So many of my classmates pull up ChatGPT casually in the middle of class. I won’t say that I haven’t used it. Don’t get me wrong, I think the technology has its merits. What I’m critiquing isn’t the development of the technology itself, but rather the social attitudes toward it and the systems of power that create and support it.
Viktor is by far my favorite character from Arcane. Born with a disability and chronic illness, he struggles and fights to determine his own fate. Irony — external influence. Belief in eliminating imperfection.
In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good.
Yes, the technological advancements we see these days is great. But where is the good? How can we do good within our rigid systems that encourage profit over all else, that value production over being?
Turning attention to our humanity.
There is no prize to perfection, only an end to pursuit.
An end to pursuit. Cognitive offloading, dullness, Inferno of the same.
A life of perfection is a life of no love, a life lacking in eros. “It is the imperfections of life that are lovable” (The Power of Myth).
Humanity, our very essence, is inescapable. Our emotions, rage, compassion, hate. Two sides of the same coin, intractably bound. That which inspires us to our greatest good is also the cause of our greatest evil.
Ultimately the introduction of the Other is what changes Viktor’s worldview. Divine Eros, community feeling. Irony: hivemind, collectivism is not what creates unity. Rather, it is our differences that make us whole. It is difference that produces meaning, that enables synergy and harmony. Self-centeredness must be broken by relinquishing the ego.
Self-centered trend in society — fascism, nationalism, desire for control, predictability. Lack of freedom. Freedom is letting things be, letting things go, letting fate takes us along the river’s journey.
People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.
Stories, imperfection. Rapture, existence rather than production. Connection over isolation. Truly understanding another. Cannot do so without critical thinking, empathy — this is degenerating in society because of cognitive offloading and information overload. Echo chambers, algorithms, only hearing what you want to hear. Aesthetics of the right — anti-intellectualism. A society with no critical thinking is a society that is easier to control.
Socrates: man has no drive to do evil (The Courage to Be Disliked)
thoughts
I want to expand on an essay I wrote,The Necessity of Creation - How AI Mutes the Human Voice.
The ethos of humanity. Striving for perfection, automation, convenience.
I want to analyze and expand on ideas from:
- Viktor’s quotes from the final episode of Arcane and his entire character arc.
- Maybe the book God, Human, Animal, Machine? Jenny recommended it to me and it seems interesting.
- The Art of Thinking Clearly and Cognitive biases.
AI and fascism, anti-intellectualism. Meant to do menial tasks, not replace critical thinking. Cognitive decline.
Hivemind, faceless, incessant fixation on the “I” in an Inferno of the same.
technofeudalism and the death of serendipity
AI - The New Aesthetics of Fascism
I came across an Instagram reel by user frankiedoodledandy that read:
was feeling tempted to use AI to do my homework for me
and then remembered that anti-intellectualism is a hallmark of fascism and this brain needs to be trained to recognize misinformation and share complex ideas and handle nuance and if i outsource all the hard stuff to ai i become that much easier to manipulate
suddenly i love homework