😘❤️❤️‍🔥🫦When AI Met Capitalism

When AI Met Capitalism

Capitalism is often touted as a fair and just economic system that allows individuals to accumulate wealth through hard work and deliver innovations that benefit society in this pursuit of self-interest. However, the reality of capitalism is that it often relies on exploitation and cheating. With the rise of AI, that story might get pushed to the very edge, if not entirely off a cliff.

The History of European Slave Trading

One of the most glaring examples of capitalist exploitation is the history of European slave trading. European slave traders traveled to West Africa and traded cheap, counterfeit beads for human beings, who were then brought to the Americas and forced into slavery. This was a clear example of exploitation, as the African people were unaware they were being traded for false goods.

Student Debt: Modern Indentured Servitude

Although formal slavery has been abolished, many forms of exploitation continue to exist in modern society. The fierce competition fostered by capitalism has resulted in many people taking on high levels of student loan debt with the hope of striking it rich. However, these individuals often find themselves trapped in a cycle of debt and unable to achieve their goals. Even highly educated individuals, such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers from prestigious schools, are not immune to this cycle. This is why it is important to continue fighting against all forms of exploitation, including modern-day indentured servitude in the form of student debt.

The Rise of AI: The New Glass Beads

The rise of AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT is similar to the European slave traders' exchange of counterfeit beads for human beings. The technology industry is taking advantage of our dependence on AI systems in the same way the slave traders took advantage of the West Africans' ignorance. It is crucial for people to fully understand the implications of relying on AI systems like ChatGPT.

Geopolitical Economic Sabotage and Injustice

In Latin America Eduardo Galeano's book "Open Veins of Latin America" highlights the political and economic exploitation of Latin America by foreign powers, including Spain, Britain, and the United States. Despite the arrival of the Spanish leading to violence, disease, and forced labor for the native people of Latin America, the discovery of gold and other resources drew interest from European countries. The US eventually became the dominant Western country overseeing Latin American production and exerted control through protectionist policies and institutions like the IMF and the World Bank. In the 25th-year anniversary edition of the book, Galeano reflects on how political and economic circumstances have only worsened in Latin America. Despite these challenges, he remains hopeful that resistance from marginalized people throughout history can inspire future change.

Coding: The New Glass Beads

Tech billionaires such as Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Michael Bloomberg have accumulated vast wealth by leveraging their coding knowledge to create new technologies. These billionaires have disrupted traditional industries and created companies, such as Oracle, Facebook, Microsoft, Tesla, Apple, Amazon, Google, and Bloomberg, that have revolutionized how we communicate, gather information, purchase goods, and interact with the world. While these advancements have brought raised our collective standard of living, it is essential to acknowledge the exploitation and unequal distribution of wealth that exist in our capitalist system.

Capitalism is an economic system based on the principle of private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods and services for profit. One important aspect of capitalism is the exploitation of ignorance. It can take many forms, from simple ploys like how Tinder exploited men's ignorance of emotional intelligence to more elaborate schemes like crypto rug pulls, which exploit the general public's lack of understanding of cryptography.

The crypto crash of FTX is a prime example of how ignorance can be leveraged for profit in the digital world. The "smart" people in the room were able to rapidly create and exploit cryptocurrency, knowing that the majority of the public neither codes nor understands cryptography.

Coding extends beyond software and into the realm of audio and video through the internet, offering infinite scaling. The entertainment industry is a prime example of how this plays out in the real world. Nine out of the top ten grossing movies of all time are primarily based on CGI rather than traditional live action cinematography. This trend shows that there is a high demand for visually stunning, computer-generated imagery and that consumers are willing to pay for it.

1. Avatar $2,923,706,026 2009

2. Avengers: Endgame $2,799,439,100 2019

3. Titanic $2,194,690,964 1997

4. Avatar: The Way of Water $2,174,420,442 2022

5. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens $2,071,310,218 2015

6. Avengers: Infinity War $2,052,415,039 2018

7. Spider-Man: No Way Home $1,921,847,111 2021

8. Jurassic World $1,671,537,444 2015

9. The Lion King $1,663,075,401 2019

10. The Avengers $1,520,538,536 2012

The most fundamental aspect of these economic exploitation tactics is the capitalization on the ignorance of the general public. In the entertainment industry, the public may need a deeper understanding of the technical aspects of CGI, but they recognize and appreciate the visual appeal. In the world of cryptocurrency, the public may need help understanding the intricacies of cryptography, but they believe in the potential for high returns.

The End of Capitalism?

As a Haitian American, all of this is deeply concerning to me because it is reminiscent of the same game that the French played in 1825 to extract 115 billion dollars from Haiti, plunging the country into perpetual poverty. The exploitation of ignorance and the manipulation of markets have a long history of being used as tools of oppression and economic exploitation, especially in the Global South. The exploitation of ignorance in the modern era of technology and the globalized economy is especially concerning because it can potentially perpetuate the same patterns of oppression and exploitation on a much larger scale. The fact that these practices are being perpetuated by corporations and individuals who claim to be operating within a system of "free markets" and "innovation" is a bitter reminder of how the rhetoric of capitalism has been used to justify exploitation and oppression throughout history.

Conclusion

It is clear that capitalism, as it currently operates, relies on exploitation and cheating. However, it is up to individuals and society as a whole to determine what changes, if any, need to be made to create a more equitable economic system. Whether this means the end of capitalism or a fundamental shift in its values and practices remains to be seen.

Yours Truly,

Hendy Saint-Jacques

Founder, Author, and CEO

& ChatGPT-3

AKA Jarvis

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