An Unintended Prophecy

[ecosophia]

I finished doing the page proofs for the last four of my soon-to-be-reprinted novels today, with Retrotopia the final manuscript of the set. It had been quite a while since I last read it. I've had readers comment already that some of my fiction reads like prophecy, but there was a passage in Retrotopia that I don't think has been mentioned yet. The main character, Peter Carr, is listening to another character talk about the downsides of technology.

* * * * *

"Then you have the technologies that have other costs—do you happen to know the real story about the 2020 US election, by any chance?”

That was another hard one to argue. “Yeah,” I said again. “That’s the one where hackers got into the electronic voting machines?”

“And made them report a landslide presidential victory for Bozo the Clown. Yes, that was the one."

* * * * *

This was written and published in early 2016, before anybody was talking about hacked voting machines. I really, truly don't intend my novels as predictions, or for that matter instructional manuals!

Comments

[methylethyl]

Read that one when it was serialized on ADR-- quite enjoyed it!

When we start up the drone-shooting derby, I'm all in.

[ecosophia]

I'll look for you somewhere near where Maude Duesenberg is shooting.

MASER

[(Anonymous)]

I'd like to try my hand at a MASER!

JPM

Re: MASER

[ecosophia]

I'm rooting for the guys from the 34th Infantry. I want to see what they'll come up with next!

Re: MASER

[(Anonymous)]

Well, since the 107th Armored Cavalry Regiment is now the 107th Cavalry Regiment, they might have a little competition...
;-)
Rhydlyd

[(Anonymous)]

As early as 2004 I heard people saying that electronic voting machines could be hacked or at least used dishonestly, which is why I became a poll worker for a number of years-- to keep an eye on things. As it turns out, the machines to watch are the central tabulators downtown. Even paper ballots are read electronically and that code can be messed with.

But in early 2016, Trump hadn't even been elected yet, and you were one of the few souls predicting he would win that one. The idea of the 2020 election being massively hacked wasn't on anybody's radar. In fact you were predicting a win for Trump that year too.

But there isn't a lot of daylight between Bozo the Clown and a rutabaga, so, you made an eerily accurate prediction there.

- Cicada Grove

[ecosophia]

I thought a Trump victory in 2020 was likely, but I was careful not to offer a firm prediction either way, since it was clear to me that it would be a very hotly contested election. That it was so hotly contested that quite a number of counties had more votes than there were people on the voting rolls -- well, that was a bit more than I expected!

[(Anonymous)]

https://youtu.be/CduA0TULnow?si=SCygrJ2V-SniClGi

[ecosophia]

Funny.

[nightsgate]

It's scary that you were accurate enough to call the actual name of the candidate!

[ecosophia]

That was the thing that left me rattled.

[(Anonymous)]

Are you implying that Joe Biden only won due to electronic voting machine hacking?

[ecosophia]

I'll let you reason that one out for yourself.

[escorcher]

You get my vote, for what it's worth.

It does seem that humanity is merrily ignoring any, what I'd call obvious, 'warnings' from sci-fi and the like, which now includes fairly recent films and classic novels (e.g. Terminator and, er, 1984). However, there now seems a new line in films, at least, almost what I'd call 'egging on' or celebrating collapse. The one that caught my eye recently is 'Civil War'. You can read the plot etc. on the wiki here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_War_(film)
Let's just say, Washington gets washed out. Interestingly it's written and directed by an Englishman who started with novels (The Beach - yep, became a film) moved onto films care of zombies (28 Days later) and then his first directorial debut was the A.I. classic movie Ex-Machina in 2014 (does A.I escape to potentially cause havoc? - well...).

The other A I. reality mimics fiction story that also got me facepalming was this one:

'ChatGPT to lose voice over Johansson similarity'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c51188y6n6yo

Scarlett Johansson starred as the voice of a 'flirty' A.I. in the film 'Her' from 2013 ! And yep, it got messy in that: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/

Has western humanity become so detached and screen-led they see a lot of recent fiction as 'true'? Looks like it!

[ecosophia]

Interesting.

