A thread on dystopia, Milgram and breaking the agentic state: why people act irrationally, and often violently, when a tribal social structure and its hierarchy are brought under serious scrutiny. This is a tricky topic. Please read the Obedience Glossary of Terms before proceeding. Why this matters This piece grew out of a long conversation with Grok. I had to interrogate the AI quite a bit, and I was astonished at the intelligence it produced. What follows is the most pertinent part of that exchange, tightened up. Do not be fooled into thinking this is just another Orwell analysis. Orwell only sets the scene for what comes later: the agentic state, and how power uses it to control the masses. It may not have all the answers. It might be wrong. A lot of it is very hard to believe is happening. But it still seems to fit the bizarre world of system-wide dissonance we all live in, and take part in, better than any of the alternatives. So it deserves your continued attention. By al...
Observing forbidden knowledge from a hamlet in Oxfordshire, England.