Well, I can tell you from my own experience… greater productivity means everyone is overworked. And better technology could benefit everyone if it was open source, but instead it helps only thoss who have amassed a lot of economic and political capital (large corporations and governments). When it comes to Web2 and Web3, it seems to have been completely captured by grift and profit motive, and has no good open source applications for communities! The public just has no tools to serve themselves. And because of this, the governments and corporations will soon force everyone to use digital ID and central coin to do anything. This isn’t hyperbole — check the links in the description of this video: https://youtu.be/uwRSzNTp2ko
People often hate Big Tech and Big Government overreach and surveillance capitalism and war and … but there is no viable alternative.
Since 2011 I have been writing, with my own dev team, at my own expense, an open source platform so communities worldwide can have an alternative to Big Tech. We reached 11 million users in over 100 countries and translated to 15 languages.
But most VCs and investors don’t understand it and say we are doing too much. You can use it here: https://github.com/Qbix/Platform
Then in 2018 I launched a spinoff company to create Web3 smart contracts for communities to govern themselves, manage their own currencies and generally run software they don’t have to trust any central parties.
But here on HN many people knee-jerk hate and downvote it because it’s Web3 and blockchain based. You can grab them and use them for free: https://intercoin.org/applications
So I don’t know… to build these things for the good of the world takes a lot. It took me 10 years and $1 million dollars so far, and my team probably several man-decades put together. And we give it all away. But what I have noticed is that people don’t really get why something is important until they start to use it in their life.
Also we started two youtube channels where I interview people including regulators and sociopolitical thinkers and tech people. This Thursday I have Noam Chomsky and David Harvey on a panel, for instance:
Greg, the problem you frame has significant jumps, incorrect assumptions, and holes, and is painted as helpless.
If we want to survive as a species, we will have to overcome the forces of disunity and come to common ground of understanding, and ensure the people who have the power to enact necessary change listen.
The issues you mention all stem from breakdowns of the fundamentals that made things work. The fundamentals have been known for quite a while. Structurally much of what you mention is misunderstanding these fundamentals, and instead seems to be just an emotional grouping of associations.
We all have it sometimes but knowing the cause gives us agency and allows us to address the issues as opposed to having it stripped being unable to act.
Here are some questions that may help you refine your understanding:
Should people be compensated more for exceeding expectations or production goals.
If they create something once, are they obligated to always improve and maintain it without reasonable compensation.
Should a majority of everything be automated, what benefit does that provide society who relies on wages for food, and work experience as growth that sparks insights and progress. Automated obviously means these companies pay out no wages beyond shareholder profits and management.
Surveillance capitalism will continue because no one has stopped it.
This allows interference into important parts of our lives that compose our identities. What generally happens to people when interference in that area reaches a certain level and is intractible, isolating, or stripping of agency? If that doesn't spark thought, What happens when prisoner's are kept in solitary?
Would your children be able to live in the world you are building (through action or inaction) and deal with the deceit, misinformation and lies. Will they have the same agency you enjoyed, and the same benefits and opportunities, if you couldn't prepare them for example if the bus factor happens.
People often hate Big Tech and Big Government overreach and surveillance capitalism and war and … but there is no viable alternative.
Since 2011 I have been writing, with my own dev team, at my own expense, an open source platform so communities worldwide can have an alternative to Big Tech. We reached 11 million users in over 100 countries and translated to 15 languages.
But most VCs and investors don’t understand it and say we are doing too much. You can use it here: https://github.com/Qbix/Platform
Then in 2018 I launched a spinoff company to create Web3 smart contracts for communities to govern themselves, manage their own currencies and generally run software they don’t have to trust any central parties.
But here on HN many people knee-jerk hate and downvote it because it’s Web3 and blockchain based. You can grab them and use them for free: https://intercoin.org/applications
So I don’t know… to build these things for the good of the world takes a lot. It took me 10 years and $1 million dollars so far, and my team probably several man-decades put together. And we give it all away. But what I have noticed is that people don’t really get why something is important until they start to use it in their life.
Also we started two youtube channels where I interview people including regulators and sociopolitical thinkers and tech people. This Thursday I have Noam Chomsky and David Harvey on a panel, for instance:
https://youtube.com/IntercoinOrg
https://youtube.com/QbixPlatform
If I needed people’s appreciation or VC investment I would have given up long ago.