Speech is Sacred
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Human beings are the only animal that has the ability to take abstract thoughts, create symbols, and build narratives that transcend our genetics and biology. DNA manifested as a tool for replication and evolution, and technology has hacked genetics. Birth control technology has hacked reproduction. A vasectomy snips billions of years of evolutionary intention in a few minutes.
Speech is the ultimate hack. By allowing humans to create fictions that transcend our biology, we create an innate struggle of our minds against our bodies. Now, memes and algorithms are hacking our fictions, creating another layer of struggle.
In space, no one can hear you scream. On the Internet, everyone can. And there’s a lot of screaming. People need to be able to express themselves, and be heard.
However, Free Speech is a privilege and a duty. As we collectively work through this civilization-level transition, we need to adapt our split testing algorithms and machine learning to value quality of good speech, rather than engagement. “Truth” seems subjective today. One man’s revolutionary is another man’s terrorist. Identity politics are easy to weaponize.
Speech is sacred. I believe that we are recognizing this. In the same way that we have transcended our genetics, I believe we will transcend our memetics. The algorithms are part of us, not ruling us. We have sacred texts that are available for a lifetime of study. We are co-creating a new mythology. Individual sovereignty is the key. This is the way.