Oddbean

AI isn't the problem, Sam is. But Sam already enslaves many of us because we are dependent on him(or anyone in his position). If we remove the dependency by creating our own tools (AI, bitcoin, nostr) then we have nothing to fear from him or other centralized positions of power, they would simply be irrelevant.

Yes it is scary, I don't know how this trend is broken. Take heart though, solutions often come when they are most needed, look at what exists today with decentralized solutions that were basically unknown 5 years ago.

Sam also isn't *the* problem. Even his actions, which are based in either ignorance, or malice, or he does so because he took a bribe, or they made a threat of violence to himself or loved ones. Even these are not the problem. They are all effects of a deeper problem. "But to tear down a factory or to revolt against a government or to avoid repair of a motorcycle because it is a system is to attack effects rather than causes; and as long as the attack is upon effects only, no change is possible. The true system, the real system, is our present construction of systematic thought itself, rationality itself, and if a factory is torn down but the rationality which produced it is left standing, then that rationality will simply produce another factory. If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will repeat themselves in the succeeding government." - Robert Pirsig. Taking evil down when the effects that caused this evil linger on won't do anything in the long term. But indeed, what you describe is a solution! Sidestepping their tools of slavery and revoking our attention to their nightmare is what we are doing right now.

there are two issues as i see them: 1. the need to survive earn $$$$s 2 the lack of time to survive they may both in turn be a silver lining .... the system is doing everything it can to prevent the time to see choices or act on them. people are now running to stand still. ai is another distraction. you can now be even busier doing .... what? the work of six people for the same money. we all know the sad outcome of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. there is a point and it may come sooner than we think. as ai takes its toll on the workforce, it is often the talent (expensive) that get ejected from the machine first. the drones or workers that do as commanded remain. the talent, ejected to the sidewalk, will find new ways out of necessity. this is the pain point that will bring about change. necessity is the mother of invention. the system may prove to be its own worst enemy. we need to be ready to assist the ejected and encourage their new ideas, developments and systems. in short order a brighter, more diverse and certainly interesting world may well evolve. a world where ai serves as it should and not as a weapon. just sharing my 100 Sats worth (aka 10 cents) my thanks to @Jeff Booth for showing how humans will still be the super computers. GM 🙃