Comments on: The Unabomber: A Story and A Theory

By: Introduction: Transformative Technocrats - Pandemic Magazine

Introduction: Transformative Technocrats - Pandemic Magazine — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 14:16:36 +0000

[…] are many forms of political organization that exist, have been proposed, or tried and failed. A key aspect fo their differences is how their leaders are […]

By: Max Muller

Max Muller — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 21:48:44 +0000

@ Ari Paul: Thank you for your comment. I’ve written the article and I would like to reply to your points. First of all, I indeed haven’t read Kaczyinski’s two most recent books you mentioned. Due to time constraints, I was not able to do so. My opinions are based on scholarly papers and other articles on Kaczyinski and his theories. From my readings of these articles, I concluded that his reasoning _seems_ crude (my suspicions are not definitive). I do not rule out the possibility that I will change my mind if I read his recent books on the matter, or if someone else lays down his arguments in a separate article.
As for the “other problems with this essay”, I am curious, too. Never did I deliberately misrepresent his opinions, or present a “misleading or inaccurate” statement. If there are any factual mistakes in my piece, please let me know. I would gladly correct them.
Finally, please note that I do not wholly disagree with Kaczyinski’s theories. In my opinion, his premise that mankind is increasingly exposed to stress-inducing technologies is correct. Also, to me his theory seems applicable in the specific case of AI.

By: Pandemic

Pandemic — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 22:04:33 +0000

In reply to Ari Paul. Hi Ari, We would love to publish a Response article! If you'd like to write something please send it to submissions@pandemic.space.

By: Ari Paul

Ari Paul — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 22:18:44 +0000

“Governments and NGOs assess the (possible) negative effects a certain piece of technology has of might have, and policies are implemented in accordance with those assessments. A reformist approach seems to be the way to go in most cases.”

For a thorough explanation of why palliative reforms like the one mentioned above are utterly naive, unrealistic and MORE difficult than revolution, this article’s author should refer to Kaczynski’s two books: “Technological Slavery” (2010) and “Anti-Tech Revolution” (2016). The essay titled “Why Reform Will Fail” in Technological Slavery (2010), p. 308, is specifically informative.

The author claims that Kaczynski’s “reasoning…seem[s] to be rather crude.” This would be the case if he assumed that the manifesto–which is meant to lay out large ideas in a concise and accessible form–is the full extent of the reasoning. But it would be wise to actually read Kaczynski’s scholarly work which backs up his points before making any such judgement. No reasonable and intellectually honest person could claim any “crudeness” after doing so.

There are other problems with this essay, including misinterpretations of Kaczynski and misleading or inaccurate statements, but I won’t go into them here unless prompted.