that hubris.
Of course, I do think technology ought to be adopted with prudence and wisdom. We must always remember the purpose of technology which is serving the objective human good, but to be able to do that requires more than narrow technical savvy. You need a wise and substantive grasp of the broader context within which technology is located.
Techno-optimism entered decay in the 2010's, as it became clear that advertising companies that mined personal data and actively manipulated political and social sentiment were the unchecked winners of the age. Turns out we were in the Gibson timeline.
But participation as both employees and consumers was juiced by ZIRP, and so the bottom didn't fall out until the later post-COVID economic turn.
The many controversies LLM's are just icing on the thoroughly baked cake.
This word has lost any meaning, if anything the current anti-tech wave is far closer to Amish views (subjective vetoing of new tech to avoid centralization and preserve the way of life) than to historical Luddism.
The term luddite is like the term pharisee. It's a pejorative removed from it's historical context. Actual Luddites and Pharisees would have not agreed that they were against technology or legalistic hypocrites, even though their critics tried to paint them with that brush.
> It's a pejorative removed from it's historical context.
It utterly depends on historical context. Intelligent people understand antonomasia and eponymy.
> Actual Luddites and Pharisees would have not agreed that they were against technology or legalistic hypocrites
That's neither here nor there.
Actual luddite: prevent capitalists from using technology to destroy society.
Meme luddite: hate technology
Actual Luddite: your employees who are going through layoffs while your profits are rising.
Luddite according to the boss: somebody who is trying to prevent me from doing what I want to do when I want to do it just because there's 100 of them and one of me.
The boss owns the printing press.
normie: Loves to walk on technologically advanced crutches when they have perfectly working legs...
An obligatory Deus Ex cinematic trailer: https://youtu.be/4-MU5MgRV6U
Amish luddite. Technology is vetted by a central committee before the public is allowed to use it.
I was in Amish country last week, watching in bemusement as elderly women zoomed down the street in e-bikes. I thought to myself that it was understandable given that they lived on uneven terrain. But then, I wondered, why did they choose such a place to live if they were not willing to use technology, and why did e-bikes get a pass while cars didn't?
Cyberpunk Luddite - carries an illegal military-grade EMP grenade strictly for when the smart fridge tries to make small talk.
Your “actual Luddite” characterisation is just as much a meme.
Both are stupid misrepresentations of the movement.
All Hail King Ludd!
What do I mean by that? No one knows. But it's provocative -- it gets the comments going!
(despite being a dumb comment, this is my attempt to express the serious point that Luddism is a beautiful, admirable movement, and we are in a position where it can and will be redefined completely to fit this new world; don't let anyone convince you that their Luddism is the only true Luddism, at least not yet!)