Already seeing this behavior in my kids: they don’t trust online interactions or information. Not only have they participated in the “fake memories” of an Instagram post, but they have been burned by viral stories that turned out to be a lie.
All four of my kids have voluntarily deleted addictive apps or quit social media altogether.
What I am seeing is a shift to more traditional roles. Boys looking for “trad wives” and girls looking for Rip from Tombstone. So while I don’t doubt some selection is happening down the virtual & autist gene pool, I think another selection is happening as a counterpoint at least.
We are using the internet to create cohorts, consciously, that we will choose in-person. It’s no longer a byproduct of our location. We will choose.
Tom Woods figured this out during covid. He threw a huge party in Orlando for his podcast listeners in 2021, and I went. (I couldn’t make his 2020 Christmas party).
I could see *immediately* that this was the way. This is why I joke-not-joke about Gatoworld (shall we have a Cat Call? Badumdum). Because these forums are for finding the people we want to shake hands with.
I’m serious. I will meet up with people on the basis of these realms. I am picking my next location on the basis of where my people are.
A great thought-provoking article! I've seen talk about how, as AI photos and video become undecipherable from real media, over time we may adjust to not trust any photos or video.
I could see the same thing happening with virtual life in general and a return to face-to-face business. That's a surprisingly hopeful way of looking at it.
Yes Gato we are in a period of punctuated equilibrium, ergo speciation.
Here's why:
Technology
Specifically because we are at a point where we can consciously put our hands on the very same process that emerged consciousness (albeit unthinkingly); biological and social evolution. We are at a place where we can self-speciate.
And we will because circumstances will dictate it. AI will only accelerate this. Primarily because the acceleration of the acceleration of this technology (and others) is beyond human comprehension. We are going to experience change like never before. Change like a zygote in the geometric process of dividing.
It will be explosive beyond imagination; and it will separate humanity into the haves and have nots.
I would suggest folks accept this and become familiar with these technologies, lest they be left behind.
We live in a brave new world; one in which AI can already detect sarcasm.
How long before AI can volitionally search for sarcasm?
How long before AI can deploy sarcasm?
Is sarcasm a sliver of consciousness. I would argue yes.
So how long before AI assimilate other slivers of consciousness and then consolidates these traits? I think people may be surprised.
The rush and crush of technological advancement can be likened to the building of the Tower of Babel.
Man, in his attempt to replace God, the true Creator, attempting to build a structure (infrastructure) they deem superior, able to create superior beings.
It is a fools errand with potentially devastating consequences. We can see some of those early stages already in zombie-like kids it’s created, who roam about, disconnected from the people and reality present around them, with their heads buried inside their phones - and they walk right into a pole.
Eventually reality smacks everyone in the face.
“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”
Well, funny thing. There's a commercial that plays all the time on cable for a package of deodorant products whose inventor promises "you'll be as stink-free as humanly possible" and every time I see it I think they are destroying important scent signals for finding a suitable mate (or even a congenial friend).
And meanwhile the latest face fashion trend for women is to look grim and starved with buccal plastic surgery removing all signs of nubile cheeks.
It's true, but these poor kids don't know it these days, that you gotta work up a sweat to be properly fuckable, boys and girls alike. No wonder dating apps are working out so poorly. They need Smell-O-Vision.
Fascinating. Made me think that maybe the cause of the lowering testosterone levels might be a counterintuitive selection advantage. Maybe women are seeking mates with low T, with knock on effects with each generation. With relatively stable societies and widely available insemination tech, low T levels may not be the reproduction disadvantage that you would think it would be at first glance. And maybe that explains the exaggerated sexuality in current society. Maybe low T men need high heels, form fitting yoga pants, and raunchy talk to be aroused, whereas old style high T men needed but a breath of wind and a thought.
