Globalization, Ai and the Promise of Tomorrow in the Social Imagination!

Globalization has been an agenda and has been discussed for a very long time; its not a brand new idea. It was feared by the Founding Fathers. It was a practice of the Roman Empire if you really think about it. Globalization is when any group is driven to conquer and control ~ The British and even Mongols did it too. What for you may ask? A good question with an obvious answer I would add ~ money, power and prestige.

Ironically, today globalization is being sold as 'global harmony', as it promises no disparity, no war, no poverty... etc. If we just make everyone the same, on the same page in terms of economics and politics and even race, we will have created a utopia. I like that use of grammar ~ future perfect. Will have done something. When I taught English as a second language, my students would always ask, what is that tense for and will I ever use it. I said it has its purpose in the English language and though you may not use it, you better be ready when someone else does.

Oh really, a utopia? What about a dystopia? Right, a dystopia is a society/world that is undesirable and even frightening! It would be such because in order to have 'real globalization' one would have to erase socio-histories, erase identity and language and the meaning that people have and find in them.

That would be a huge undertaking but guess what. It is at hand. How you ask? Via social media. It is now a tool for the process just mentioned. Once we get everyone on the right page, (facebook i.e) we will be able to do the rest. But you say, how can being on that page erase socio-histories, identity, language and meaning that belong to a group of people in a place? Good, in fact very good question.

With a little help from their friends (including programmed Ai) it becomes an easy task. There is no doubt that it will take time but its becoming a no brainer with that kind of help. How? Well, once you set a program into action, with no holds barred/no questions asked, the end justifies the means ... and it just goes. You can of course use programs discreetly by programming in limits on what can be said, texted, twittered and or you encourage tolerance of some things over others which you label as intolerant, you make evil good and good evil and all in the name of peace and globalization.

This is a kind of or a form of politically correct bullying that has an ultimate goal which is to conquer and control. The beauty no one person can be pointed out as the villain. So, who is doing this kind of digital virtual reality bullying? The best guess - algorithms are.  Its all in good programming form, all in good taste, all in good 'global conscious' too. After all, its becoming a brave new world and we need to make it safer and nicer and just simpler for everyone and that makes it fair.

Now, the next question... the promise of tomorrow in the social imagination. What will that be? Who knows but one can make an educated guess, right?  There is no certainty of what it will be so there is no promise for anyone in particular, that's safe to say. But, there is hope for change and hope for change is always a promise for something, right?

The only thing to worry about is that without knowing what to hope for (since we are just hoping for change) people can actually become hopelessly hopeless for anything and that's the goal and journey of globalization. Such a condition is just right to make all the right changes, right?  Oh, maybe a bit of chaos thrown in to keep up moral about change. But, its coming for sure!

In that case, if your head is in the sand, maybe better keep it there...???