weather: dark outside, 4°C
mood:    sad

3 minute read
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> Note: this is in part something I was already working on, and in part a
> reaction on Jag's excellent article on tech cynicism[1], with which I
> couldn't agree more.


I used to get really excited about technology.

These days? Not so much. I hate that it has come this far, but my initial gut
reaction with new tech is generally something along the lines of "how will our
capitalist system abuse this?" or "can I use this while still preserving my
privacy?".

After all, if you've spent long enough working with tech and the internet,
you've come to realize one truth: given enough time, most tech devolves into
just another channel for user manipulation, with the sole purpose of extracting
as much profit as possible.

This honestly makes me a bit despondent.

Because here's the thing: technologies like some IoT devices, the large
language models (LLMs) or smart home assistants are, from a tech point of view,
objectively very interesting but there's no way on earth that I will use them,
considering they're only employed for the reasons stated above. They're
technologically advanced, but with strings attached.

And just as oppressive regimes bring about a self-censoring of its population,
these technologies apply a sort of self-moderation to its end-users. We must
apply a constant vigilance, to figure out in what way we will be used this time
(extraction of user data, manipulation of thoughts, demanding attention, etc).
This invariably results in an all-round sense of negativity or cynicism when it
comes to new technology. It's exhausting.

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Something seriously needs to change with the current technology landscape, and
by extension the entire capitalist economic model, as this is what is causing
all these issues. So much is wrong with that approach and I honestly can't see
a future where both these issues are solved and capitalism is still the major
economic driving force.

In the meantime, I do try to avoid this feeling of desperation by using old
tech, retro PCs and 20-year old Nokia phones. Or by using software that was
created before this was all a thing - gopher and Hypercard, to name a few of my
current interests. Yet another way is to use software that runs locally on my
pc, instead of everything in the cloud.

Yes, this absolutely takes more effort and will create friction in today's
world. But it is also a small act of rebellion and a 🖕 you towards big tech
and honestly, that makes me sleep a bit better at night. More than ever, we
need to speak with our actions, not just words.

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[1] gemini://rawtext.club/~jag/blog/tech-cynicism.gmi