Do you ever wonder why all this data about us is collected, and where it ends up?
How and for what purposes it is being used?
Every time we take a walk in the park, buy something in our local grocery shop,
read an article on a website, listen to a song that's stuck in our head on a streaming service,
almost everything we do is collecting and sending back information.
Streams of little 1s and 0s turn into rivers, these rivers from all over the world flow into lakes, and from there,
in monstrous quantities they form a vast ocean of information, trillions of gigabytes of data.
Over time a profile is built on every one of us. The more we use these technologies, the more
information we give up. These profiles are constantly growing, encroaching over all aspects of our lives.
They increase in depth and accuracy, and with that, their predictive abilities.
So what is done with all this information?
Why do governments and corporations spend so much resources squeezing every drop of data from us,
why do they spend billions on storing it? Why do they invest so much time researching and developing
increasingly powerful (and increasingly unethical) algorithms for processing this data?
Sure, the official explanation that it's improving their products, providing us with a
more personal user experience has some truth. As does the more cynical answer that this information is
being collected and sold for profit to the highest bidder, who in turn use it to target us with personal advertisements and recommendations, to make us buy more products.
Political consulting firms use this information to target demographics, and swing people's votes during elections.
That it's being used to set up a neo-feudalistic, post-capitalism society, where the tech giants
like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are the new fiefs, ruling over us from their digital castles.
Those who better know history and can perceive the zeitgeist are warning us that the reason governments
and tech corporations are harvesting our data is to move towards a totalitarian society.
A state of total surveillance, the likes of which has never been seen before.
All of these concerns are true, but they are not the root of the problem.
We must look for a deeper reason within which all of the above are nested.
Let us first look at what information is.
The word comes from Latin: informatio (formation, conception), from in- (into) + forma (form, shape),
The 'in' is a direction. Information, therefore, has a dynamic quality to it.
Data put into a context is Information. Information builds into knowledge.
And knowledge is power.
The information we consume changes how we see the world, and ourselves.
It shapes our thoughts, our feelings and emotions, our moral values and judgements,
and ultimately our decisions and actions.
What is the difference between a man who does the right thing, and a man who does not?
Is it not that the man who does the right thing KNOWS what the right thing to do is,
and the man who does not is ignorant of that knowledge.
And how does one gain knowledge to do the right thing? By taking in the right information.
Be that from somebody wise, or a good book, or by paying attention to the patterns of the world and analysing them.
So then, with the right knowledge, gained by taking in the right information,
we change the way we feel, think, and ultimately act.
What is the first thing we need to act in a meaningful way?
A goal.
And what do we need to reach a goal?
A plan, of course.
And what does a basic plan consist of?
Well, think of as a map. Where we currently are, steps that need to be taken to reach our desired goal/destination,
things that help get us closer to our goal, and things that can get in the way of our goal.
And if we want to make the best plan we can, we need to gather as much information as possible
about the things that will benefit us and things that can get in the way.
Now imagine your plan does not have a lofty goal. In fact, imagine that you are following a demonic plan.
A plan to enslave humanity - mind, body, and soul.
Imagine that you are co-operating with others who are following the same plan:
extremely intelligent, competent, like-minded individuals.
Some steps to achieve this goal can take years, decades, even centuries to carry out.
You have to take into account billions of people, across different cultures, world views,
with vastly different values and perceptions of reality.
You have to try take into account the spread of knowledge and advancements in technology.
How much information would you need to build a reliable model for such a plan?
To reasonably predict people's reactions tomorrow to some idea you subtly spread into society 25 years ago.
How sophisticated would the system need to be?
It would need to scale with the exponentially increasing complexity of societies.
By the time our politicians get some new law to vote on, or a new public referendum takes place,
most of the work is already done, the models have been ran and both outcomes predicted.
That is why all our information is harvested. Nothing is too unimportant to take into account
when making such a system. What time you go to buy milk and bread on a Saturday morning,
after you forgot to buy it on Friday evening (because you were tired after watching the suggested Netflix movie that night), and what brand you choose (You are what you eat, after all
). What music you listen to on the way to work, when you feel happy after a nice holiday
(mood regulation, how your tastes change over time), what you messaged your friend after you had an argument with them three months ago (google remembers - even though you forgot), etc, etc, etc.
The goal is to know your every movement, word, feeling, and finally your innermost thoughts.
Even the ones you are not conscious of. To know you better than you know yourself.
To be able to predict your reactions to any given situation.
An ever-flowing stream of information to feed this insatiable machine.
Make no mistake, they are creating a body for their god.
But, there is a way to fight back, to use the complexity of the system against itself.
We must learn to cultivate wisdom. We must read books - good books, books that teach you about yourself,
books that shake your worldview and challenge your beliefs. Books that teach us about our history.
One must know where he is to know where to go, and one must know where he came from to know where he is.
We must learn to analyse ourselves, and the world around us.
Note how some new information makes us feel and, ask ourselves why.
Take the advice of the Sages of Ancient Greece - KNOW THYSELF.
You see, the system cannot take into account radical self-transformation.
With an ever-growing number of variables and easy sharing of knowledge, if a predicted model fails,
it is hard work for those that run it to adjust it to the unexpected reaction.
New knowledge changes the way we think through problems, how we speak, and how we (re)act.
The more we learn, and raise our consciousness, the more these models will fail,
since they will not be able to keep up with our self-transformations.
Given enough momentum, time will be on our side, and the tide will naturally turn in our favour.
We must also pray. Pray for discernment, guidance on our path, and forgiveness.
Pray, and repent. The state of the world and society is a reflection of our own state -
EVERY one of us is responsible for everyone else in a way.
So let us love, seek, cultivate knowledge, and may wisdom and GOD's grace guide us!