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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1035 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 25, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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I've never been one to follow AI capabilities all too closely - I knew they've been rapidly improving but the particulars have never interested me beyond the headlines. However, with the rise of AI agents like ChatGPT Dot, the increasing integration of AI systems in consumer operating systems, and the growing prevalence of surveillance infrastructure, I'm coming to the conclusion that things are going to get very bad, very quickly.

Essentially, I've developed a belief that everyone is going to be surveilled to the maximum extent possible, and that surveillance is going to be used in all the conventionally dystopian ways. Advanced advertising, thought policing, price discrimination via social credit systems, etc. The usual rebuttal to this is, "well, you should have nothing to hide." I can understand the instinct toward this: who would care to closely watch the data of an ordinary person like myself? The key difference is that capable AI agents remove the labor bottleneck, so we can be monitored 24/7 without requiring a person to tediously comb through hours of data.

I've begun preparations to completely detach my life from big tech, switching to Linux, GrapheneOS on mobile, and taking whatever steps I can to anonymize my data. While AI models might not be capable of this surveillance right now, I want to get ahead of it so by the time they are capable, I've already become as much of a ghost as possible. Am I overreacting? How have you all prepared for the upcoming data revolution?

If you want to be unsurveilled, might I suggest the redneck method of 'just do things offline'?

Impractical if you still want to enjoy the benefits of modern civilization.

Local AI, DMZ for external agents and you still can.

I stand corrected on said technicality then, but I highly doubt that subset of people will take that recommendation. I’m big on minimizing my footprint and will even go far out of my way to do it, but I’m not a tinfoil hatter and I’m not going off into the woods like the Unabomber either.

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