Come on, John, you know why people buy into the idea of runaway AI or robots taking over the world. Hollywood and a certain kind of sci-fi have primed us for this! As for being put on hold or forced to talk to an AI for customer service—customer service is dead.
The rulers don’t care about customers anymore. Even the humans who finally answer the phone—if you can wait that long—read from scripts. Computer support is the same. I learned this calling Apple for help.
And horses—yes, I agree—we’d be better off if everyone just rode bicycles and/or horses. That day might come.
This AI dream—the one every nation’s leader chases (except maybe the Global South, though China’s definitely on board, sorry Mao)—to lock people into blockchained, surveilled prisons so elites never fear “the little people” again—is a psychopath’s pipe dream.
There aren’t enough resources on Earth to run AI forever, especially on blockchain. Global AI demand could soon top 100 TWh a year—that’s the energy use of a small country. And blockchain?
Bitcoin alone burns ~150 TWh/year—more than Argentina.
Ethereum (pre-merge) used ~80 TWh/year; now a fraction (~0.01 TWh) after switching to Proof-of-Stake.
Combined, AI and crypto could hit 250–300 TWh/year, conservatively. They depend on rare minerals (lithium, cobalt, nickel), advanced semiconductors, and massive water-cooled data centers.
One data center can gulp millions of gallons of water daily.
Chip production relies on finite resources and fragile supply chains (like Taiwan’s semiconductors). (Thanks, Google, for the stats.)
I wrote something way too long to share here, but here's the question: would late-stage capitalism survive without digital tech?
What do you think?
I think it's something we should think about and, if not, if capitalism needed this digital pivot to survive, maybe our only hope is to ditch the tech monster and find a better way.
Of course, psychopaths could still push the Armageddon button—or even more chilling, the AI itself could glitch past fail-safes and do it alone. Systems fail...
glad you reminded me about the energy required for AI and this super data collection centers etc. But i wanted to say, as an Apple user, support for apple has been very good..at least in norway. Its about the only support I can think of that was decent. Otherwise its usually literally impossible to talk to a human. And god forbid you lose something in the mail....its likely lost forever.
I agree at least with Apple Support you can get a live person, it's just that recently the first line of help have to look up what you are asking them, and it takes a lot more time than it used to. They seem to be learning as they go. If they can't figure it out, I usually ask for a supervisor. But thank goodness for real humans, learning or not!
You didn’t respond to my question, and I really would like to hear what you, Dennis, and Hiroyuki think about this idea I’ve been turning over: Why is every nation now developing its own form of digital blockchain infrastructure—and what does that mean? Did late-stage capitalism need to go digital in order to avoid slipping into a less profitable form of fascism?
As for China, there’s still hope among some that it hasn’t abandoned socialism—that the specter of communism still haunts the CCP, and that the next phase was simply delayed until global conditions (namely, the fall of U.S. hegemony) allow for its re-emergence. Whether that’s realistic is the question.
There’s no roadmap for China. It has done what no other country has: outbuilt the U.S. in manufacturing and infrastructure, and perhaps even out-capitalized the American empire. If any country could pivot from “capitalism with Chinese characteristics” toward socialism and eventually communism, it’s China. But I think the road is perilous.
then, as late-stage capitalism becomes increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure—AI, blockchain, data extraction—the Global South, especially areas with subsistence farming, communal land use, barter economies, may end up more resilient when the AI and digital systems fail.
Just happen to have the book ‘I saw it happen in Norway’ by CJ Hambro. An account of the invasion of Norway by the Germans. “The tragedy which befell Norway is a rare object lesson that ought to be studied in every country that is still neutral and independent, for every country is in danger, and every unsuspicious nation is living under mortal menace”.
I think I see your point here, but it may already be too late for Norway again. They have already allowed the US to build bases in Norway. The surrender is complete.
Come on, John, you know why people buy into the idea of runaway AI or robots taking over the world. Hollywood and a certain kind of sci-fi have primed us for this! As for being put on hold or forced to talk to an AI for customer service—customer service is dead.
