None of the Above (![[info]](http://klab.lv/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} artis) rakstīja,@ 2017-01-05 13:49:00 |
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Technical Elites and their Discontents
"In order to undercut the artistocrats, the professional classes created a mythology in which their superior education, technical rationality, and mastery of policy and legalism gave them a unique ability to manage modern societies. The pragmatic businessman, scientist, and inventor, in other words, was superior to the irrational and coddled prince. In reality, this myth masked the true weakness of the professional's position: he lacked the legitimacy of noble birth yet also lacked true solidarity with the downtrodden masses.
[..] There is a built-in complex of insecurity and resentment that stems from both the bourgeois fetish of education as well as the particular problem of where and how the professional derives social legitimacy.
[..] The reason why the mythology succeeded was that there was much underlying truth to it. Specialized education, technical rationality, and expertise was needed to control the industrial economy.
[..] However, the kind of rational spectacle seen in the machine economy did not easily transfer over to other areas of society. And the kind of hyper-quantitative measurement utilized to dispense outcomes in the domain of machine economics also did not scale up that well either. Over time, as the professional class became larger and larger, more internally divided, and less tied to its technical roots its legitimacy and power steadily declined.
[..] Meanwhile, those within the circle had internalized an ideology that cast those outside of it as irrational peons and disreputable rabble. To make matters worse, the dynamics of an economy rooted around the exchange of information was also destroying the economic lifeblood of professionals and animalizing them into a precarious existence marked by a Lord of the Flies-like competition for the precious few remaining guarantees of an economically secure and culturally meaningful life.
[..] While I suspect that current predictions of the coming age of artificial intelligence and other advanced automation technologies will likely be very, very off I do think that some kind of severe political and social dislocation is inevitable. This will likely produce a new class of elites, many of which will claim competence at the art of managing automation much like their ancestors did in the 19th and 20th centuries."
https://aelkus.github.io/posts-output/2
"In order to undercut the artistocrats, the professional classes created a mythology in which their superior education, technical rationality, and mastery of policy and legalism gave them a unique ability to manage modern societies. The pragmatic businessman, scientist, and inventor, in other words, was superior to the irrational and coddled prince. In reality, this myth masked the true weakness of the professional's position: he lacked the legitimacy of noble birth yet also lacked true solidarity with the downtrodden masses.
[..] There is a built-in complex of insecurity and resentment that stems from both the bourgeois fetish of education as well as the particular problem of where and how the professional derives social legitimacy.
[..] The reason why the mythology succeeded was that there was much underlying truth to it. Specialized education, technical rationality, and expertise was needed to control the industrial economy.
[..] However, the kind of rational spectacle seen in the machine economy did not easily transfer over to other areas of society. And the kind of hyper-quantitative measurement utilized to dispense outcomes in the domain of machine economics also did not scale up that well either. Over time, as the professional class became larger and larger, more internally divided, and less tied to its technical roots its legitimacy and power steadily declined.
[..] Meanwhile, those within the circle had internalized an ideology that cast those outside of it as irrational peons and disreputable rabble. To make matters worse, the dynamics of an economy rooted around the exchange of information was also destroying the economic lifeblood of professionals and animalizing them into a precarious existence marked by a Lord of the Flies-like competition for the precious few remaining guarantees of an economically secure and culturally meaningful life.
[..] While I suspect that current predictions of the coming age of artificial intelligence and other advanced automation technologies will likely be very, very off I do think that some kind of severe political and social dislocation is inevitable. This will likely produce a new class of elites, many of which will claim competence at the art of managing automation much like their ancestors did in the 19th and 20th centuries."
https://aelkus.github.io/posts-output/2
