Do technological innovations yield net gains in the long run? (with Justin Smith-Ruiu)
Spencer Greenberg and Justin Smith-Ruyu discuss tech solutionism's limits, arguing technology often creates new problems. They explore how algorithmic content and financialization diminish genuine art and intellectual pursuits, and the decline of academic humanities, advocating for DIY creativity and independent thought.
Deep Dive Analysis
14 Topic Outline
Introduction to Tech Solutionism and Problem Generation
Technology's Role in Creating New Problems
Comparing Life in 1000 AD vs. 21st Century
Technological Progress and Human Enjoyment
The Printing Press and Loss of Mnemonic Skills
New Technologies Creating New Needs and Trade-offs
Algorithmic Content vs. Art and Aesthetic Experience
AI Art: Democratization of Creation vs. Consumer Philistinism
Defining Art vs. Content: The Death of the Avant-Garde
Critique of Mainstream Hollywood and Publishing
DIY Creativity and Subcultural Memetic Production
Financialization and Algorithms as Culprits for Art Decline
Decline of Academic Humanities and Threats to Liberal Democracy
Distortion of Humanities by Administrative Imperatives
5 Key Concepts
Tech Solutionism
The mindset that technological innovations primarily solve pre-existing problems, often overlooking that they simultaneously generate new problems that require further solutions. This creates a continuous cycle where technology both creates and solves its own issues, preventing a definitive end to problem-solving.
Historical Equilibrium of Human Life
The idea that human life, on balance, has neither gotten definitively better nor worse over long historical periods, despite technological advancements. While some indices like life expectancy may improve, other profound existential considerations or new risks (e.g., nuclear weapons) might make the overall quality of life comparable or even worse.
Techne as Skill vs. Gadget
A distinction between technology as an external apparatus (gadget) and technology as an internalized skill. The argument suggests that the loss of skills like the medieval art of memory, due to externalized technologies like printed books, represents a loss of intrinsic human value, similar to species or language extinction.
Art vs. Content
Art is defined by a creative impulse that cannot be reduced to rules or algorithms, often pushing boundaries (avant-garde) and aiming for profound engagement. Content, in contrast, is churned out according to algorithmic criteria and financial incentives, designed to maximize audience captivation and profit, leading to a loss of genuine artistic innovation.
Financialization of Culture
The process by which economic and material forces, particularly the drive for profit maximization, increasingly dictate the production and nature of cultural artifacts, including art, film, and literature. This leads to algorithmic optimization for audience engagement and profitability, often at the expense of artistic depth, originality, or avant-garde exploration.
8 Questions Answered
Not necessarily; while technology solves some problems, it constantly generates new ones, creating an equilibrium where human life is neither definitively better nor worse, but merely transformed with different challenges and advantages.
It depends on which elements of life are considered; while 21st-century life offers longer life expectancy and nominal liberties, it also carries existential threats like nuclear weapons and environmental precarity, leading some to prefer the lower stakes of 1000 AD.
No, human enjoyment and imagination do not inherently get 'better' with new technology because the human brain remains the same. Virtual reality, movies, or even cave paintings all serve to trigger the imagination, but the fundamental nature of that experience doesn't change.
Art stems from a unique creative impulse that defies algorithmic rules and aims to challenge or build up the human spirit, often found in the avant-garde. Content, conversely, is algorithmically generated and optimized for audience captivation and profit, leading to a homogenized and less innovative cultural landscape.
Algorithms are unlikely to lead to avant-garde creations because artistic genius, by definition, involves moves that cannot be reduced to rules, which is the opposite of how algorithms operate. This suggests algorithms would struggle to produce anything truly difficult, novel, or boundary-pushing.
Yes, in the mainstream sense, cinema (Hollywood) and literature (big trade publishing) are considered dead due to economic and material transformations that have turned them into 'content mills' focused on profit maximization and algorithmic appeal, rather than genuine artistic expression.
Financialization is the primary culprit, as it dictates that algorithms, which are neutral in themselves, are used solely for maximizing profit. This economic imperative drives the production of 'content' over 'art' and stifles genuine creative innovation.
The academic humanities are declining because they are increasingly subjected to administrative dictates that force them to demonstrate immediate 'relevance' to contemporary problems (e.g., diversity requirements), rather than pursuing inquiry for its own sake or exploring forgotten life worlds, which distorts their intellectual project.