There is no substitute for genuine face-to-face authentic interaction. I could be "present" on 100 zoom calls and it would not make up for the lack of being present with someone face-to-face. On a side note, what kind of artificial world is being created? I have visions of people sitting alone in their tiny apartment with their VR goggles strapped around their head actually thinking they are living. They will require their "soma" each and every day (term from Aldous Huxley's book, "A Brave New World.") This sounds like a hellacious nightmare, but it's soon to become a dystopia reality. I hope you're right, Gato! I hope this quickly leads to more face-to-face interaction and authentic relationship. Otherwise, loneliness will overtake every aspect of our culture/society.
It's always been like this, yes, so -- boys and girls-- proceed on down that eloi rabbit hole and make your very own evolutionary bottleneck. All the king's men and all the king's horses won't be able to put your gametes together again.
If anyone denies that genetics plays a role in human achievement, ask them to explain the makeup of players on an NBA court. And then why if someone can be fast, quick, tall and possess remarkable physical coordination, why is it hard to conceive the idea that some will be more suited to math, or physics, or scientific reasoning.
As someone who started a business before emails and computers and cell phones, everything was in person. Email enabled people to be much nastier than they would dare be in person and from my experience was detrimental to success and problem resolution.
Twitter, and all the other means of social media allows devious, ignorant and untrustworthy people to reach millions with their aberrant ideas and thoughts.
Always communicate like it’s face to face is a good rule.
Well, crypto bros don’t run the world, yet. Maybe the West has become effeminate and soft, but that not the case in the rest of the world. I think it’s temporary and cyclical. I think it’s a bit of a reach to assume we’re doomed to being ruled by Asperger’s sufferers. Most women don’t want a milquetoast, incommunicative flabby mate.
Beyond that, it’s a numbers game. 2000 crypto bros, a few thousand masters of the Wall Street universe are not most of humanity.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s a good way to underestimate people.
Already seeing this behavior in my kids: they don’t trust online interactions or information. Not only have they participated in the “fake memories” of an Instagram post, but they have been burned by viral stories that turned out to be a lie.
All four of my kids have voluntarily deleted addictive apps or quit social media altogether.
What I am seeing is a shift to more traditional roles. Boys looking for “trad wives” and girls looking for Rip from Tombstone. So while I don’t doubt some selection is happening down the virtual & autist gene pool, I think another selection is happening as a counterpoint at least.
What a marvelous exercise in flip thinking. Thank goodness for your unique brain and substack for facilitating access to it!
We are using the internet to create cohorts, consciously, that we will choose in-person. It’s no longer a byproduct of our location. We will choose.
Tom Woods figured this out during covid. He threw a huge party in Orlando for his podcast listeners in 2021, and I went. (I couldn’t make his 2020 Christmas party).
I could see *immediately* that this was the way. This is why I joke-not-joke about Gatoworld (shall we have a Cat Call? Badumdum). Because these forums are for finding the people we want to shake hands with.
I’m serious. I will meet up with people on the basis of these realms. I am picking my next location on the basis of where my people are.
A great thought-provoking article! I've seen talk about how, as AI photos and video become undecipherable from real media, over time we may adjust to not trust any photos or video.
I could see the same thing happening with virtual life in general and a return to face-to-face business. That's a surprisingly hopeful way of looking at it.
Yes Gato we are in a period of punctuated equilibrium, ergo speciation.
Here's why:
Technology
Specifically because we are at a point where we can consciously put our hands on the very same process that emerged consciousness (albeit unthinkingly); biological and social evolution. We are at a place where we can self-speciate.
And we will because circumstances will dictate it. AI will only accelerate this. Primarily because the acceleration of the acceleration of this technology (and others) is beyond human comprehension. We are going to experience change like never before. Change like a zygote in the geometric process of dividing.
It will be explosive beyond imagination; and it will separate humanity into the haves and have nots.
I would suggest folks accept this and become familiar with these technologies, lest they be left behind.
We live in a brave new world; one in which AI can already detect sarcasm.
How long before AI can volitionally search for sarcasm?
How long before AI can deploy sarcasm?
Is sarcasm a sliver of consciousness. I would argue yes.
