It’s a very interesting thesis. Thank you for sharing. I’ve never looked at these communities through this lens and in the context of the ramifications of AI and economic displacement. I can definitely see how the scenarios you have laid could occur. One being, the forced assimilation of the Luddite’s to the dictums of the technological “utopia”, making a large group of individuals vulnerable to the dictates of a charismatic populist offering easy solutions and salvation.
Discussion
There is historical precedent for this. The Industrial Revolution led to the rise of communism and labor organization and revolts around the world.
Yes. The settling of the American prairies and the nomadic horse tribes of North America being another.
What do you fear more, Technological tyranny or a populist neo-Luddite resistance? Or is it the conflict between the two that is more concerning?
We should have a healthy fear for all of these things, I think.
Yes. I find myself now checking my own presumptions, as I tend to sympathize and connect to the neo-Luddite as result of who I am, where I come from, and how I was raised. I see how I would be susceptible to that narrative. I’ve got a healthy fear of technology, but I have never considered it from the other side. 🙏💜.