Android Existence

In his classic, prophetic novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, American science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick depicted a future dystopia where the only way to determine the difference between humans and rogue, bio-engineered androids was empathy: the latter were incapable of experiencing and thus demonstrating it. In our own particular time, however, merely a few decades after Dick’s passing, one wonders if such a distinction could be so clearly discerned. The average Apple-addicted hipster only feels empathy, or some simulacrum of it, if it’s trending on Twitter and is followed with a politically correct, therapeutic hashtag. Kony 2012 and Michelle Obama’s #BringBackOurGirls derived meaning from their presence and promotion on social media, with special status accorded to celebrity endorsements.

An endless stream of viral images flows perpetually through the consciousness of modern man. He is increasingly rendered incapable of interpreting this continuous barrage that assaults him through most of his waking hours. Even if only passively, as soon as one sets foot in public, and it must be noted the home is no longer a purely private sphere, one is bombarded by everything from ruthless political campaigns and relentless advertising to the most banal of social-media sideshows. He does not know what, or even how, to feel emotionally, unless there is a click-bait headline attached. A numbing effect permeates the psyche.

Within this environment, modern man should not be blamed too harshly for his cognitive dissonance, petty egoism, and social schizophrenia. His social and psychological conditioning is, of course, not a random byproduct arising out of the chaos of nature or a streak of historical bad luck. Rather, it has been the plan of the social engineers and ruling elites all along. Through a clever combination of state-controlled education, state-aligned media (a psy-op unto itself), and an ever-deepening psychological dependence on technology, modern man casts to the wayside his freedom and free will. He thus becomes a docile, consuming android-subject of the technocratic state.

Yet consent is still needed for this state of affairs, and modern man is eager to give it. Stripped of his traditional spirituality and organic identity, he can find no reason to reject those who lord over him. As the German patriot Ernst Jünger said, the “great majority of people do not want freedom, are actually afraid of it.” The Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky said much the same thing in his parable of the Grand Inquisitor in the novel The Brothers Karamazov. Indeed, the technocracy operates on much the same philosophy as Dostoevsky’s clever, and quite sinister, elderly Spanish cardinal. The Inquisitor declared that “in the end they will lay their freedom at our feet.” He wasn’t mistaken; there are certainly far too many eager for the sort of slavery that technology and its shapers offer mankind.

Blade Runner Owl

Returning to Dick, on another occasion he remarked that the time was coming when no longer would it be said, “They’re spying on me through my phone,” but rather, “My phone is spying on me.” Not only your iPhone, but your washing machine too, according to none other than former CIA director and Bilderberg member David Petraeus. The masses’ ever-widening embrace of and reliance on the latest technological gizmos, manufactured by Chinese indentured laborers held in place with suicide nets, serves to expedite their merger with the ever-expanding surveillance grid. But such a merger isn’t without its benefits. Your iPhone may be spying on you and sending your personal information off to government intelligence agencies and multinational corporations, but it provides you with immediate access to pirated porn, one-click shopping, Candy Crush, and BuzzFeed. The Panopticon is a small price to pay for such luxuries, after all.

The Hungarian-American philosopher Thomas Molnar aptly observed that modern man has become “an extension of machines,” and that while man “likes to play at operating these machines,” he has in fact “become their plaything” and a “soulless accomplice.” At this point it seems difficult to argue with this dismal assessment. In his slothful reliance on technology to provide himself with amusement and diversion, modern man has come under the sway of that same technology and those who control it, assuming an android existence.

Comments

8 responses to “Android Existence”

  1. Leifc@live.com Avatar
    Leifc@live.com

    The tragedy is that, for many of us, some submission to the needs of technology is required to raise a family, or even to keep ourselves from freezing to death in the streets. I merely hope that I can become as independent of that system that holds technological progress as its’ end as I can. The remainder will be tools for me to use to support myself and those close to me, not chaining myself to that soulless system.

  2. jay008 Avatar
    jay008

    Reblogged this on Jay's Analysis.

  3. hassang66 Avatar

    Thanks for this post. Dependency on technology of man can just be attributed to technological evolution or can be thought of as universal plan to take over the world. The former of these possibilities seemes more reasonable.

  4. elemental Avatar
    elemental

    ” Technological autonomy is a shorthand way of expressing the idea that our technologies and technological systems have become so ubiquitous, so intertwined, and so powerful that they are no longer in our control. This autonomy is due to the accumulated force of the technologies themselves and also to our utter dependence on them. ”

    http://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2012/01/07/the-environment-vs-technological-autonomy/

  5. Luke Harwood Avatar
    Luke Harwood

    Daniel Spaulding poses a valid question: Is our technology robbing us of our humanity?
    His thinking also couches a concern for – who exactly is directing the roll-out of that technology.
    Both are valid points to consider!
    I always find it comforting to observe that there is a balance of opinion here.
    Hassang66 for example; seeks to trivialize the matter by suggesting that “technological evolution” is the more rational conclusion. Mmmmm…….denial of concern; couched in terms of modern rationalism is generally used to sedate our natural “threat response” instincts. And for the slumbering masses seams a more compelling and mollifying explanation than accepting the reality we see before us. Whatever you do – if you’re an enlightened trendy; don’t suggest there might actually be any coordinated attempt to hi-jack the destiny of humanity – designed to serve the purposes of the few. No!!!.Never!!!!
    Certainly technological innovation has occurred. Industrialization brought us widely distributed, cheaply available gadgets that make life more convenient. The downside was the advent of industrialized slaughter and a consequent loss of mans humanity.
    So; should our evolving needs be stopped? No! Could they be stopped? No!
    I can but paraphrase a well known song: “No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
    The next phrase is: “so be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be”: and I must confess that I am surprised at the number of people, who feel the need to tell me they don’t believe in God.
    My response is always the same: Do you really think God cares what you think?
    – “the truth will come to you at last” – (Led Zeplin). See? There is a great deal of wisdom hiding in plain view, everywhere you look.

    No doubt artificial life will come to pass and is perhaps an inevitable consequence of the human minds ability to conceive. Humanity will spawn the eighth root race; which as needs must will, (to be viably independent) require it to be sentient, if we prefer it to explore those places we cannot – it must be non-organic.
    Creating biological androids superior to ourselves might be a nifty idea, until that is; they decide – like we have, this planet best suits their needs – and they want it for themselves.
    Sentient non-organic life has no such mortal chains. Unlike organic life (bound by gravity and atmosphere) It can comfortably explore this wonderful solar system and beyond.
    Modern rationailsm – n’est-ce pas?

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  7. […] to his electronic gods, not just in his social dealings, but spiritually as well, becoming the biological android so desired by transhumanist charlatans like Ray […]

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