Mastodawn

so much progressive tech criticism has become deeply reactionary of late

i.e. constantly reacting to new innovations and changes and becoming increasingly conservative in their desire to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop!," to use the old Buckleyism

and it is dismaying, not only because of science and technology's historic role on the left

but also because it cedes the entire *concept* of technological automation to the right-libertarians who have fought for so long to strip technology of its egalitarian, liberating power

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MarkNReprisal Dec 29, 2022

@provisionalidea I will admit to suffering a failure of imagination on the topic. Perhaps my inability to see progressive orgs resilient/resourced enough to use those tools at an impactful scale. I would love to be wrong.

Ex: @ProPublica does exceptional work. But how much lasting change has their journalism sparked?

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provisionalidea Dec 30, 2022

@KBTechEnt @ProPublica

I think part of the issue is that many on the left have an almost...emotional attachment to certain classical forms of advocacy and protest that are poorly-suited to this particular historical moment. And that is where the new innovations can be used most cleverly, if only there were will to do so.

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RabbitPellets Jan 1, 2023

@provisionalidea Somebody's always objecting to everything, but I'm unsure what "left" objections to tech you have in mind.
- Fear of AI? (I'm scared of abdication of responsibility - well under way in the human biological realm).
- Negative effects of social media algorithms? (A logical extension of existing crap popular culture, so yeah, still lousy).
- "Job destroying automation" - bad because the 3rd world has so many 8 year olds who ought to be slaving instead of machines?

- Galloping change leaving its monkey man creators trying to play catch up? Okay, that one's scary. Bring me a plow horse, I'm going Amish!

At some point tech has to be a deliberate choice. After all, we put aside the gulliotine & gas warfare. One way or another choices happen.

Right now I should be out digging a hole instead of Tooting. Driveway drainage issue & I need the exercise - but instead Wall-E larva like we collectively wriggle toward our Hollywood release....