[unhammer]

> People want to believe that govt and big tech are this omniscient, monolithic entity.

    The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that
    conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more
    comforting.
    The truth is, that it is not the Jewish banking conspiracy, or the
    grey aliens, or the twelve-foot reptiloids from another dimension
    that are in control.
    The truth is far more frightening; no-one is in control.
    The world is rudderless.
    -- Alan Moore

[j4yav]

I think it's both true that the world is rudderless (or maybe there are million different rudders all turning in different directions) and there are also powerful technologies that motivated people can use to do awful things. A real winning combination.

[fragmede]

At that point, is your glass half empty, or half full? There are powerful technologies that motivated people can use to do good things.

[i8comments]

I think that is an oversimplification with some truth to it, but also not true.

[cassepipe]

Yes, it would more correct to state that there are various competing albeit unequal centers of power at the top (made of smaller centers of power themselves) and that not even the biggest is absolute.

That makes for an interesting (if you are observer/participant) or frightening (if you are a victim) life.

Would you get behind such a statement ?

[berniedurfee]

Actually, the hairless apes are in control. They’re the ones behind the curtain wildly pulling the levers.

Turns out grownups are just older children. More powerful toys and bigger words, but just as reckless and immature.

We’re still an incredibly primitive species who have gotten _way_ out over our skis, so to speak.

We always err on the side of caution, because that’s a base instinct.

New technology is always existential, until it isn’t.

Awful empires and totalitarian states are hideous, but have a limited shelf life, which unfortunately often lasts many generations.

I think we give ourselves far too much credit when it comes to our ability to control our world, including society.

Power seekers will always try, but will eventually fail, even if it’s their legacy that fails sometime in the future.

That doesn’t help much in the span of a single lifetime, but I’m personally confident that we will slowly evolve to become a sustainable species.

[pphysch]

No "one" (individual) is in control, because the human mind is limited. But constellations of individuals with common interests are absolutely in control.

The unilateral dictator is largely a mythical creature. Cabals of powerful individuals with shared ideas are not.