To celebrate Jewish Christmas, the Drezner family watched Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein, impressed by Jacob Elordi’s performance but found Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein unsympathetic, likening him to a modern “tech bro.” This comparison highlights the parallel between Frankenstein’s quest to create life and today’s obsession with generative AI. The author also discusses an academic symposium titled “Oligarchic sovereignty: Technology and the future of global order,” which examines how technology oligarchs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos wield unprecedented influence, resembling historical corporate powers. The essays analyze their bypassing of traditional state authority and their desire for both territorial and temporal sovereignty, prioritizing long-term solutions over immediate concerns. The author’s contribution, “The winner’s intellectual curse,” argues that technologists believe they possess the foresight to avert existential risks, leading to a disregard for short-term societal impacts. The symposium’s findings suggest a changing global order shaped increasingly by private actors and oligarchic ambitions. The full argument is accessible via Open Access, alongside contributions from other scholars.
Exploring the Depths of Humanity and Time
By xpectafight
