Thought Experiment - Your Thoughts??

This thread title is a bit of a double entendre.

We often hear talk of shadow governments, illuminati, deep state and the proverbial "they". The secret powers which bring about unwanted change and just stuff it down our throats without our consent. Well, this little experiment will shed some light on just who these shadowy figures truly are.

Technology is a sometimes amazing thing, but at the same time technology continually encroaches on our personal lives making them ever increasingly less private. Technology listens to us, it watches us and in some cases shares our most private moments with others. As each day passes new technology is invented to do even more of the same. Where does the future lead?

Let's take technology these types of technology and mature them out into the future...a future which I'm afraid is not that far away. And, when you really think about it, this technology is almost a prerequisite for things like FTL travel and the like.

Right now we have medical technology which can scan brain waves to solve physiological problems and look for brain anomalies. We have technology which can tell what our minds are doing when we sleep to improve sleep issues. And, we have all manner of other ways to scan things.

When we were kids we bought comic books which had advertisements at the back for things like "X-ray Goggles", "Spy rings" and all kinds of other things. At any airport today they have exactly this type of equipment, equipment which was so effective they had to 'officially' make it LESS capable because it really could see through your clothing (millimeter wave technology, etc.). It's not fantasy...it's REAL.

So now to our experiment...

It won't be long, folks, before someone invents technology to figure out what we are thinking. Real 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' stuff! Technology which can tell others, from a distance, what is going on inside our heads, what we are thinking about. Oh sure, they'll say the usual things..."It's all just meta-data, we can't really see your thoughts"...but they won't be telling the truth. Soon enough this technology will be refined to the point where it actually shows people's detailed thought process. But, but, but...this technology is morally, ethically and sociologically wrong!!! Think of all the applications this technology could be used for:

- Predictive policing
- Marketing (a mother-load for marketing)
- Monitoring the workplace
- Business dealings
- Dating / Relationships

The list is endless!

Now imagine for a moment people trying to STOP this technology from being deployed, despite their moral objections, their ethical objections, all of society's objections. Nothing will be able to stop it! NOTHING! They will say things like..."It's for the greater good. The downsides and personal objections are outweighed by the benefit to the greater good!" Such a technology will have such momentum that there is no way it can be stopped! The last safe-place for humanity, that place inside people's head, will no longer be safe. It will be exposed for all to see.

What will society be like then, when people are walking billboards of what is on their mind at every given moment? People will be walking 'Word Clouds' and scatter charts of what's on their minds for all to see!

And when you couple this with technology like AI, well, then we truly will be owned by the "machine".

Game Over...Thanks for Playing!

As you go about your daily life today, pretend someone could see inside your mind, and just try to cleanse every single thing you think to conform to the politically correct world around us. As you walk through a public place and see an attractive person of the opposite sex, or see a news headline which infuriates you, or see something which disgusts you...try not to think about it, because remember...everyone can see your thoughts.

Food for thought. Scary times ahead.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I think it is time to buy more aluminum foil and start making hats.

a reply to: mamabeth

Well, might be a good business venture, but the aluminum underwear sucks!

originally posted by: mamabeth
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I think it is time to buy more aluminum foil and start making hats.

You beat me to it. I was just going to say the same, except i was thinking thicker and tighter hats (did anyone hear me?)

a reply to: Diaspar

Well, we can joke about it...now. But it's only a matter of time.

It doesn't exist...yet...thankfully (as far as we know), but you know it's coming. There has been research in these areas going on for decades, so it's only a matter of time.

a reply to: Diaspar

We have to come up with a way to use aluminum foil comfortably in
underwear.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Now that i've had that thought, i wonder if i'll get flooded with adverts for aluminum foil.

Joking aside, if this were to happen, how long before Minority Report becomes reality??

Reminds me of an anime, where there were brain scanners all around, and it had a color system. Yellow or green pretty much meant they needed to be treated, where I guess red would basically be grounded. An to think they could of used the rest of the spectrum to give some leyway.

It turns out there were a group of killers, that were invisible to the scanners, and that there was an a.i that was running the government. However, it would capture an assimalite these type of anomalies, into the Borg of it being to adapt to detecting them.

Incidentally, the point of the OP was not to opine as much about the technology itself, but rather those who implement it.

The thought experiment seeks to expose who are the people who foist these unwanted things on the masses. And, we can see, the answer is not just one person behind the proverbial curtain, but rather a whole lot of people, with a whole lot of different agendas and objectives.

At the end of the day, the masses become the Guinea Pigs. All for the greater good, right?

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

At the end of the day, the masses become the Guinea Pigs.

Is this not the same as it ever was though? Isn't it that the technology allows "they" to achieve their goals with even more ease and precision?