So how long before AI assimilate other slivers of consciousness and then consolidates these traits? I think people may be surprised.
I say get prepared.
The rush and crush of technological advancement can be likened to the building of the Tower of Babel.
Man, in his attempt to replace God, the true Creator, attempting to build a structure (infrastructure) they deem superior, able to create superior beings.
It is a fools errand with potentially devastating consequences. We can see some of those early stages already in zombie-like kids it’s created, who roam about, disconnected from the people and reality present around them, with their heads buried inside their phones - and they walk right into a pole.
Eventually reality smacks everyone in the face.
“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”
Outstanding outstanding outstanding! It’s this Fcking fear that’s being peddled that’s moving so many onto unnatural, harmful paths.
Well, funny thing. There's a commercial that plays all the time on cable for a package of deodorant products whose inventor promises "you'll be as stink-free as humanly possible" and every time I see it I think they are destroying important scent signals for finding a suitable mate (or even a congenial friend).
And meanwhile the latest face fashion trend for women is to look grim and starved with buccal plastic surgery removing all signs of nubile cheeks.
It's true, but these poor kids don't know it these days, that you gotta work up a sweat to be properly fuckable, boys and girls alike. No wonder dating apps are working out so poorly. They need Smell-O-Vision.
Fascinating. Made me think that maybe the cause of the lowering testosterone levels might be a counterintuitive selection advantage. Maybe women are seeking mates with low T, with knock on effects with each generation. With relatively stable societies and widely available insemination tech, low T levels may not be the reproduction disadvantage that you would think it would be at first glance. And maybe that explains the exaggerated sexuality in current society. Maybe low T men need high heels, form fitting yoga pants, and raunchy talk to be aroused, whereas old style high T men needed but a breath of wind and a thought.
Have you checked out the Amish lately?
A few centuries of very specific social-evolutionary pressure can create some striking results.
There is no substitute for genuine face-to-face authentic interaction. I could be "present" on 100 zoom calls and it would not make up for the lack of being present with someone face-to-face. On a side note, what kind of artificial world is being created? I have visions of people sitting alone in their tiny apartment with their VR goggles strapped around their head actually thinking they are living. They will require their "soma" each and every day (term from Aldous Huxley's book, "A Brave New World.") This sounds like a hellacious nightmare, but it's soon to become a dystopia reality. I hope you're right, Gato! I hope this quickly leads to more face-to-face interaction and authentic relationship. Otherwise, loneliness will overtake every aspect of our culture/society.
It's always been like this, yes, so -- boys and girls-- proceed on down that eloi rabbit hole and make your very own evolutionary bottleneck. All the king's men and all the king's horses won't be able to put your gametes together again.
If anyone denies that genetics plays a role in human achievement, ask them to explain the makeup of players on an NBA court. And then why if someone can be fast, quick, tall and possess remarkable physical coordination, why is it hard to conceive the idea that some will be more suited to math, or physics, or scientific reasoning.
As someone who started a business before emails and computers and cell phones, everything was in person. Email enabled people to be much nastier than they would dare be in person and from my experience was detrimental to success and problem resolution.
Twitter, and all the other means of social media allows devious, ignorant and untrustworthy people to reach millions with their aberrant ideas and thoughts.
Always communicate like it’s face to face is a good rule.
Well, crypto bros don’t run the world, yet. Maybe the West has become effeminate and soft, but that not the case in the rest of the world. I think it’s temporary and cyclical. I think it’s a bit of a reach to assume we’re doomed to being ruled by Asperger’s sufferers. Most women don’t want a milquetoast, incommunicative flabby mate.
Beyond that, it’s a numbers game. 2000 crypto bros, a few thousand masters of the Wall Street universe are not most of humanity.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s a good way to underestimate people.
I never spend more than 50 bucks on a pair of genes. I wonder what one gene would cost?
I'm still sorting out whether this gave me hope, or if it made me even happier that I'm old and don't have that much time left to see the outcomes.