Some suggestions to change the world at Davos were rather intriguing and potentially dangerous
As the world elite once again congregated at Davos to plan our world’s future, some of their agendas stuck out. WEF founder Klaus Schwab's inaugural address calling for co-operations between governments, corporations, and civil society to “master the future” was eerie no doubt, but their lopsided agenda on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, brain transparency, battery passports, et al begged the question- are we headed for a Brave New World set in 1984?
Starting with WEF’s “Ukraine peace formula”, Zelenksy to Henry Kissinger called for steps to further contain Russia - more sanctions and arming Ukraine with heavier weapons. A peace deal means Ukraine’s victory over all the lost territory Crimea included, by hook or by crook. And since the WEF is over, discussions are already in motion. Germany and the US have committed tanks to Ukraine, escalating tensions between Russia and NATO. The conflict has already destroyed millions of lives and directly impacted food and energy security around the world. Yet no call was given for diplomatic mediation making the Orwellian war is peace and peace is war, come alive again.
The next alarming session was on Disrupting Distrust, featuring representatives from the banking sector. What would banks have to do with stopping disinformation? Think about Julian Assange and Wikileaks being de-platformed by financial institutions like PayPal, etc for exposing the government. And more recently, Paypal announced fining users for spreading disinformation. Justin Trudeau also froze the bank accounts of protesting truckers. Strangely, all these incidences align with the session’s agenda and provide a dangerous weapon in the hands of governments and private financial institutions against citizens. Even Elon Musk started a Twitter storm by tweeting, “WEF is increasingly becoming an unelected world government that the people never asked for and don’t want.”
In the days of vaccine nationalism, it was very surprising to only find one major American vaccine maker (Pfizer CEO, which has been swimming in controversy), addressing the session on pandemics. Although it called for more aggressive vaccinations, the poor citizens of the world cannot afford patented vaccines. It was odd to find no third-world representative in the discussion, despite the presence of an Indian cabinet delegation.
WEF’s Brain transparency session made "thought crime" a reality. As per the session, current technology for decoding brain waves is available and over 5,000 companies monitor their employees’ brain waves for productivity. Apart from “swiping with our minds”, this technology is enabling employers to gauge individual work performances, mental focus, and even office intra-romance. It sends alerts to your employer for your thought crimes including lethargy, social media surfing, etc.
Brain waves could be recorded by wearing special hats, a small tattoo, or earplugs. By end of 2023, earphones with brain wave reading capabilities will also be on the market. Soon, wearable fit bits for brains may be the primary way in which we interact with other technologies i.e computers, phones, electrical appliances, et al. AI can analyze older brain wave histories to fish out employee misdemeanors and crimes.
But if in the wrong hands, this technology presents a grave danger to everyone as it can undermine individual privacy and autonomy over one’s mind. The next step in a Minority Report kind of reality is when police and judiciary start using this technology to predict crimes and criminals. With the current pace, that day is not far.
The target is not only the brain but also our cars, as new battery passports are on the cards. Battery passports mean a unique tracker in your EV battery that is going to be recording and transmitting real-time data about your vehicle. The battery passport may in the future be used to calculate your travel credits and allowances. Further, it could be used to trammel the citizenry. Without approval from the source or travel visa, the battery passport may restrict automobile ignition. Certain regions in the EU are already experimenting with a no-car policy and creating travel allowances for their citizens. The battery passport fits right into these schemes. Carbon neutrality may be used as a shield to pass these draconian measures, taking away our right to movement.
Finally, the overlap of AI and agriculture. WEF has been a key promoter of AI in India. The aim is to shift farmers out of farming, by unloading their work on AI. From farm planning to weather. But this AI model has already been proven inefficient, especially as last year's major crop losses were due to climate changes, which no AI was able to predict or warn. Overtime AI in Indian agriculture means- more farmers out of farming. Given the technological literacy required to operate phones, computers, etc, this tech only has limited benefits and huge human costs.
Now whether WEF 2023 heralds a brave new world or a better future, time will tell, but for now, it appears that they are promoting a military solution in Ukraine, introducing brain-hacking technology, and bolstering the technocratic control of humanity.
(The author writes on agriculture & environment, and is a former Director — Policy & Outreach, National Seed Association of India. The views expressed are personal)
