Opinion CG819038331BX

Recently I have made an example of ArsTechnica, whose transformations I had been observing in slow motion since the times of Gamergate till the first Trump victory in 2016, and then sporadically later:

Almost everything that started as very progressive ends up turning out regressive. Look, for example, at ArsTechnica, which decayed from rock-solid tech portal into rabid Dem Party activism board.

And then I’ve been inspired to wonder why so many of the progressive leftist Dem zealots hate Musk, Bezos, Branson, or even CNSA and Roscosmos with passion. Possibly because they feel the sky sets a natural limit for attempts to control and “counter misinformation”?

Just as often, Frank Herbert’s works (especially outside Dune canon, which, alas, eclipses all other worthful parts of his legacy) supply a relevant analogy to ponder upon:

And there were some slip-ups. The year the Bureau of Research tried to get a grant for the development of space flight they ran into a Coor who was a religious fanatic. A great uncle of Helmut Glass.

“If the Lord wanted us gallivanting all over the universe, he’d have given us wings. We’ll put it to the question.”

And there was a big row, but the question had spoken of bringing back strange diseases, of calling down the wrath of God.

There it was in the Bu-Opp files. Opinion CG819038331BX: It is forbidden that man may plan, devise or manufacture any machine intended for transporting humans to any other heavenly body.

“See the mail rocket, Junior. With about thirty days of work it could take ten men to the moon and back.”

“Why don’t they do it then?”

“Low-opped.”

“Oh.”

Standard gravitational attraction of the planet Earth.

Interestingly enough, opinion CG819038331BX quoted above almost mirrors the proscriptions of the Butlerian Jihad in Dune universe against AI. I have little if any doubts that we’ll see a widening spread of attempts to shackle AI development from these same “very progressive” usual suspects, whatever label they stick upon themselves… even Nobel laureates.

All of this, of course, under the noble aegis of “battling misinformation,” “countering Russian psyops” or “protecting democracy from existential threats.”

Remember, we inherited Earth after dinosaurs, who ceased to properly finance their asteroid terrestrial-impact early alert system due to concerns about mass influx of alien migrants and robber barons capitalizing on space exploration.