Will we let Buddy Pine rule?

For many years, I couldn't afford a team of people to work with. Then AI appeared, and I had my team in the form of a program that imitates them all.

I wasn't even surprised that I felt relieved not having to work with people. It's even better, I thought. Better off without people.

And then I listen to songs from different genres, from different parts of the world, and they all sound like autotune hip hop.

Today, it's not about listening to this or that artist; it's about the platforms you listen to. I feel like the world has been taken over by characters similar to Buddy Pine, nicknamed Syndrome, the naughty boy from the first part of "The Incredibles". Rejected kids with social phobias and access, thanks to the internet, to knowledge and technology.

Older generations are still surprised, but they are pacified by the younger ones because the older ones don't understand the younger ones. Mistake - the older understand the younger, but not always the technology.

Where has humanity gone? Every day people consume 3 million hours of white noise on Spotify - they don't even listen to songs anymore. Besides, the songs are the same everywhere, it doesn't matter who creates them. The artist has disappeared, replaced by an algorithm that dictates the rules of composition.

22% of Americans suffer from anthropophobia, the fear of other people. The pandemic has certainly helped here. People spend less and less time with each other, and loneliness is decimating the youth - and not just the youth.

I felt relieved that I don't have to work with people, although in reality, I miss them. It's great to see the flourishing of WEB3 communities - but if we are not to share the fate of WEB2 - immense loneliness, we must leave our homes, meet people, spend time together without constantly checking the online/on-chain situation.

Could it be a good idea to, like the people in Spielberg's 'Ready Player One,' step out of the network for one day a week and devote it to real life?

Inspired by: Ted Gioia '18 Warning Signs of a Deadly New Lifestyle'