The Robotic Neo-feudalism Apocalypse and you!
The Robotic Neo-feudalism Apocalypse and you!
This is not a attempt at slander or a call to action in any form. This is simply a thought experiment for entertainment purposes.
I have always had a fascination with the apocalypse and the many ways it could be triggered. When you are talking about the apocalypse you have use many categories and qualifiers. Is it global or regional, is it a setback for a decade, century or is it the end of intelligent life on earth? The nuclear apocalypse for example has many variations and scales it can occur at. It could devastate a region a continent or globally. This could lead to the extinction of intelligent life on earth as we know it. The microbes will be fine, but people would have a struggle or two. This is one I personally feel has a very high likelihood to occur eventually not because people are evil but because it is answerable to a few people and a bad moment and about 15 minutes is all it needs to occur. I pray we will never see this in our lifetimes or ever frankly.
The Robotic Neo-feudalism Apocalypse is one that takes place over decades in plain sight, under a guise and in the background hidden from view. This is apocalypse based around a type of addiction and that is a addiction to power. Power is a helluva drug and can cause a addiction to it. People have this disease in all strata of society, although this is not a officially recognized addiction. Just like anorexia nervosa or body builders using steroids to get bigger at the cost of their health. Power as a disease is something that becomes more degenerative over time, power corrupts is considered a truism amongst most people. These are people who consider themselves to be above their peers and society in general. They wield power not for the greater good but for powers sake to feel that rush they get when they wield it.
I am going to lay one scenario that this could take place as this is not the only variation of this scenario just one style of it. The global population as of 2025 is 8.2 billion people this imposes many limitations on our resources and societies. This is not a insurmountable problem we have overcome these limitations in the past. We are the terminator of species as far as survival goes. Some organizations however see the solution to overcoming this obstacle to be a dramatic reduction in the global population in a short amount of time. This isn't done naturally or peaceable, this done through non-democratic and even totalitarian means. A example of this is China's infamous one child policy this limited Chinese families to one child. If your family had a second child or a child of the non preferred sex this often led to the death of that child as well has legal repercussions for that family. This policy led to a large gender gap and age gap in the population as well as leading to tickle down effects in the society and economy of china. They are still grappling with those effects to this day.
As we further automate processes and replace people in the work force we are forcing them out of often good paying jobs and the workforce in general. This can reduce the costs for the consumer however this can also limit the amount of people who can afford the products in general. This largely benefits the companies more than the people they are providing a service to. I don't think of this a intentional policy or the intended outcome however, organizations like water follow the easiest path forward "or the most profitable". These people eventually as the process continues become outsiders to the wider society and economy. The answer is always they can go to school and get a better job however there is a enormous amount of logistics and time require for that effort. This isn't just a statistic this is peoples lives and their families well-being. Eventually we are going to see the rise of machines or robots who are so advanced the can replace a enormous number of people in the work force. This is already happening in our daily lives from the small touch screen at the self check out to the AI being used for making large statistical analysis. The question become who benefits from the use of these technologies, and who controls these technologies. If even 20% of the workforce is replaced by these types of technologies this give a inordinate amount of power to the people who control and benefit from them. What if they decide they don't need the rest of those people. What could actually stop them? Imagine if they control a legion of robots that make them a ruler in all but name? What if they control your water supply, car, planes, the internet or even eventually the AI used to govern our country.
If they decide that those people are a drain on the wider resources, what do they do to them? Does this lead to totalitarian solutions? What if they decide they are more powerful than the state and functionally have the economy held hostage? Where do their loyalties lie? If a large amount of these types of people arise globally and they already are to be honest. They only see each other as peers and completion they don't factor in the wider society except as a means of control or how it benefits them. This is Neo-feudalism brought to you by robotics and has a real risk of arising in our lifetimes. I don't know of a solution to this problem however I do think this is a important thought experiment to consider this is a question that has real world national security risks. If these people are not loyal to their country and people they can be influenced by outside actors or their own desires to operate against the greater good of their country. Not everyone in that position is going to think that way however there is a real risk in this situation. If we allow these people to become more powerful than some countries are they pose a existential risk to wider society.
Once again this is not intended to be a call to action or slander in any form. This is meant to be a thought experiment for entertainment purposes I hope you enjoyed it.
With gratitude and love,
Fox
This image was made by Nakama ma you can find more of their work here: https://www.vecteezy.com/members/114283226742932011360
