Comparing the centralized, globalist technocracy the powers that be are trying to build to the Tower of Babel is incredibly apt. The original was actually an attempt to draw down God and "domesticate" Him. It was absolutely a project of control, just like the current iteration.
As for those “optimists” who are eager to retort that AI is like any technology that came before, and that it will create a new wave of fresh jobs — I’m afraid you are mistaken. AI is not like the printing press, the personal computer, or the internet. AI is not a tool that can be learned or harnessed. Nobody really knows how this thing works, not even its creators. According to recent admissions, “Scientists increasingly can’t explain how AI works.” All they can do is “train” it, i.e. try to satisfy its insatiable hunger for terabytes of personal data. What happens from there is a black box.
One can't help but think of ancient pagan rituals, offering sacrifice to an unknown entity in exchange for knowledge and wisdom.
If you can use your hands to build real things, you are highly skilled. If you can grow your food, build your shelter, fix your car, mend your clothes — those skills will serve you and your loved ones for years to come.
Self sufficiency and tight-knit communities are definitely key. Our citadels and strongholds are absolutely necessary. We also need to go on the offensive. What does it matter if we have sparse small communities if a majority of your society thinks its okay to eat insects and corrupt children?
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Well said, thank you
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I think they'll try to license GPUs, or access to them.
I can here the narrative now. "GPUs are more dangerous than guns because people can run their own 'unsafe' AIs, or mine non-KYC CO2-creating Bitcoins, or play violent video games that cause school shootings.", they'll say.
At first it'll just be just to "know where they are, so we can keep track -- what do you have to hide?". Then it'll turn into charging increasingly higher fees, or unrelated information disclosures, for the license to possess them which is a form of throttle. It'll turn into a hassle, so casual consumer use cases of GPUs will flip architecturally such that you can play games using remote access to google's GPU. After that, "it doesn't matter if we ban GPUs, the ONLY people who use them, are miners and black-market-AI, we can stop this now!"
"Let's just 6102 the GPUs"
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Interesting, haven't looked into GPUs that much.
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Good points. I sit in front of a computer almost all day (when I'm not working out outdoors and walking barefoot). Still plan to leave the fiat mine and do some online work against their playbook.
I would add that it depends on your connections, too. I don't know how to grow my own food or build my house but I have a few close friends who live off-grid and do. That can buy me some time until I live in my own citadel.
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Thanks, man. That's my approach too.
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This reminds me a great deal of the contempt with which Thomas Jefferson is recorded to have viewed cities. I've included a link to an article below (that I mostly concur with) for reference, and its not very difficult to gather similar ideas when studying the Jeffersonians, who opposed the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, in their attempts to centralize power in the newly formed government and establish a national bank. https://www.governing.com/context/thomas-jefferson-epidemics-and-his-vision-for-american-cities.html
But this really comes down to the fact that humans (for the most part) have understood for a long time that being self-sufficient as much as possible in the essentials of life (food production, shelter, etc.) is preferable to the alternative, and land ownership is a valuable means of meeting these ends. Decentralization is arguably as important here as anywhere else. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be as intuitive as it used to be.
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Yeah, all those things we are trying to figure out, used to be considered common sense only a few generations ago.
Why would anyone give away their land and means of sustenance. In retrospect, it sounds so simple and self-evident.
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I've heard this sort of anprim noises from Derrick Broze (Freedom Cells / Conscious Resistance) before. You articulate it better I think (the bar is low though). That said I disagree with you almost everywhere.
Division of labour is actually good. Free market always evolves towards greater efficiency. If you're more efficient farming and I'm more efficient pressing buttons on a computer, then the market would push you to do only farming and me to do only pushing buttons. Having good money such as Bitcoin only makes the market even more efficient and therefore promotes even stronger division of labour.
And this stuff goes into cringe WTF territory:
Your funding needs to be open source too. If you are sponsored by a foundation or non-profit and you cannot identify who is funding them (many don’t disclose their donors) then you are no different to a corporate gofer.
Most open source developers are not builders; they are activists on a crusade against some autocrat, dictator, or oppressive regime on the other side of the planet.
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Thanks for your feedback. I should have elaborated on my "developer" critique better, or left it out altogether because it's somewhat of a different topic.
Here is something to ponder, though:
What good are your computer skills if you need permission to access food.
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What good are your computer skills if you need permission to access food.
In this case you need black market. And the black market needs Bitcoin. Even you'll need Bitcoin because you still need fertilizer, energy, fuel, tools and computers.
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Ok, great. Your approach seems to align with Derrick Broze's. His books discuss the importance of black markets throughout history.
I don't believe Bitcoin can cut it in black markets. Nothing beats cash or silver and gold coins, in those scenarios.
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Indeed, my disagreements with Derrick Broze are not about the importance of black markets.
But all of those things can't be sent through the net, and that locks down your black market to the physical world. Here's 100 sats, see how Bitcoin works where cash and metals don't?
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Loved the article. How did I not know that your substack existed? Sent some sats your way through alby.
If I may ask, our family owns a plot of land and there's a house where we grow crops. Summer is coming and I spend a lot of time there in nature with my thoughts.
I can't help but wonder, if things become very chaotic, any coercive government or militia would take our crops, valuables, our woodpile reserves, and even our abled children, so isn't our effort slightly futile? Even with pitchforks and guns we'll have a hard time fighting them.
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Sure, they can, but doing this to decentralized land owners is expensive and it doesn't scale.
In cities, on the other hand, everyone is crammed together in the same urban area, making it much easier for authorities to control them.
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thanks for your support too :)
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Yes, I start building my own citadel, a small homesteading place, trying to be self-sufficient as much is possible. I know how to grow my own food, I know how to raise domestic animals to bring me more food. I do not have good educated skills for building, but I have (still) a strong mind and 30+ years working in many different fields. I use my brain and intelligence to build what I need, with no blueprints whatsoever. If I fail, I will start over, until is done better. Human nature is to learn from failures and build your experience and knowledge from testing all kind of methods, until is good for you, as you think is enough for you.
I moved away from big city 10 years ago, I now live in a small mountain village, but this is not the last stop. My citadel is deep into the mountains, far from idiocy. When will be ready, will just move there and live a sovereign life, in peace, in a natural environment.
And I will not give a shit about all the rest of the so called "society".
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Great to hear, brother. Thanks for leading by example.
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The Tower of Babel story is a premonition of the future where people build tall mega-structures in rebellion against God and aesthetic beauty. Today, symbols of this rebellion include uglier and unfinished skyscrapers like The Shard in London and the EU parliament building in Strasbourg. AI is increasingly replacing human work and college education, making workers obsolete. This renders freedom dependent on the four pillars of health, wealth, mobility, and skills, of which only real skills like farming and craftsmanship can provide true freedom. Only by disconnecting from mass-produced products, cities, and big supply chains, and by strengthening faith, can we escape the illusion of a virtual Tower of Babel world that is bound to collapse.
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