[(Anonymous)]

>'ChatGPT to lose voice over Johansson similarity'

LLM and most of AI including HTR, is getting good results around 80-90% accuracy rates on large sets of training sets.

In corner cases were you actually need intelligence you can get accuracy rate lower than radom choices.

As the worlds keep change faster and faster and we depend on artificial intelligence built on a training set of a world that used to be but is no longer here, what could go wrong.

Another cluelessness enhancer to enhance the PMC stubborness in the denial of realities of physical world limitations, immune systems, demographic realities etc

[(Anonymous)]

Retrotopia is still my favourite book of yours. I've read it three times, but I never noticed that little gem. Here's hoping that some of the nicer parts of that story come true as well.

Dylan

[bridgeofsighs]

I believe the 2020 US Presidential election was hacked and mass fraud took place with fake ballots - Biden was never that popular, ever. I saw him on the campaign trail and when people asked what he was going to do about x, y and z, his reply was "Go vote for someone else". Not really the response of someone desperate for votes. It's almost like he knew the votes weren't going to matter anyway. I think it was more than the usual fraud that both sides do, that balances each other out.

I can't verify this but I read that the machines were hacked to rig the election for Clinton in 2016 (also very unpopular) but someone (Russians, Chinese?) undid the hack and Trump won fairly. They made sure that didn't happen again and stuffed fake ballots in the drop boxes. The MSM goes insane if anyone questions the legitimacy of the vote. It means you want to 'overthrow democracy' as if the US was a democracy. It's projection and gaslighting. There's lots of people who know what went on but they are marginalised and mocked.

https://polk.gop/how-voting-machines-stole-the-election-former-overstock-ceo-patrick-byrne/

[(Anonymous)]

but someone (Russians, Chinese?) undid the hack and Trump won fairly.

Or..., Trump was popular choice among a certain elite from a certain country with a very big lobby that is now in the media attention in the Palestine. They even named some geographic landmarks after him:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Heights

He is even considered a better choice as a friendly president to have in 2025 to give the same country a greater support than Biden is already giving.

2016

[ritaer]

My grandson, who is 22, commented a few weeks ago that Hillary might have won "is she wasn't so cringe." Some current slang is forgettable, but "cringe" sort of sums it up.

Rita

[(Anonymous)]

Here's a tech blog article from 2008 about issues with the machines: https://www.techdirt.com/2008/10/29/guy-who-insists-e-voting-machines-work-fine-demonstrates-they-dont/

It may not have been on the public radar, but that doesn't quite mean no one was talking about it. I hope you just read something about it and that this wasn't some sort of intuitive prediction at work...

Prophecy

[jeffinwa]

Hi JMG,

Seems to me to be part of what makes your 'fiction' so satisfying to read; it reads and feels more real than what is published as reporting these days. The light you shine on what you see does help to dispel the darkness of these times.

Don't let it unnerve you, you've worked so hard for the gifts you so generously share with us. My guess is that you write from your heart and our hearts respond.

Peace,
Jeff

[(Anonymous)]

Hrmmm
Could the problem with cautionary tales be similar to the problem with the slogan "Don't Drive Drunk"?

Your mind somehow misses the "Don't"?
All you "hear" is drive drunk
All you "hear" the vivid description of the future and miss the caution ?

[(Anonymous)]

Could be a self-fulfilling prophecy, the only problem is the bureaucrats that rule US and the World don't have a copy of Retropia on their desks.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-fulfilling_prophecy

[(Anonymous)]

Your corn prediction might not be too far off the mark either

http://ifttt.itbehere.com/2024/05/26/hidden-food-threat-experts-warn-of-dangers-of-rnai-crops/

[(Anonymous)]

I was about to post this as a joke, but it might actually fit: I wonder if people sense this coming... And are freaking out about the wrong "AI"....

Hacked Voting Machines

[(Anonymous)]

People were talking about hacked voting machines well before 2016. Here's an example webcomic from 2008:

https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/463:_Voting_Machines

Re: Hacked Voting Machines

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, and a lot of that talk was on the left, afraid that the innately right-leaning corporations would insure Republican control. Then 2016 came and went, and suddenly the talk about election rigging started coming from the right starting with Trump.

– Donald C. Hargraves