"You should understand that people like you, are our pets.”
“Pets?”, I asked.
I must have not been hiding my emotions very well, because he said, “Don’t look so disgusted. I understand that you have been raised to believe that you have independent thoughts and decisions. It is not an easy concept to let go of. That is why, it is so effective as a management tool. Now, you know."
“It seems like everyone would benefit from these technologies.”, I said. “Maybe they could reverse global warming.”
Got it, Decentralization is Good.
“How do these technologies threaten you?”, I questioned.
“The implementation of these technologies means people generate their own power, manufacture their own products, produce their own food, recycle their water, communicate independently of corporate infrastructure, and educate themselves according to their own standards. They empower people to live, and organize collectively instead of as individuals. If these things happen, our society falls apart. Order cannot be maintained.”
“What do you mean by the technology that can free people?”, I asked. This I wanted to know. I perked up and paid attention. If there is any way to create alternatives stop these people’s control over society, I want to know. Even if I cannot do anything about it.
“I was not directly involved in developing technological advancements, but I knew people who were. I was rather impressed with the whole thing. All of the decentralized tools were replaced with centralized services, which collected information on people. We also had the services written with planned obsolescence in their design. Instead of designing hardware to fail, we limited the life of the software which supports any given device. People could continue to use their old hardware but they would not get updates for their software.
“I thought the internet is empowering and liberating people”, I said.
“That’s what we want people to believe so that they embrace it in their lives, and trust it with their information, locations, and relationships. It is essential that people trust handing over their data to corporations, which work with data brokers. We rely on this data to maintain control of society. However, there was a moment where we nearly lost control. There was a time when, the internet did have the potential for empowering people.”
“How so?”, I asked.
“In America, during the early 1970s, the Vietnam war was brought to an end by a massive bombing campaign within the United States. The anti war movement felt it had run out of peaceful options, and began bombing banks, recruitment offices, and police stations. Very few people were killed by the bombs, but the property damage and loss of services, were enough to force the administration to bring an end to the war."
“Is it really so easy to manage the expectations of people?”, I Asked. He began to expand on what he said before.
“Yes it is. It has been for some time. Not just through market incentives, but also through newspapers, television, and textbooks. We have shaped the information and culture, which people are exposed to. They believe they are making their own choices about how to live, but we have presented all the choices to them through the media.”