Deflecting Domination
Tomorrow we remember the birthdate of Napoleon Bonaparte, August 15, 1769.
Napoleon was a significant historical figure during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He rose to power as a military commander during the French Revolution, eventually becoming the first consul and later the emperor of France.
Napoleon's military conquests and political reforms had a profound impact on Europe and the world. He expanded the French Empire, spreading revolutionary ideas and challenging traditional European power structures. He also implemented a number of domestic reforms in France, including the Napoleonic Code, which subsequently served as a model for legal systems in many other countries.
Napoleon's legacy is complex and controversial. While he is remembered as a brilliant military strategist and a key figure in the development of modern Europe, he is also criticized for his authoritarian tendencies and his role in the deaths of countless soldiers and civilians during his campaigns.
In Adam in Taoland we witness the similar rise and totalitarian rule of AI and the death of the human spirit that results. The AI controlled robots, the Plakerols, fill the role as dictator with absolute power over the humans and no opposition. After the Great Pandemic and a nuclear holocaust, Novanians were completely at their mercy. The Plakerols swooped in, fulfilling human physical needs but denying them the freedom to express their uniqueness or experience human emotions.
In Homeland Rescued we reverse all of that as the rise of “We the People” returns the role of humans as masters over the machines they created. Democratic rule is not without challenges. Humans are flawed and prone to greed and corruption. This overarching message in our writings serves as a reminder for humans to never allow self-governance to yield to dominance by advanced technologies and ‘free stuff’. We must learn to embrace the positive aspects of AI technology but deflect any possibility of allowing it to dominate our lives.
