SLEEPWALKING INTO A DYSTOPIAN FUTURE

Google computerism and this definition pops up.

“Computerism: A political ideology which maintains that all government power should be delegated to a computer or artificial intelligence.”

But the definition is not quite accurate. It’s not an ideology. It’s an accident.

Tech wizards invent new technology because they think it is cool
Investors fund that technology because it will earn them a lot of money
A corporate management structure emerges that controls vast amounts of money, and the power money brings
They employ sales people who market to government agencies
Government agencies advertise jobs that attract employees who don’t rock the boat, don’t question the moral, political or ethical implications of the tools
Government agencies implement the new technology inventions – now nicely packaged, and build digital walls to insulate themselves from the public
Like the concentration camp workers – if called out, they claim they are just following orders, just doing their job. Unlike Nuremburg, they are not prosecuted
At the top, the elected officials have no training or intellectual capacity to understand what is happening. They approve the administration’s proposed laws
And the public, having become accustomed to technology in their lives, do not notice their loss of freedom until it is too late
Instead of a justice system, one has a violation notice system where an email issues a fine or a prohibition. To appeal is a penalty in itself.
Computerism takes hold. It runs every aspect of almost everyone’s lives.

Computer technology – that bundle of data capture, analysis, linking and gateway tools – gives bureaucracy powers unimaginable in earlier times.

The laws that govern use of such technology are inadequate. Because no top-down democratic decision was made to end democracy and shift to computerism, the response is sleepwalking into the tyranny of computerism.

When algorithms control the locks and wallets of society

photo: Trevor Paglen, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Christmas dinners bring together family and friends who, after the meal, song and laughter settle into reflective conversation recapping the year as it comes to an end. One cousin bemoans creeping socialism.

Another, more thoughtful relative replies: are socialism, communism and capitalism outdated analogue ideologies, and unless society and its leaders wake up, society will sleepwalk into computerism? From that conversation came this web page.

Socialism and capitalism are ideologies. They begin with thinkers, like Karl Marx, who look at what is, judge it as bad, and then set out a system of government management of the economy that is intended to cure society’s ills and bring about a utopia on earth. Such intellectual concepts tend to appeal to idealists who overlook the complexity of human nature. The systems they actually create to bring about harmony and comfort tend to become tools of tyranny. They very much appeal to academics during the theory stage and to power-seekers when they move into governance.

Computerism is a very different beast. It is not emerging from social theory, but from inventors and improvers. Techies, geeks, nerds, those people who are attracted to a creative toolset that begins with a keyboard, display screen and increasingly more powerful software applications that allow today’s inventors to build on yesterday’s accomplishments. 45 billion digital cameras, including a billion surveillance cameras capture the visual world, but their data needs increasingly intelligent AI computers to use algorithms that find the needles in the haystack. In 2022, there were 8.5 trillion digital money transactions, and 29 billion active credit cards, each trackable. As computerism grows, algorithms will be able to analyse every transaction. This will be made legal in the name of anti-money laundering and tax evasion, but once present, it will be used by law enforcement to target criminal activities.

The problem lies in the algorithm. Policy-makers decide a behaviour is bad and the algorithm is written to segregate people by grading their behaviour in a sort of pass-fail number based upon which rights and privileges are granted or denied. People who participate in society – holding jobs, running businesses, using banks and public transport find access determined by their digital passport.

What to do about it

New amendments to the Bill of Rights is the starting point. Algorithms that impact people’s lives must be subject to a system of checks and balances where any individual can challenge the effect, and where the State subsidises the person’s lawyers and the challenge process.

The right to be left alone
The right to a job and a career
The right to have a bank account, credit card and other financial instruments
The right to due process of law, where the above cannot be cancelled without a trial and conviction

Your Money

Your money can be frozen by a private bank. Your can lose your job because you refuse to comply with a government edict

Your Face

As cameras appear everywhere, linked to central databases, your privacy vanishes. If law enforcement was by trusted guardians, this would not matter. But if enforced by enforcers who do not question, you lose your privacy.

Your Travel

As travel is scanned. As barriers run by computers require your ID is approved, your freedom of movement is curtailed. The many databases become linked, and if your profile is flagged as a risk – as determined by an algorithm, not a court of law, the barriers will not open.

Your Freedom

Freedom is messy. Conformity is tidy. Governments exist to balance the rights of the individual while ensuring society gets along. Government officials tend toward enforcement – curtailing the freedoms enjoyed by people, while their elected officials are supposed to protect those freedoms.