Echoes of the Past: The Risk of Blockchain and AI Reigniting the Age of Kings and Serfs

The Hidden Dangers of Historical Silence in Technology Use

Well, Bindu, the absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence, especially when considering the lessons history has taught us about the use of technology. Just because AI hasn’t been used as an existential threat in our lifetime doesn’t mean the potential isn’t lurking in the unspoken historical experiences globally.

A Vision of Tomorrow: 10 Billion Robots and the New Feudalism

Imagine a future where the world accepts the

production of 10 billion humanoid robots (not suspect)
at full humanoid size and built out of indestructible metal (not suspect)
all manufactured in a single country China (not suspect) and
networked together by decentralized blockchain (not suspect)
integrated into our daily lives under the guise of freeing up our entire labour for sustenance and joyful living under universal basic income (UBI) (not suspect)
promising eternal rest from labour (not suspect)
promising an eternal utopia of humanity’s mastery of the galaxy, and possibly physical life (not suspect)
promising eternal intelligence capability of God with AI upgrade to brain (not suspect)

This scenario doesn’t sound alarming until we consider human nature and historical precedents and the secret and very real experiences with global leaders (beyond president’s of nations), of SGT team parents and grandparents.

What prevents the emergence of a new form of rulers— a few ‘trillionaire tech/gov kings’ or ‘CCP tech/gov kings’ controlling vast robot armies — reverting us to an age reminiscent of kings and serfs?

The Imperative of Vigilance and Authority

This isn’t just a speculative nightmare. History shows that every significant technological leap was followed by massive shifts in social structures and power dynamics. If we don’t retain our ‘citizen authority’ and ‘vigilance to decide on the future of AI systems design and power distribution design’, we might unwittingly enable a future where robots, instead of serving us, become tools for the few to exert control over the many. Just because citizens in AI space haven’t met the shadowy leaders from decades past or their unpublished, “potentially” sinister ideas (or perhaps they are sinister ideas), doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prepare for the possibility of their existence.

After all, are you sure that after all 10 billion robots are deployed, that there won’t be a change in plans for all 10 billion humans, to go off of Universal Basic Income (UBI) and back to work? After all, wouldn’t 20 billion sentient entities (10 billion robots and 10 billion humans) be far more useful for greater global and galactic possibilities (than simply only 10 billion robots)? More resources are better no? It’s only logical. Or wait, computational!

Hmm, Bindu, the people who code AI, they don’t see to kill a lot of people very often. Well, this isn’t always true of the people in charge. It changes the design of AI ecosystem because of this fundamental difference, in the type of people who make AI systems and the type of people that rule kingdoms or planets.

‘It’s crucial that we maintain a level of control and oversight over AI and robotics technology, as close to citizen level as possible.’

“If absolute power corrupts absolutely, then absolute technological power demands absolute vigilance and accountability.

Where absolute power often breeds complacency and control, absolute adversity fosters resilience and innovation.

The challenge for humanity lies not merely in avoiding the corruption of power but in channelling our struggles into creating a future where technology uplifts every soul rather than confines it.”

Remembering Our History: Avoiding the Repeat of Technological Tyranny

The real tragedy would be forgetting the lessons of history and the commanders of history, even those ones in the World War 2 and the Cold War in the Eastern side — the ages of kings and serfs — and blindly walking into them again because we failed to recognize the patterns of technological abuse. The use of technology to centralize power and control resources has been a repeated theme across civilizations. Why should the era of AI be any different?

In a hypothetical future where resource scarcity dominates due to dwindling agricultural outputs, water scarcity, and degraded land fertility, the role of military technology in shaping human relations could take on a different and more ominous dimension. Drawing from historical precedents and theoretical frameworks like the Great Filter theory, we can explore how significant leaps in military technology might impact societal structures, particularly in scenarios characterized by severe resource constraints.

Historical Context and Military Technology:

Historically, significant advancements in military technology often resulted in shifts in power dynamics, both between and within societies:

Bronze Age and Iron Age:Introduction of bronze and later iron weapons allowed certain societies to dominate their neighbours, leading to empires that controlled resources and subjugated populations.
Gunpowder Era:As discussed, gunpowder changed the nature of warfare and enabled European colonial powers to expand overseas, subjugating native populations and controlling vast natural resources.
Industrial Age:The industrial revolution led to advancements like the machine gun, which were used to suppress colonized populations and enforce control in resource-rich areas.

Future Scenarios of Resource Scarcity:

In a future where resources are scarce, similar dynamics could unfold, where military technology plays a crucial role:

Control of Resources:Advanced military technologies could be used by states or non-state actors to control dwindling resources. This could lead to increased conflicts over water, arable land, and other essential resources.
Social Stratification:In extreme scenarios, societies might revert to more rigid hierarchies or even forms of servitude as a means to control populations and maintain order amidst chaos. Those with access to advanced military technologies could enforce these structures.
Defensive and Offensive Uses:Militarized zones around water sources or agricultural areas could become common, with technology used to defend these critical assets. Conversely, offensive capabilities could be enhanced to seize resources from others.
Civil Unrest and Suppression:Increased civil unrest due to resource shortages could lead to the use of military technology in population control and suppression of dissent.

The Great Filter and Technological Leaps:

The Great Filter theory, which speculates about the barriers that prevent civilizations from surviving long-term, suggests that our future might include catastrophic risks from our own technological advancements. In a resource-scarce world:

Technological Divergence:There might be a technological arms race aimed not just at enhancing state security but also at controlling internal populations and preventing mass migrations or rebellions.
Ethical and Moral Challenges: The use of technology to overpower or control populations, especially in a world suffering from scarcity, raises significant ethical issues. The decisions on who gets access to resources could be influenced heavily by technology. For example: A Judgment Day scenario could see AI deciding which humans have access to resources, based on deep analysis of all conversations throughout history, stored at NSA/CIA and Big Tech/Corporations/Digital Intelligence Marketplaces and all neural scans and memory scans and medical records stored by modern medics (which are more than medicine, but state intelligence in today’s times), and all historical works and data points available on Earth, resulting in an extremely precise judgment system of “worthiness” and “usefulness” to effective function for productivity gains in a productivity and advancement oriented age (ie: the goal of machine learning/the consumption algorithm).

In conclusion, while military technology historically had complex impacts often mediated by broader socio-economic factors, in a future dominated by resource scarcity, the direct role of such technology in societal control and conflict could become more pronounced. This underscores the need for ethical considerations and international regulations to manage the deployment and use of advanced military technologies in such a stressed future.