Since we’re all living in a dystopia already, I’m going to assume you don’t need any advice on how to live in one. This article is for those who want to prepare their Ghost for the quite-possibly-inevitable technocratic meltdown.
Before I give you tips on surviving Ghost in the Shell on Steroids, keep this in mind: the tech industry is a weapon in the wrong hands.
Not only does it seek to control/monitor us more than ever before, it’s also one of biggest propaganda engines in existence. Without ethical human nurturing, tech is liable to propagate and amp all current problems, forever.
In the right hands, technology can set us free, but right now it quite simply won’t: the big-bois call all the shots. It’s also not likely we’ll ever get to ethical transhumanism because of this.
Big tech isn’t our ally. Period.
Here are a few tech do’s and don’ts that will help you survive or at least last longer than people who think the world is fine and everything happening right now is very normal.
As society crumbles around you: Do’s and Don’ts
○ The first one is quite obvious: don’t buy tech from the big five tech companies (Microsoft, Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook). They’re all collaborating to own and sell our data, manipulate our choices with misinformation and control outcomes, obviously.
○ Do use single board computers for dedicated servers, not cloud hosting. Maybe use cloud storage that doesn’t have access to all your data, but that’s a big, big, big maybe.
○ Don’t use mobile phones with trackers and do use mobile phones with low processing power, if at all possible.
○ Do learn how to jailbreak your phone, remove scumware (my term) and learn how to prevent cellphones from being tracked.
○ Do potentially delete yourself from the internet. Or, if you can’t because you’d like to remain in contact with other rebel robo-punks…
○ Do a wipe, use DuckDuckGo for searches, a VPN, a temporary email address, and go anon on all outlets.
○ Don’t give away your data. It’s hard to bounce back from this, but if you want to know what big tech knows, click, all, these, dang links, bro.
○ Do download free tech manuals online. Hoard them.
○ Do make tech yourself when possible, if you have the knack for it.
○ Do use low-imprint e-currency when possible, not fiat currency.
○ Do use tech for good: anonymous leaking and whistleblowing.
I’m not being alarmist, I’m just saying:
When the technocratic sand-worm finally surfaces, be ready.
Far too many people are dependent on tech behemoths that only see us as data points to manipulate. Moreover, many also don’t know how bad a lot of this truly is, or how much worse it can get. That concerns me.
With every step big-tech makes in amassing obscene wealth, owning our data, and surveilling on us, the geriatric millennial sci-fi nerd in me screams.
Be aware. Make tech you own, tech you can afford and tech for everyone. Pay attention to when you’re being manipulated by technology.
If you do that — maybe, just maybe — you can safeguard against what those like me fear will inevitably come to pass:
Tech must align with humanity, not against it. If it refuses to, we know it’s not a tool for humans: it’s a tool for monsters.
K. Leigh is bi trans guy, author of LGBTQ+ stories, gamer, anime nerd, sometimes-freelancer and artist. Score CONSTELIS VOSS for some swag sci-fi fiction, or connect on LinkedIn for business stuff. TTYS, nerds 😘