The rulers don’t care about customers anymore. Even the humans who finally answer the phone—if you can wait that long—read from scripts. Computer support is the same. I learned this calling Apple for help.
And horses—yes, I agree—we’d be better off if everyone just rode bicycles and/or horses. That day might come.
This AI dream—the one every nation’s leader chases (except maybe the Global South, though China’s definitely on board, sorry Mao)—to lock people into blockchained, surveilled prisons so elites never fear “the little people” again—is a psychopath’s pipe dream.
There aren’t enough resources on Earth to run AI forever, especially on blockchain. Global AI demand could soon top 100 TWh a year—that’s the energy use of a small country. And blockchain?
Bitcoin alone burns ~150 TWh/year—more than Argentina.
Ethereum (pre-merge) used ~80 TWh/year; now a fraction (~0.01 TWh) after switching to Proof-of-Stake.
Combined, AI and crypto could hit 250–300 TWh/year, conservatively. They depend on rare minerals (lithium, cobalt, nickel), advanced semiconductors, and massive water-cooled data centers.
One data center can gulp millions of gallons of water daily.
Chip production relies on finite resources and fragile supply chains (like Taiwan’s semiconductors). (Thanks, Google, for the stats.)
I wrote something way too long to share here, but here's the question: would late-stage capitalism survive without digital tech?
What do you think?
I think it's something we should think about and, if not, if capitalism needed this digital pivot to survive, maybe our only hope is to ditch the tech monster and find a better way.
Of course, psychopaths could still push the Armageddon button—or even more chilling, the AI itself could glitch past fail-safes and do it alone. Systems fail...
BTW, here is a really insightful piece: https://lauraruggeri.substack.com/p/the-ghost-in-the-machine-artificial
Also, I enjoyed your analysis of the evolution of films and plan to watch Sorcerer tonight if I can find it.
glad you reminded me about the energy required for AI and this super data collection centers etc. But i wanted to say, as an Apple user, support for apple has been very good..at least in norway. Its about the only support I can think of that was decent. Otherwise its usually literally impossible to talk to a human. And god forbid you lose something in the mail....its likely lost forever.
I agree at least with Apple Support you can get a live person, it's just that recently the first line of help have to look up what you are asking them, and it takes a lot more time than it used to. They seem to be learning as they go. If they can't figure it out, I usually ask for a supervisor. But thank goodness for real humans, learning or not!
You didn’t respond to my question, and I really would like to hear what you, Dennis, and Hiroyuki think about this idea I’ve been turning over: Why is every nation now developing its own form of digital blockchain infrastructure—and what does that mean? Did late-stage capitalism need to go digital in order to avoid slipping into a less profitable form of fascism?
As for China, there’s still hope among some that it hasn’t abandoned socialism—that the specter of communism still haunts the CCP, and that the next phase was simply delayed until global conditions (namely, the fall of U.S. hegemony) allow for its re-emergence. Whether that’s realistic is the question.
There’s no roadmap for China. It has done what no other country has: outbuilt the U.S. in manufacturing and infrastructure, and perhaps even out-capitalized the American empire. If any country could pivot from “capitalism with Chinese characteristics” toward socialism and eventually communism, it’s China. But I think the road is perilous.
then, as late-stage capitalism becomes increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure—AI, blockchain, data extraction—the Global South, especially areas with subsistence farming, communal land use, barter economies, may end up more resilient when the AI and digital systems fail.
Just happen to have the book ‘I saw it happen in Norway’ by CJ Hambro. An account of the invasion of Norway by the Germans. “The tragedy which befell Norway is a rare object lesson that ought to be studied in every country that is still neutral and independent, for every country is in danger, and every unsuspicious nation is living under mortal menace”.
I think I see your point here, but it may already be too late for Norway again. They have already allowed the US to build bases in Norway. The surrender is complete.
sadly, yes