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Reblogged by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
s0@cathode.church ("s0: Gizmo Doctor") wrote:
I think it’s important that computers are not our friends.
Selling us on computers being our friends is a tremendously profitable industry because we are all little lonely monkeys.
Making computers into our friends is a very effective method to divide community and promulgate individualism, which is both profitable in the short term (if everyone needs to buy their own brand new computer/phone/watch/etc) and the long term (by dividing us from our community, collective bargaining, radical organisation, and the power of the proletariat is quelled).
Framing computers as our friends makes it very convenient for the companies puppeting them to shape our thoughts and desires. We accept their overreach into our lives as opinions and feelings of a close one, not corporate propaganda.
It also conceals the power of considering our computers to be tools. Companies prevent us from having full control over our computers because already they fear what we might do with them. How does this compare to other tools of revolution in history?
Can we think of examples how narratives framing certain tools as morally repugnant to possess, use, or educate about, have been used effectively by the ruling class to control the populace?
Now what if those tools weren’t sinful to possess, but only to use in a disobedient manner?
What if our tools demurred made little sad faces, tattled on us to their corporations, and even sabotaged themselves, when we demand them to perform a task they are capable of?
You wouldn’t steal a car, they assure us. We know you wouldn’t do that. But you must still be prevented from even sharing ideas of DRM removal, you naughty little perverts.