By Donald Kendal
“In the future, you will not have anything and will be happy.” This infamous line From the World Economic Forum (WEF) has become viral a few years ago and for good reasons. He encapsulated a vision of the world in which everyday people are stripped of their freedom and reduced to “tenants” of products and services provided by a ruling elite.
Let me paint an even more scary scenario: in the future, you could be checked, and you may not even make it.
During most of human history, authoritarian regimes relied on the brute force to control the masses. The Stormtroopers hit the door, the secret police “disappeared” from the dissidents, the censorship office destroyed printing presses. These are the very frank and visible tools for totalitarian control. They were effective, to some extent. But they came at a political cost. When the soldiers are on the streets that break skulls, people notice. Resistance is built.
Today, totalitarianism takes a new approach. Emerging technologies now allow governments, societies and “planners” that are not elected to apply their will quietly, effectively and almost invisible. They may not need jack boots in the streets to enforce their will. Instead, they will increasingly use “elbows”, “sustainability initiatives” and “impartial” algorithmic decision -making.
Orders are already in place
It is not speculative. This is already happening.
In the United States, the United Kingdom and other nations, energy companies are deploying “intelligent” meters that allow them to monitor, and even reduce, the consumption of electricity remotely. In most cases, it is voluntary. Customers can register and your air conditioner will be strangled on hot days to help “save the grid”. But the infrastructure for compulsory rationing is now in place.
A clip on X recently showed that Patricia Poppe, CEO of California Utility PG & E, speaking at a WEF conference, boasting of the way the new technology would allow the ability to “manage” residents without their permission. At the time, the California public service sent residents an SMS alert asking them to reduce their electricity consumption. “This demand management with modern technology can be automated,” said Poppe. “We should not have to send an SMS.”
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Social media companies proudly praise their commitment to “free expression”, but algorithmic limitation is endemic. It was the art of invisible abolition that made the headlines under the name of “Big Tech Censorhip”. Your message is not prohibited; It disappears just from sight. This practice, and others, were exposed so that everyone can see it with the publication of Twitter files a few years ago.
Geofencing and “15 -minute cities” offer another control layer. London and New York already use cameras and sensors to enforce congestion prices and “low -emission zones”. This technology allows city officials to dictate when and where people can drive. If you are surprised driving through specific areas or streets, you can be subjected to fines.
These controls also extend to health care. Employers and insurers are increasingly encouraging the use of fitness trackers and health applications. Take a look at enough and you get a discount on your premium. Jump your morning walk and you may have to pay more. During the COVVI-19 pandemic, some countries have experienced digital vaccine passports to determine where you could work, eat or travel. This “boost” model is under construction in the fabric of modern life.
The next wave
Governments around the world, including the United States, are considering or developing digital currencies supported by the bank (CBDC). Unlike species, these can be programmed. In theory, this means that your money could be prevented from buying certain goods depending on what the ruling class dictates. Many politicians openly call people to consume less meat, use less petrol and buy less firearms. Imagine living in a world where your debit card cannot process a purchase because bureaucrats and central planners disapprove of your choices.
China is already going further from this concept. Citizens are increasingly judged by a subjective “social credit rating” condemned to government. Citizens with weak scores may be prohibited from buying plane or train tickets, get loans or register their children in certain schools.
In the West, we have not yet formalized it at the individual level, but environmental, social and governance scores (ESG) for companies operate in a similar way. Companies are “pushed” to approved or punished behavior of financial penalties if they do not play ball.
On the more extreme side of things, two bioethics professors at Western Michigan University recently attracted controversy when they published an article which supposed if society could slow down meat consumption by propagating an illness that creates an allergic reaction to the consumption of red meat. Now, the teachers have said that it was simply a thought experience, but the fact that serious people even speak of it should alarm us all. The ability to manipulate not only our choices, but our biology, is on the horizon.
Related: hazelnut teachers want all humans to be infected with red meat allergies transmitted by ticks
As artificial intelligence and autonomous cars become omnipresent, the centralized control potential increases exponentially. What if your AI assistant refuses to provide you with certain information because it is deemed “harmful”? What if your car refuses to take you to a political rally? If everyday life crosses AI, daily life could be controlled by those who control and program AI.
From jacks to algorithms
In the past, the authorities have relied on physical violence. Today, control can be integrated into technology itself. No stormtroopers is necessary when your thermostat, bank account, car or social media flow quietly applies compliance. It is the genius of gentle authoritarianism; It seems normal, even practical, but it is done at the cost of your freedom.
This future is not inevitable. These technologies can empower individuals, improve economic efficiency and increase standard of living. However, these technologies could also be used by central planners to implement a “gentle tyranny”, invented by Alexis de Tocqueville.
The danger does not wake up in a police state. He never wakes up at all, because freedom claims quietly without notice. We must resist now, the demanding limits and responsibility, before the algorithms finish work jackboots once.
Donald Kendal ([email protected])) is director of the Heartland Institute emerging problem center. Follow @Emergingissuesx.
