Steve, thank you for sharing your research and insights, and for the
questions. It all sounds very worrying, and perhaps we can only pray for
divine intervention? (Who of the benevolent Catholic saints would have
the patronage over this type of danger? Maybe Florian who guards us when
the house is on fire, or Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of desperate
cases and lost causes...)
The following is rather speculative, but maybe you can get something
from it.
I completely get what you say about "don't follow the money". Reading
the posting that Felix forwarded from carhenge.club/@skiles, I was
wondering what to make of the "paralleling" between the Christian faith
and the "belief in AI, AI as God". Maybe I underestimate the faith that
some people can have in technology, but the way you hold those two
things apart makes more sense to me.
One of the differences between these two "faiths" might be that, as part
of the mythical foundations of how we [post/moderns] understand
technology, despite its potential to gain autonomy, it remains basically
subservient to humans. It is a 'subaltern' type of force, and its
striving for autonomy and rule over humans is regarded as illegitimate -
maybe like the illegitimacy of the proletariat in Capitalism. (I'm here
trying to recount part of what I believe to be the "myth of the
machine", the mythical narrative that is embedded in modern discourses
about technology.) This is the opposite to the legitimacy that is
ascribed to the christian god - who (in a devout christian perspective)
rightfully rules supreme, he is the King and he is King in Eternity.
What I'm suggesting is that the two phenomena, the two "faiths" perhaps
look similar, but they are significantly different on the
theological/mythical level, and they probably also represent two quite
different forms of (potential) governance. (Moreover, the expression
"faith in AI" might in fact not be more than a metaphorical reference to
the first, in which case this 'comparison' would really be no more than
a tautology.) I think we should be careful not to jump to conclusions
too easily, conclusions based on such spurious comparisons which don't
serve to describe what drives the situation.
Best regards,
-a
Am 24.03.25 um 02:36 schrieb Steven Kurtz via nettime-l:
Tech initiatives like to use Christian/occult codes to explain to people
outside their specialization what they are doing while at the same time puffing
themselves up. The Human Genome Project did this quite well. Teachers do the
same usually for more down-to-earth reasons. However, because there can be a
common rhetoric or code sharing it doesn't mean there is any real relationship.
I just spent two years deep in the hole of US Christian nationalism (CN). The
book is coming out soon, so allow me to report a few general observations on
this subject.
Only on rare occasion have I ever heard them discuss digital technology in any
abstract way. The rare occasions when it does come up concerns eradicating porn
and information control (only in terms of censorship). On no occasion have I
heard them discuss AI. They do not care. That is not the world they live in.
The CNs passionately hate (and "hate" may be too modest of a word) libertarians
in general and Tech Bros (TBs) in particular as they are tools of, if not possessed by,
Satan. The orange One, whom they must obey, has made room for these enemies of
Christendom, so for now they must be tolerated. This does not mean the CNs are passive.
They have surrounded Trump the best they can to keep their advice going in his ear, and
the other factions' out. Surrounding Trump on a daily basis or near daily basis are:
Susie Wiles—White House Chief of Staff. Christian Nationalist accommodator
(i.e., she believes most of the Christian Nationalist project). Supporter of
DeSantis. Florida being the testing ground for many Christian nationalist
policies.
Russ Vought—Office of Management and Budget He is the most dangerous of Trump’s
enablers. Fanatically committed to Chistian Nationalism, he oversees everyday
white house affairs. He knows how the system works. Contributor to Project 2025
and wrote many of the executive orders.
Charles Ezell—Acting Director, Office of Personnel Management. The man carrying
out the DOGE firings. Christian nationalist.
Kristi Noem—Secretary of Homeland Security. Devoted Christian nationalist. The
Godliest governor.
Doug Burgum—Secretary of the Interior (tries to hide it his Christian
nationalist affiliations. Poses as a libertarian elite.)
Pam Bondi—Attorney General (She will prosecute whomever Trump says and will
structure the Department of Justice as Trump wants it. The Jenna Ellis
(Christian nationalist) of the new Trump administration. If not a Christian
nationalist, she is a Christian devoted to her role as an accommodator. She
will also make sure Trump cannot be held in criminal contempt by any court, and
that he and his chosen are never charged with any crime.
Pete Hegseth—Secretary of Defense (The man has "Deus Vult" tattooed on him.
Need I say more?)
Tom Homan—Border Czar. Christian nationalist. Contributor to Project 2025.
Against the CNs in office are the Bannon rank and file voters (many of whom are
CNs). Bannon's and his populism are out. Musk And his Technocratic Republic
friends are in Trump's good graces as long as the pay-off continues. What they
are doing the CNs are mostly Ok with. The short-term outcomes both factions
want mostly align. Why they want them couldn't be more different, as are the
desired long-term outcomes. The TBs aren't worried about the CNs as they seem
to believe (I am out over my skis here) their money makes them protected by
the law, but in no way bound to it, so they are untouchable and may do as they
please. However, Trump will not always be around, and when that happens the
TBs underestimate the CNs at their own peril. Finally, the dark horse is Scott
Besset (Secretary of Treasury). CNs and TBs both hate him, of course for
different reasons. He is where all the eco-detox, threaten and attack your
allies and trading partners with denying US market access and protection, and
tariff ideas are coming from.
I said this on Nettime many years ago and I will say it again now for those
interested in understanding the CNs—learn to speak Christian. They speak in
code that requires training to understand. Second, throw categories of
political economy and investigations to follow the money into the trash. That
is not how they operate. Profit is not what motivates them. Angelic and demonic
intervention, miracles, prophecy, possession, providence, dispensation (for the
evangelicals), revelation, awakening, etc. is the world they live in and
respond to.
Finally, they do not see themselves as cruel. They are doing what is necessary
to spread the gospel and save souls. They are saving people from eternal
cruelty. They love the end of USAID in sub-Saharan Africa, because they want to
see disease and famine flourish in a time when there are the fewest charitable
organizations to turn to other than the missionaries they are training and
sending as fast as they can.
The CNs have the Supreme Court, control the Senate agenda (John Thune) and
House agenda (Mike Johnson), have surrounded the president, and have their man
in charge of the military (Pete Hegseth). The great irony is Trump is who is
protecting the US from becoming a theocratic state, unfortunately it may be his
legacy. They have been planning this coup for almost half a century. They do
nothing just for the fun/cruelty of it.
--
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