********* Why Technology Favors Tyranny

Artificial intelligence will further concentrate power among a small elite if we don’t take steps to stop it, @harari_yuval writes:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/10/yuval-noah-harari-technology-tyranny/568330/?gift=yGKGqaI9BMfIDuch_TrGYSU-yY9Gsm9GGF2Oi2I88v0&utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social

In the 20th century, the masses revolted against exploitation and sought to translate their vital role in the economy into political power. Now the masses fear irrelevance, and they are frantic to use their remaining political power before it is too late. Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump may therefore demonstrate a trajectory opposite to that of traditional socialist revolutions. The Russian, Chinese, and Cuban revolutions were made by people who were vital to the economy but lacked political power; in 2016, Trump and Brexit were supported by many people who still enjoyed political power but feared they were losing their economic worth. Perhaps in the 21st century, populist revolts will be staged not against an economic elite that exploits people but against an economic elite that does not need them anymore. This may well be a losing battle. It is much harder to struggle against irrelevance than against exploitation.

********** The Rise of Techno-authoritarianism

;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px”> No more “build it because we can.” No more algorithmic feedbags. No more infrastructure designed to make the people less powerful and the powerful more controlling. Every day we vote with our attention; it is precious, and desperately wanted by those who will use it against us for their own profit and political goals. Don’t let them.

 

***** What the Left Keeps Getting Wrong

“The stale politics of identity that tries to reduce even the glaringly inconvenient fact of Trump’s multiracial alliance to ‘white women’ stands in the way of overcoming the real democratic crisis,” @thomaschattwill writes:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/11/progressives-errors-2024-election/680563/?gift=yGKGqaI9BMfIDuch_TrGYQ0ZTjV0SIZXSSiawPyd0Qw&utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social

**** The Cumulative Toll of Democrats’ Delusions

Many Democrats assumed that Americans would ultimately not vote for Donald Trump. But this, Representative Ritchie Torres says, was pure delusion.

@powellAtlantic on the Democratic congressman who wasn’t surprised by the results of the election:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/democrats-lost-voters-ritchie-torres/680599/?gift=yGKGqaI9BMfIDuch_TrGYXxoZayrh8hJwv0fQGPUz0s&utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social

****** Why Liberals Struggle to Cope With Epochal Change

“If liberals are to respond effectively to the challenge of a new Trump administration, they will need to reflect critically on what happened in 1989, and discard the story they’ve always told themselves about it,” writes Ivan Krastev:

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/01/liberals-wrong-about-1989/681165/?gift=yGKGqaI9BMfIDuch_TrGYW5YYsIhfdQhN3kvuho98Ys&utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social