noscript is 10 years!

[Troy Benjegerdes]

On Sat, May 16, 2015 at 10:05:55AM -0400, dan at geer.org wrote:
> ..snip..
> 
> > The problem, ultimately, is features. And it will always be features.
> 
> That is correct as an observation.  I don't like it, but the
> world does not care whether I like it or not; I am 1/7000000000
> regardless of my skill, taste, or persuasiveness.  And so it has
> always been (cf. "bread and circuses").

..snip..

> In short, features drive.  They drive because of democratic
> principles evidenced by immensely rapid uptake.  They rely upon a
> user base that is forever "barefoot and pregnant."  And it is
> increasingly difficult to opt out of features without opting out
> of society altogether.  As there is zero difference between
> "personalization" and "targeting" beyond the intent of the
> algorithm, those who don't accept features will be adjudged
> anomalous, and we already treat anomaly detection as the
> sine qua non of public safety.
> 
> --dan
> 
> [*] http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/
> 

Ahhh, John Deere. Last year I asked the guy unloading my corn at the farmers
co-op elevator if there was any difference between the corn I harvested with
my antique rusty combine with only analog electronics for indicator lights,
and half of those don't work. I tend to rely on the audio signal processing
between my ears and vibrational failure early warning detectors in my but on
the seat to tell me if something is broken. (okay, to be fair, there are 
electro-hydraulics, but those are switches and solenoids)

The brand new John Deere combines that you can press a button and it pretty 
much drives itself, with the operator there only to function as a legal 
liability offloading device produces the same quality of corn I do.

Now granted, it takes me about twice as long to harvest than it takes John
Deere's fancy robots with human legal liabilty shunt devices, but one of 
these days an owner of one of those machines is going to get burned and
decide, like me, that it's cheaper become a hacker (or hire some) and rip 
out every piece of technology they do not own full license to modify.

When that happens, we'll have a full-fledged technology revolt on our hands,
at least if there are any farmers left that still actually own farmland.

That's a democratic principle ready for rapid uptake. I heard last year of 
a farmer going from a 24 row planter back to an *older* 16 row because it 
had less technology to break that required a John Deere certified tech than
the older ones, which mostly just required figuring out which wire the mouse
chewed through over the winter.

I'll be happy to feed the McJohn-Google-Disney behomoth with all the raw
material needed to keep their human confinement farm operations running at
full capacity, but I think both the behemoth and I know it will cost them
way less to have farm owner-operators than it will cost to try to deal with
the unpredictable, uncomputable, and chaotic results we are likely to 
encounter over the next 50 years from climate change.

Never underestimate the persuasiveness of plain, simple text, whether that
be the text Martin Luther nailed to the door of the church, or these words
that we are broadcasting to all, human and nonhuman, that like to identify
themselves as cypherpunks.

I'm calling for a technological reformation, and not just some half hearted
attempts at open-source farm equipment. The time has come for a social, 
economic, and, dare I say it, even a religious movement to nail a manifesto
to the wall of the church of technology that has subsumed the role of both
governments and spiritual seeking.

We must feed ourselves only with which we understand how it was grown.

If you insist on buying a GPS-auto-steer combine without understanding it,
you have become soylent green food for the behemoth. If you buy food from
your local co-op grocer without understanding the fossil fuel inputs needed
to bring that food to the city, you are feeding yourself to the behemoth.

If you read this message with a javascript enabled technological behemoth...
<!no carrier!>
<anonomly_error>
{Error="DMCA violation detected", result="feed behemoth"}
</anomoly_error>
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Troy Benjegerdes                 'da hozer'                  hozer at hozed.org
7 elements      earth::water::air::fire::mind::spirit::soul        grid.coop

      Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel,
         nor try buy a hacker who makes money by the megahash