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

We are in for a ride if that's the future we want to paint.

On the bright side people might reevaluate their thought patterns in order to not interpret a neutral situation in a negative way, so not to offend the majority.

They are already controlling your way of categorizing situations through morals/ethics and dogmas, which is different for each individual. Everyone set's his values. Some more individually others less... This will be hard to break.

The real problem is not the implementation of a technology similar to telepathy, the problem is the dictatorship of the masses!!!

I think Diversity is at stake!

Sincerely No Clue

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Everything is a signal. All signals have noise. I have a hacker friend who was concerned about internet companies profiling his web browsing habits. So he wrote a program to surf every site on the net in proportion to his own habits. This way his program entered in the exact right amount of noise into the signal so there was no signal!!!

Whatever the technology is if it becomes an overbearing problem people will just hack workarounds like every other piece of BS technology that has ever existed.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


I've had the same thoughts for years.....A.I.....5G......rfid implants....NSA out in the desert compiling all our data....devices stealing your attention every moment of the day. I sadly realize I'm hoping for an EMP or solar flare to bring us back to simpler times.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Won't it be nice having to wear a multi-spectrum jamming system on our person in the blazing August sun????

ETA - And you do know those 'jammers' require considerable energy to saturate the spectrum they operate in, right? So I guess we'll be wheeling around a little generator cart behind us also. Anyway, I digress.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

The time is now.

They just have to complete the infrastructure and finish laying down the fiber optics and the intercellular foundation of the "Internet of Things".

We are a lot closer to the world you describe than most of us realize.

So for those not in the know.

AI is advancing towards AGI

Chimuras are already being made

The Neuralink has several people willing to be the first human tests

Crispr is making permanent gene changes some that can be passed down generations.

Meanwhile politics is making flint spears for the tribes.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Maybe not medically scanning your brain, but some companies are already doing similar by analyzing our online data. Remember Cambridge Analytica and the scandal involving their influence on voters by bombarding people with propaganda when their data showed they could be persuaded to change their minds?

An extremely interesting investigation of exactly that:

I’m playing your game as I walk down the hallways at work, now that 25 year old, hot intern knows what I’m interested in. That sucks. On the other hand if both of us had implants, we could have cyber sex any time. Wow, kinky. I’m going to have lunch later with my wife. She could just think to her attorney and save a call. But, I haven’t done anything yet. But I thought about it, so I’m guilty. Again that sucks. I don’t like your game.

I think what you are describing is like the Borge Collective on Star Trek. All thoughts completely shared, at all times. A hive intelligence. Doesn’t sound very inviting does it?

If push comes to shove. I would go for the EMP device.. Stepping back into the late 1800’s tech might be best, I need my privacy and I like being an individual.

I think this is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to modern life.

Once its rolled out.. Game over, man.

The implementation of technology is just as important as the tech itself (perhaps even moreso). Even the best ideas and concepts can lead to things that none of "us" want.

Its why I scrapped my own projects. Someone, somewhere is likely to come up with the same stuff eventually.. But hopefully with more time. That said, there are plenty of other things to worry about.

Once things are done and out in the wild, the genie is out of the bottle.

Now, Im sure there will also be plenty of cool tech that really does have a positive impact, but its likely to be laden with pieces that dont have a positive.

Someone said something about hacking, but this is not a reasonable "solution" in any way, shape, or form. Not only will there be detection algorithms, but punishment will be increasingly severe so as to push such behavior to the very outer fringes. Social blackmail will obviously be used as well.

Because, none of this is really about random individuals that may find ways around it. Its about molding the general public, and the fringes are largely irrelevant to that (and have been).

Can we actually stop any of it? I honestly dont know.. I highly doubt it. So many are just wrapped up in either "all technology is bad" or "all technology is kewl." The former removes themselves from the conversation entirely, and the latter will support anything as long as its shiny and new with attractive packaging.

a reply to: Serdgiam

Can we actually stop any of it? I honestly dont know.. I highly doubt it. So many are just wrapped up in either "all technology is bad" or "all technology is kewl." The former removes themselves from the conversation entirely, and the latter will support anything as long as its shiny and new with attractive packaging.

According to the information I received last week from a professional conference I attended, it is way too late to put that genie back in the bottle.

The trick is to be aware of the power of what is to come, and to put protections in place.

They stopped short of telling us not to use social media altogether. They did stress quite strongly that much caution should be used in what and and how we post.

Technology is at the heart of my profession and it improves and grows at the speed of light. So we view growth in technology as a wonderful thing. This actually makes me a bit more sensitive to the downsides of technology. I guess this goes along with my basic Centrist ideology.