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[return to "Humanness in the Age of AI"]
1. aorth+Kd[view] [source] 2023-04-01 08:05:19
>>allanb+(OP)
Ah, Worldcoin has set up booths at many shopping malls here in Kenya. The first time I saw them a few months ago I was reminded of the "OneCoin" pyramid scam that was big in East Africa a few years ago. https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/20/crypto_ponzi_scheme_c...

Worldcoin gives off really similar vibes. The footer of their website reads:

> Worldcoin tokens are not intended to be available to people or companies who are residents of, or are located, incorporated or have a registered agent in, the United States or other restricted territories.

That doesn't sound very good! And then there's this critical review of Worldcoin's operations in Indonesia https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/1048981/worldcoi...

I really don't get good vibes from this whole thing...

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2. 50+vI[view] [source] 2023-04-01 13:31:11
>>aorth+Kd
It makes me think of that astonishing line by Susan Sontag: "The [_____] race is the cancer of human history; it is the [_____] race and it alone—its ideologies and inventions—which eradicates autonomous civilizations wherever it spreads, which has upset the ecological balance of the planet, which now threatens the very existence of life itself."

But also Emil Cioran: "What makes bad [technologists] worse is that they [are steeped only in tech-centric thought] (just as bad philosophers read only philosophers), whereas they would benefit much more from a book of botany or geology. We are enriched [and gain a sensible sense of ethics] only by frequenting disciplines remote from our own. This is true, of course, only for realms where the ego is rampant."

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3. germin+lN[view] [source] 2023-04-01 14:14:36
>>50+vI
Why censor Sontag’s statement? However people feel about her statement, she chose those words.
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4. pessim+2P[view] [source] 2023-04-01 14:33:16
>>germin+lN
Your instincts are wrong. HN has been a safe place as far as I've ever known (imo you're modded for being unreasonable or irrelevant here - even dumb is fine), but it's not safe to assume that you can say things bluntly in any forum just because they're true and said in good faith. It may read as bravery, but it's really just hubris. They'll delete you and tell other people to delete you. They'll report you to police. They'll ask your friends and family members why they're bad people for not shunning you.

Magical incantations and bad words are also the easiest things to avoid while still being very aggressive. Adhering to arbitrary pieties in form is actually a nice shield against people who are allergic to substance.

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5. mandma+2q1[view] [source] 2023-04-01 18:46:33
>>pessim+2P
Was recently banned for saying true and important things here.

It's not hubris - it's called having a spine.

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6. dang+lu1[view] [source] 2023-04-01 19:14:25
>>mandma+2q1
Why not let people decide for themselves why you were banned?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34852986

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