"I have cochlear implants and I can only buy parts to fix them or upgrade then from 1 #corporation bc of tech exclusivity. upgrades to get new processors for both ears cost $23k & insurance only covers 90% (and it’s “good” insurance)"
Of course Levar Burton wants you to read banned books. Heven Haile sits down with Levar and MoveOn’s Rahna Epting to talk about it.
“When I read Fahrenheit 451 for the first time,” LeVar Burton says, “I couldn’t imagine that situation in my reality. It was a shame, right? Wow. Those poor people in that misguided society. I live in that society now. That dystopian story has become my truth.”
So, did you hear about the mental health crisis hotline that replaced its human volunteers with a chatbot, when the humans started to unionise?
It's a little more complex than that. Also, a week later they had to shut it down, 'cause people were getting dangerous AI advice ... So an effective hotline was just shut down totally :-(
"Although I'm no longer with you in person, my darling, I love you so much. I remember the day we met as clearly as if... You can now make purchases in Bitcoin; visit our storefront now... it were yesterday. The yellow dress you wore was so... Get 10% off the new Apple iPad. Say 'PADOFFER' after this memory..." #AI#dystopia
Technoliberal ethic is summed up in that if something is profitable, it is ethical. The only thing that is immoral for the technoliberal is to question the ethic of something that is profitable, even if it is only profitable for one person to the detriment of the rest, because...
...because the technoliberal believes that person is him.
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is published #OTD in 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime.
Nineteen Eighty-Four has become a classic literary example of political and dystopian fiction. It also popularised the term "Orwellian" as an adjective, with many terms used in the novel entering common usage. via @wikipedia
A #gadgeteer is also the naive or careless person who wears these #gadgets and is either oblivious of the detrimental externalities of the tech to society, or criminally negligent of those (usually #trend-following hipsters).
Another day, another old friend getting back in touch with me, and me discovering that they have a form of long covid but refuse to acknowledge it. They are "burnt out on hearing about covid" and "not getting the new shot because it will make things worse" (their doctor told them this!). And also they have "mysterious" heart disease issues, which have become worse recently. No idea why!
Whatever, I guess they go into the pile with all my other old friends whose eyes glaze over when I say the word "covid" as they tell me how "it's no big deal, after all it's mild now" and firmly tell me basically "you do you" and change the subject or end the conversation.
This friend used to talk about how dystopian things are becoming. I guess once you become a part of the dystopia, it's all suddenly Business As Usual.
Isn't it obvious that the #CyberTruck exists because #ElonMusk wanted a fleet of armored vehicles for him and his rich friends to drive once society crumbles and we're living in a #PostApocalyptic#MadMax#dystopia, and the easiest way to achieve that was to get his company to manufacture them?
This, by the way, should clue you in to the fact that the oligarchs know society is on the verge of #collapse and they're making plans to ride it out rather than trying to avert it.
Quand un #JdR sort chez #Dystopia je n'hésite pas une seconde. Je ne suis pas encore très familier de la proposition de #Marchebranche de @Thomas_Munier, mais je suis sûr que cette proposition m'ouvrira de nouveaux horizons et sera réalisée avec un soin méticuleux.
Red states like Ky are planning to eliminate income taxes to move to an entirely sales tax system. They plan to tax all goods & services, so presumably your doctor, home care, your bookkeeper, and your contract labor will all have to charge you sales tax on top of their regular co-pays & fees.
Of course, that means the brunt of all taxes will be paid by the low wage working poor, and the rich will not be affected - nor pay any tax on their income. Small biz is screwed.
Of course, this being the GOP in Kentucky, they will no doubt slap sales taxes on Food & Medicine, too, just to make sure they hurt the poor as much as possible.
B/c that's what right wing christians do - hurt the poor, disabled, elderly by depriving them of food, med care, affordable housing, and then criminalizing homelessness for good measure. In the name of their evil god.