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points by somenameforme 3 days ago | 0 comments
You're speaking of two different things. China is a technocracy, but they also try to optimize for social outcomes. For instance there was recently an amusing crackdown on niang pao [1] - 'girly guns' or 'sissy men' in media, because they felt that media featuring effeminate men was imperiling traditional Chinese culture, gender norms, and so forth. In this sort of context extensive censorship is 100% expected.

Technocracy comes with good and bad things. For instance Chinese stop lights now feature refueling stations atop them for autonomous drones to operate indefinitely. But of course those drones will be used for domestic surveillance and other such things. So they're creating 1984, while we create Brazil. [2]

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niang_pao

[2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_(1985_film)

[–] ngl999 3 days ago
I don't disagree. But I'd also say that the attitude toward the techno- part in technocracy is purely pragmatic. Tech stuff, be it skill, knowledge or any kind of philosophy that grows out of them, is only viewed as an means to an end.

The core of the idea is still certain people trying hard to keep their social status, not tech.

Therefore, there is no inherent intention to develop tech, always to the next level. The world should not count on this to hope to have a better future.

[–] somenameforme 3 days ago
One reason I think Machiavellianism is dumb is because the grand utopia people hope to achieve never come to pass, yet all the awful actions they do in the mean time most certainly do. And I also view this in the opposite way. I do not agree with you about Chinese leadership having ulterior motivations, but I'd say that even if they did it wouldn't be a problem.

When they're engaged in actions that are uplifting the lives of hundreds of millions and making the world an overall better place, I couldn't really care less if there's some grand evil scheme behind the curtain. I'd be rather happy to see a world filled with 'evil' people doing good things, than the current reality we live in filled with 'good' people doing evil things.

We should judge people much more by what they do, instead of by the rhetoric or inferred intent, because the former is all that matters.

[–] ngl999 3 days ago
This one I do disagree. It is hard to recognize what is going on in people's mind but it doesn't mean one should disregard it. Because the motivation decides the long term outcome, what seems to be uplifting might well become agonizing in near term like the other reply in this thread said, the tech is so intrusive that people can't get rid of it. Like the recently exposed massive uploading of screen recordings in Xiaomi and a bunch of other phones, there's nothing much that can be done to undo this kind of crap to actually uplift people's lives.
[–] somenameforme 3 days ago
Motivation doesn't decide anything. Actions decide the long term outcome of actions.

And the things you're mentioning are non sequiturs similar to the initial point. China (and the US and most of every major power) is a surveillance state. That has nothing to do with whether or not they are uplifting the lives of people. Uplifting while protecting the privacy of individuals would be ideal, but that's an ideal that unfortunately does not exist anywhere.

[–] ngl999 2 days ago
Motivation decides, at least partially, action, here's the missing link that should be considered, in my opinion.