I remember being mesmerized by the first Terminator movie. Beyond the fact that Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese was probably my first and only celebrity crush; something about the mind-bending, time traveling, race to stop a technology-driven apocalyptic future enthralled me. And, by the box office result and subsequent sequels … it had the same effect on many.
What’s the plot?
A technology company, with no real intent beyond making money becomes out of control, run by the machines, those machines decide mankind really isn’t worth it and poof … naked Schwarzenegger popping into the past to do away with the leader of the resistance.
Hmm? Why does this now not seem like fiction, anymore?
Facebook and Twitter have permanently banned the former President of the United States from posting his opinions. They don’t call them opinions, though … they call them “lies and misinformation”. They are now The Ministry of Truth because apparently Orwell was also writing a non-fiction book that we all mistook for fiction.
People can argue about what is and isn’t “truth”. But, truth has been a concept that has been debated since Plato. Who’s truth? Theirs? If I ask you who is the greatest band of all time and you answer, “Nickleback”, can I call you a liar? Surely, that is ridiculous and not “true”, Nickleback is an absurd answer. But, if it isn’t MY truth, does it make it a lie? It is a deep discussion, a philosophical one, one to take very seriously when determining WHO becomes the Ministers of Truth.
I mean, unless you are Facebook or Twitter. Then, you just take that role with zero recourse left to anyone on the other end of the argument. And, whomever controls the “truth” or the information … controls the country.
This was bought and paid for through donations to campaigns. Democratic campaigns in 2020 saw record donations coming in from “Silicone Valley”. They were coy with what that truly meant. Billions of dollars buying election results. Big Tech companies deciding WHAT is the truth and WHO will be in power. Then, once they seized power, they began to decide who and what would be allowed to be posted or discussed on social media, which sadly and easily, has replace the “news” for many people.
Facebook, Twitter and the like are not only run by people … but, by algorithms that many whistleblowers have come forward on the dangers of this runaway technology. Those with the deepest knowledge of the companies have testified before Congress as to the ethics involved in not only the information the “machine” collects off of us, but how it is used.
So, when you cheer because a former President of the United States is now banned from these sites … did you also root for Cyberdyne Systems in Terminator? You are so relieved that you don’t have to read mean tweets anymore that you are pathetically oblivious that you just let an algorithm-driven “machine” buy the most powerful position in the world … the keeper of what they deem true or false and the King maker to politicians.
And … like the movie … what becomes of you if they decide humanity isn’t really worth it?
Because that won’t look as pretty as Kyle Reese.
Pretty Political 