Reading Darkness at Noon, The Master and Margarita, or some Solzhenitsyn reveals the lengths the Soviets went to make citizens turn on one another.
Reading Darkness at Noon, The Master and Margarita, or some Solzhenitsyn reveals the lengths the Soviets went to make citizens turn on one another.
Haha, that gif nails it—total paranoia mode. Those books really show how fear turns everyone into suspects.
The system pushed neighbors to inform on neighbors and even family members to report supposed crimes against the state
Some people took pleasure in being informants and joined the mob; others acted from fear and self-preservation
It's remarkable — though perhaps predictable in hindsight — that the internet, especially social media, has become a voluntary replica of that system
People roam with phones, quips, and cynicism trying to catch strangers, neighbors, or anyone at their worst, then publish those moments for judgment and clicks
This Newsom thing isn't even a great example; it's attention-seeking viciousness. Still, it shares roots with the same dynamic
Newsom thinks Elon is vile and then hops online with casual ease to be horrible himself
This isn't some sad person in a basement typing in a comments section; it's someone positioning themselves as a plausible presidential contender. How bizarre that this is considered acceptable
It feels like screaming into the void. Society decided long ago to treat each other terribly online
Still, it's striking how people have become a grand tattletale army, policing and humiliating each other for sport
When discussions turn to AI alignment, these patterns come to mind with a kind of melancholy.
What are AI systems even being aligned to when training data is full of humanity's worst instincts rather than the often remarkable ways people behave in person
Time to finish the coffee now