10 Actionable Insights
1. Value Internalized Skills
Prioritize developing skills that are carried within oneself, referred to as ’techne,’ rather than solely relying on external gadgets. The loss of such internalized skills should be viewed with concern, similar to species extinction or language loss, as they are intrinsic to being human.
2. Embrace DIY Creativity
Actively engage in independent, self-produced artistic and intellectual endeavors, such as writing on platforms like Substack or creating memes. This approach is presented as the most valuable hope for the survival of genuine art and thought in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and financialization.
3. Cultivate Independent Thought
Pursue intellectual and artistic interests based on organically grown personal reasons and intrinsic curiosity, rather than allowing external forces like algorithms, administrative mandates, or short-term financial incentives to dictate one’s thinking and priorities. This fosters authentic engagement and prevents intellectual distortion.
4. Seek Diverse Aesthetic Experiences
Actively search for diverse and varied artistic and cultural experiences that are not curated by algorithms, such as exploring a used record store’s bargain bin. Avoid relying solely on algorithmic recommendations, which tend to prioritize similarity and audience captivation over true aesthetic awakening or exposure to the avant-garde.
5. Distinguish Art from Content
Develop a critical discernment between genuine ‘art,’ which often involves unique creative impulses that defy rules, and ‘content,’ which is typically churned out according to algorithmic criteria for maximizing audience captivation. Recognize that content may not ‘build you up’ or offer the same profound value as art.
6. Anticipate Tech’s New Problems
Adopt a mindset that acknowledges technology’s inherent tendency to generate new problems even as it solves old ones. Be wary of the ‘solutionist mindset’ that assumes definitive or permanent technological fixes, and consider the deep, intrinsic trade-offs involved in technological innovation.
7. Beware Financialization’s Influence
Recognize financialization as a primary driver behind the decline of genuine art and intellectual pursuits, as it often dictates how algorithms are used to maximize profit. This leads to a focus on ‘safe’ and algorithmically optimized outputs rather than creative risk-taking or difficult, boundary-pushing art.
8. Question Unqualified Progress
Reflect on the idea that human life has not necessarily gotten ‘better’ on balance due to technological innovation, but rather has traded one set of problems and values for another. Consider elements beyond economic indices when evaluating the true quality of life and historical advancements.
9. Guard Liberal Rights
Be aware of and concerned by any ‘insouciance’ towards abandoning sacrosanct liberal rights, particularly free speech, even when discussions arise about boundaries with hate speech or insults to marginalized groups. This vigilance is crucial for preserving liberal freedoms in the future.
10. Critically Engage Humanities
Recognize that academic humanities have shifted focus from exploring diverse ’life worlds’ to demonstrating ‘relevance to solving contemporary problems’ based on current administrative priorities. If you value humanistic inquiry, be prepared to pursue it independently rather than relying on institutional frameworks that may distort its original purpose.
6 Key Quotes
If I were in that original position, I think I would take the 1000 AD life.
Justin Smith-Ruiu
New technologies don't so much give us something we were lacking as add something more to the list of things we need in order not to be lacking.
Justin Smith-Ruiu
What is artistic genius? It is precisely the move made by an artist that can't be reduced to a rule, that seems to be governed by no rule.
Justin Smith-Ruiu
Cinema's dead. That's, that's certain. Literature seems basically to be dead.
Justin Smith-Ruiu
I think the kids on social media are infinitely creative. And if they would just stop flirting with such noxious ideas so often, I would say they're our hope for the future.
Justin Smith-Ruiu
Financialization first. You know, that's the evil number one, right? Because algorithms in themselves are neither good nor bad. It's how they're used. And the problem is simply that in the current political economic order, they can only be used for maximizing profit.
Justin Smith-Ruiu
1 Protocols
Learning a Foreign Language
Spencer Greenberg- Use spaced repetition: Learn a concept, idea, sound, or word, then review it shortly after to ensure retention.
- Create longer delays for review if the concept is remembered correctly, and review again.
- Ensure each review is an active quiz, not passive rereading.
- Engage in immersion: Put yourself in a situation where you are forced to speak the language all day long.