More with LP

Continuing from this post, more follows. For additional comments look here and following posts:

Layman Pascal Arguably you picked up on the preamble to my first remark and that led to topic diversion :) I've been agreeing with your reading of the themes. I think it applies broadly to several potential emergences of interpersonal technology and systems that have a postmetaphysical momentum which could provide the new rudder on the materialist boat.

I think we're looking at a general emergent convergence which, viewed technologically, is an ephemeralization, acceleration, bio-fusion and intelligence amplification. It is unreasonably feared but also not guaranteed to be benevolent... Something largely dependent in whether similar patterns can co-emerge in different genres.

Edwyrd Burj Ah, the RIFT folks. I though the film made clear that it was unreasonable fear, since the AI only healed people and connected them. I found it a metaphor for how the regressive, militaristic capitalists AND retro-romantics feared it for different reasons and thus joined forces. The former feared its ability to disconnect from the capitalistic energy monopoly using entirely renewable energy sources, as well as its socialist and communist undertones. The latter, while into those undertones, were afraid of the possibility of an AI's ability to go transhuman and thus use and abuse humanity for its insidious agenda, even though there was no evidence of such an agenda.
It seemed to stem more from a fear of tech itself, and that in order to heal the planet we have to return to simpler times because tech itself is part of the capitalist agenda. Granted right now we are facing the capitalist appropriation of tech, e.g. platform apps like Uber or Facebook etc. But there are also real sharing economy uses of such tech. And it seemed to me that the film showed those sharing economy uses via not only the intent but the applications of it in not only healing but enhancing human capacities. We might even say SuperHuman in good kennilingus style.

Let's face it; We are already Borg without the necessarily totalitarian implications that erase individuality. The movie made clear that individual autonomy was enhanced AND connected/coordinated with each other in ways heretofore impossible. It is an apt, scientific metaphor for a postmetaphysical spirituality just barely ahead of existing scientific and cultural progress.

Layman Pascal The film is an excellent metaphor for several things. Among them are the salvational potential of innovation & the huge risk posed by the gap between innovators and others.

 

Edwyrd Burj Yes, that was an element not addressed in the film; that the tech can very well be owned by the rich and therefore only the privileged get access to it. It did though show that the tech under the AI's direction was used to heal us ordinary folk, so that could've been a subplot on why the military-capitalistic complex didn't like it. Healthy, enhanced ordinary folk made for a far better revolutionary force against the status quo.