Uberconfused

If you're thinking of being my brother...

Boston, apple, globalisation and the church, I'm afraid that all of those together just cannot be. Because then there is Uber and there is, to put it bluntly: someone might just kill poor bastards somewhere and we might somehow stop to care. Someone? Or sum-thing rather. If we are moving towards a world in which everything is connected we could ultimately be censored beyond belief, only to submit to a higher order in which artificial intelligence controls movements, actions,  impulses and even our love life. Wars too? Well, I haven't seen any bodies lately, have you? And that is alarming. We might also stop to care because bubbles of censorship could ultimately turn us into self-obsessed egomaniacs. Because cities of decadence and play can be built as well when no one really has to work anymore. And then there's the school of too many people versus the school of not enough people. Or just not those people. The white trash and poorly coloured that have to be strictly seperated from the elite in order not to disrupt the ruins that were left behind by institutions that seem to go on and pretend as if nothing happened. One can easily be held inside a fairytale of make-belief for all I know since information is changing in real-time around us as we speak and a chain of interests is preventing us from ever seeing the truth. I for one have not been able to see economic news for many months now. And not only that, one can not speak freely anymore as voice recognition and data storage have forced our voice to obey the powers that cause growth, which are ultimately algorithms controlling the stock market, which in turn controls the economy.

We should be inclusive

In the meanwhile, scientists are working on a new gene-editing tool called CRISPR, a method for editing genes in order to rid plants and certain animals of disease. Recent tests have been carried out on 'white-footed mice' as well as on 'black-footed ticks' according to a thought-provoking essay in the New Yorker magazine, which appears to try and break the ice in a discourse that matters to all of us but is riddled in taboos. Scientists tend to be part of the elite and in a lobbycracy in which that same corporation pulls the strings, scientists and decision-makers will undoubtedly be on a leash that is too tight to be able to make decisions based on ethics and morals. What if genes can be altered in order to make animals, or humans, prettier, more productive, more effective or more efficient, in order to make these living species consume more, work harder or become dependent on medication or drugs. Which is where globalisation comes in, speaking of addiction. Because the process of editing genes is likely to be a digital one. A dangerous chain of computer-powered slavery and addiction that could follow suit, as the way it is now millions of unemployed and drug-dependent people in the western world, often minorities, are living in getto's, entire cities even in the United States, where people risk being prisoned for supporting a cycle that will cause profits, only to create more jobs for that industry. But that is all old news of course. What is new is that this cycle will soon be able to contain itself, and that is a scary prospect. Because the process of editing genes is likely to be a digital one. In that respect censorship is causing people to become estranged from friends and family, as there might be conflicting interests. All I'm saying is one cannot be forced to lie, or hide conflicts. But everyone does it. And politicians cannot be liberal and support open markets on one hand and enforce censorship at the same time. Censorship is not good. And so is talking in codes that not everyone will understand. Because that could create a rift in which the Uber will thrive as never before

Natural selection is at play here but how can we aporoach one another when we tend to live in different everyday realities where name, origin, place of birth, address and employer have to remain a secret. Singularisation has the capacity to latch us with our peers, with like minded people or those we have something in common with. Not much has to be planned for that. Just turn on your PC or phone and we get an immediate connection with those we feel like having around us. If only they were not 1.146 kilometres away from us. It takes 'to' to tango, and that appears to be one of the weaknesses of singularity. For our perfect match may remain but a sight on our screens, for as long as we cannot decrease the distance between us.