Big Brother, Big Tech, 1984.

By Adam Cohen Hillel, originally published on Substack, Aug 16, 2024

The world we’re living in is slowly changing right before our eyes—not hidden, not apologized for, but portrayed as a favor to us, the people.

Cameras recording every move, data aggregated at every click, social media monitored, bots and algorithms subtly steering our thoughts, shaping our so-called “free” will. Psyops at every corner, fighters criticized, canceled.

A dystopian cityscape inspired by the novel '1984' by George Orwell, featuring towering, grim skyscrapers under a gloomy sky. In the foreground, a massive, ominous billboard displays a stern, watchful face symbolizing Big Brother, with piercing eyes that seem to follow viewers. The streets are filled with uniformed citizens marching in unison, while surveillance cameras and loudspeakers are mounted on every building corner. The atmosphere is heavy with a sense of oppression and surveillance, evoking a powerful totalitarian vibe.

At the dawn of the Information Age, visionaries saw cyberspace as the arena where we would finally transcend the physical limitations that had long shackled us. It was supposed to be our sanctuary, our escape, our new frontier.

But as the 2000s unfolded, it became clear that the powers weren’t willing to surrender without a fight. They built efficient cyber teams, recruiting our best hackers. They installed cameras for our safety and monitored our phones for our own good. They sold our data and made a fortune. And with that fortune, they expanded their control, tightening their grip on the very freedoms we once had.

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But, as in every good old American movie, we had heroes. Along the way, a few pioneers—true visionaries—saw what was happening and fought back. Thanks to them, we’re in a much better place than we could have been.

From the US Founding Fathers, who insisted on privacy in the Bill of Rights, to Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman, who pioneered public-key cryptography despite resistance from governments; from Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web and kept it open, to Phil Zimmermann, who faced government scrutiny when he created PGP encryption to protect our emails; from Linus Torvalds, who gave us Linux, to Satoshi Nakamoto, who introduced blockchain and Bitcoin, challenging centralized power.

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” — Benjamin Franklin

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This is our turn now—what can we build?

Counter-Surveillance: Privacy is essential for true freedom. Constant monitoring and tracking can erode our personal autonomy. We must actively address these concerns to protect our right to privacy and ensure that surveillance does not compromise our freedoms.

Free Speech / Free Will / Psyops: True freedom and free will are at risk when we're manipulated, whether by targeted agendas or dopamine-driven addiction. Social media’s black box algorithms, which obscure how they influence what we see, can subtly shape our thoughts. We need to counter that trend, and reclaim our minds..

Education: The people—our fellow citizens—don’t care enough. They don’t understand the stakes. They don’t realize their Windows can be remotely controlled, their thoughts influenced without their consent. We must educate, put the information and the tools out there. We need to empower people to take action.

Thank you for reading.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamcohenhillel