Police use spyware from Israeli firm Cellebrite to hack phones. But does this powerful surveillance tool threaten our own national security?
It’s the modern detective’s dream: a skeleton key for any smartphone. When a case hinges on data locked inside a device, surveillance technology from companies like Israel’s Cellebrite offers a way in. British police forces are spending millions on these tools. But the very power that makes them so effective also makes them a profound threat to privacy, a tool for oppression, and a startling vulnerability at the heart of our national security.
This isn’t just about pulling a few incriminating texts. The technology performs a complete digital dissection of a person’s life, copying everything: every email, photo, video, and call log. It goes deeper, recovering deleted messages and digging into hidden files that track your location history. It can even reach into your cloud backups, downloading data you thought was stored safely away.
Your Life in a Police File
The implications for ordinary people are chilling. When police use these tools, they often perform a complete “data dump” of the device. Your intensely personal and entirely irrelevant data gets hoovered up right alongside any potential evidence. Victims of crime are often told to hand over their phones, unaware that their entire digital life could be scrutinised.
This practice erodes the trust between the public and the justice system. And with no transparent public record of how often these tools are used, we are left in the dark about whether this immense power is being used proportionately, or simply because it’s there.
A Ready-Made Tool for Tyrants
The story gets darker. This technology is not just used by police in democratic nations. The client list includes some of the world’s most repressive regimes. In Bahrain, it was used to prosecute a tortured activist. In Myanmar, it helped build the case against journalists investigating a massacre. Despite corporate assurances, these tools consistently end up in the hands of governments who use them to hunt down anyone who speaks out of line.
The technology’s sharpest edge is found in conflict zones. In Gaza, it has reportedly been used not as a tool for justice, but as an instrument of military intelligence. Reports describe the mass seizure of phones from Palestinians to map social networks, track movements, and inform targeting decisions. It is population control through technology.
Forged in Intelligence: The Unit 8200 Connection
You can’t understand this technology without understanding its origins. Cellebrite, in particular, is a product of Israel’s state intelligence machine, specifically the legendary cyber-warfare corps, Unit 8200. This unit serves as an incubator for Israel’s tech sector, and its veterans often move into senior roles at surveillance companies.
This isn’t a neutral tech company; it’s a strategic asset of the Israeli state. The revolving door between the military and the boardroom means its technology is born from a philosophy of state security, not just criminal justice.
“When a police force buys this tech, they aren’t just buying software; they’re importing a national security risk.”
An Agent in the Evidence Room
This is where the story comes home. When a British police force uses this tech, it may be inadvertently placing a foreign agent in its own evidence room. The shift to cloud-based software means data extracted in a London station could be processed on servers with ties to a foreign military. This fundamentally compromises our data sovereignty.
This hands a powerful lever of influence to another country. Access to the compromising data of a nation’s leaders, judges, or military officials is the kind of leverage that can quietly shape foreign policy. It’s a stark reminder that in the world of intelligence, there is often no such thing as a true friend, only interests.
The question for any democracy is stark. In the scramble for a tool to keep us safe, are we willing to trade a piece of our own sovereignty to get it?
The AI on your phone isn’t just a helper. It’s a tool for corporate and state control that puts our democracy at risk.
I was surprised when my Android phone suddenly updated itself, and Gemini AI appeared on the front screen, inviting me to join the AI revolution happening worldwide.
Google, Apple, and Meta are locked in a high-stakes race to put a powerful AI assistant in your pocket. The promise is a life of seamless convenience. The price, however, may be the keys to your entire digital life, and the fallout threatens to stretch far beyond your personal data.
This isn’t merely my middle-aged luddite paranoia; widespread public anxiety has cast a sharp light on the trade-offs we are being asked to accept. This investigation will demonstrate how the fundamental design of modern AI, with its reliance on vast datasets and susceptibility to manipulation, creates a perfect storm. It not only exposes individuals to new forms of hacking and surveillance but also provides the tools for unprecedented corporate and government control, undermining the foundations of democratic society while empowering authoritarian regimes.
A Hacker’s New Playground
Let’s be clear about the immediate technical risk. Many sophisticated AI tasks are too complex for a phone to handle alone and require data to be sent to corporate cloud servers. This process can bypass the end-to-end encryption we have come to rely on, exposing our supposedly private data.
Worse still is the documented vulnerability known as “prompt injection.” This is a new and alarmingly simple form of hacking where malicious commands are hidden in webpages or even video subtitles. These prompts can trick an AI assistant into carrying out harmful actions, such as sending your passwords to a scammer. This technique effectively democratises hacking, and there is no foolproof solution.
The Foundations of Democracy Under Threat
This combination of data exposure and vulnerability creates a perfect storm for democratic systems. A healthy democracy relies on an informed public and trust in its institutions, both of which are directly threatened.
When AI can generate floods of convincing but entirely fake news or deepfake videos, it pollutes the information ecosystem. A 2023 article in the Journal of Democracy warned that this erosion of social trust weakens democratic accountability. The threat is real, with a 2024 Carnegie Endowment report detailing how AI enables malicious actors to disrupt elections with sophisticated, tailored propaganda.
At the same time, the dominance of a few tech giants creates a new form of unaccountable power. As these corporations become the gatekeepers of AI-driven information, they risk becoming a “hyper-technocracy,” shaping public opinion without any democratic oversight.
A Toolkit for the Modern Authoritarian
If AI presents a challenge to democracies, it is a powerful asset for authoritarian regimes. The tools that cause concern in open societies are ideal for surveillance and control. A 2023 Freedom House report noted that AI dramatically amplifies digital repression, making censorship faster and cheaper.
Regimes in China and Russia are already leveraging AI to produce sophisticated propaganda and control their populations. From automated censorship that suppresses dissent to the creation of fake online personas that push state-sponsored narratives, AI provides the ultimate toolkit for modern authoritarianism.
How to Take Back Control
A slide into this future is not inevitable. Practical solutions are available for those willing to make a conscious choice to protect their digital autonomy.
For private communication, established apps like Signal offer robust encryption and have resisted AI integration. For email services, Tuta Mail provides an AI-free alternative. For those wanting to use AI on their own terms, open-source tools like Jan.ai allow you to run models locally on your own computer.
Perhaps the most powerful step is to reconsider your operating system. On a PC, Linux Mint is a privacy-respecting alternative. For smartphones, GrapheneOS, a hardened version of Android, provides a significant shield against corporate data gathering.
The code has been written, and the devices are in our hands. The next battle will be fought not in the cloud, but in parliaments and regulatory bodies, where the rules for this new era have yet to be decided. The time for us, and our government, to act is now.
Zuckerberg’s Digital Fiefdom: It’s Time to Dismantle His Machine
Listen up, this isn’t just a tale of some tech mogul’s rise and fall. This is about Mark Zuckerberg, a shape-shifting opportunist exploiting us for over a decade, turning our friendships, news, and thoughts into his cash cow. He’s built a mind-numbing machine that’s got billions of us hooked, and now he’s panicking because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has him in its sights. They’re calling out his illegal monopoly, and they’re spot on. But don’t hold your breath for justice—Zuckerberg’s already cosying up to Trump, trying to dodge the axe. Let’s tear the mask off this digital schemer and expose what he’s done to us.
How Zuckerberg Betrayed Us
Zuckerberg didn’t just create Facebook; he weaponised it. Back then, it was a nifty site to connect with mates. But don’t be fooled—that “hot-or-not” Harvard gimmick was the start of his info-grabbing scheme. By 2011, he’d cornered 95% of the social media market, turning your likes, chats, and family photos into a goldmine. His trick? Connect us, harvest our lives, and flog us to advertisers like livestock. That’s Meta’s “secret sauce”—a surveillance machine so cunning it makes Orwell’s Big Brother look like a nosy neighbour. Zuckerberg’s wealth soared to £13 billion, then £142 billion, all while he fed us the lie that it’s “less commercial” to see your friend’s scarf purchase than a high-street ad. Utter nonsense.
Then smartphones arrived, and his fiefdom wobbled. The iPhone put the internet in our pockets, and Facebook’s clunky app was a mess compared to nimble upstarts. Instagram was outpacing him, growing like wildfire with its 100 million users. Did Zuckerberg innovate? Not a chance. He bought Instagram for £1 billion, a desperate move to crush the competition. Then he splashed £19 billion on WhatsApp, a privacy-first app that could’ve been his undoing. Why? Because WhatsApp didn’t hoover up personal info like his creepy platform. It charged a quid a year and let you chat without being bombarded by ads. But once Zuckerberg got hold of it, he gutted WhatsApp’s privacy promises, driving its founders to walk away from over £770 million in stock options rather than play his grubby game.
The FTC’s Battle and Zuckerberg’s Slippery Tactics
The FTC, led by the formidable Lina Khan until recently, is finally holding Zuckerberg to account. They say Meta’s a monopoly, built on smothering rivals like Instagram and WhatsApp to keep us trapped in his digital fortress. This isn’t just about market share—it’s about how Zuckerberg’s machine controls what you see, what you think, who owns your attention. Khan’s team wants to break Meta apart, unwind those acquisitions, and give us a shot at platforms that don’t treat us like personal info grist. They’ve got Zuckerberg’s own emails, his shady motives laid bare, a smoking gun screaming, “I bought my way to power!” Case closed, right? Wrong. The courts have been hobbled, making monopoly cases more challenging than scaling Snowdon in sandals. Meta’s got a legion of lawyers—ten for every one the FTC can muster. And they’re playing dirty, claiming Khan’s too biased to judge them, as if they’re the victims. Spare us the sob story.
Zuckerberg’s not just fighting in court; he’s playing politics like a seasoned operator. He’s sidling up to Trump, dining at Mar-a-Lago, tossing a million quid at the inauguration fund, even sticking a Trump ally on his board. Why? To wriggle out of this lawsuit. The FTC demanded £23 billion to settle; Trump’s team cut it to £14 billion. Meta’s counter? A measly £770 million—loose change for a company raking in £127 billion a year. This is Zuckerberg’s game plan: buy your way out, consequences be damned. He’s been at it since he hobnobbed with Obama, then staged a fake apology tour after mucking up the 2016 election. Now he’s cheering for Trump, calling him “badass” to save his own neck. It’s not politics; it’s survival for a man who knows his fiefdom’s built on sand.
Why You Should Be Livid
This isn’t just about Zuckerberg’s billions—it’s about you. Every notification, every endless scroll, every ad that knows your deepest fears? That’s Meta mining your life like it’s an oil field. Each like you give trains his algorithms to keep you hooked longer. If the FTC wins, we might get platforms that don’t treat privacy like a bad joke. Picture social networks that compete on connection, not exploitation—ones that don’t leave you scrolling like a zombie at 2 a.m. But if Zuckerberg gets his way, we’re stuck in his digital cage, where every click feeds his machine. He’s already betting on the metaverse, a virtual prison where you strap on a headset and let him flog your eyeballs to advertisers. It’s a £7.7 billion flop, but he’s doubling down, dreaming of AI mates and holographic colleagues while we drown in his data quagmire.
Zuckerberg’s not the only villain—courts and politicians, too spineless or bought, prop up his game. The system’s rigged, letting him squash innovators before they start. If Meta gets carved up, it’s a crack in Big Tech’s iron grip. New platforms could rise, ones that don’t see you as a data cow to be milked. But if Zuckerberg slinks away, he’ll keep ruling our digital lives, and the next generation of creators will be crushed.
Time to Fight Back
So, what do we do? First, get angry. This isn’t just a lawsuit; it’s a battle for your mind, time, and freedom. Zuckerberg’s machine thrives because we keep feeding it. Stop scrolling mindlessly. Question every ad, every nudge. Ditch Meta’s apps for a month—try BlueSky, Signal or Mastodon instead. Seek out platforms that don’t treat you like a product—they’re out there, struggling to survive. Spread the word about this case because the more we see through Zuckerberg’s charade, the harder it is for him to hide. The FTC’s fighting, but they’re outgunned. We’re not. Share this rage, this truth, and ensure the following social network isn’t another Zuckerberg fantasy. Let’s tear his machine down, one conscious choice at a time.
As of May 2025, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly reshaping the global workforce. Research indicates that 14% of workers have experienced job displacement due to AI, particularly in technology and customer service (AI Replacing Jobs statistics and trends 2025). Projections suggest AI could impact up to 40% of global jobs by 2030 (World Economic Forum), presenting profound challenges and considerable opportunities. Companies like Shopify and Klarna are increasingly leveraging AI to streamline operations and reduce staff – Shopify by mandating AI use before human hires, and Klarna by replacing 700 customer service agents – raising widespread concerns about future employment (Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke memo on AI hiring policy; Klarna AI replaces 700 customer service agents news). A central debate revolves around balancing AI’s productivity gains, such as a reported 66% increase in employee productivity (NN Group), against potential societal inequality and the urgent need for worker adaptation. This analysis explores the current landscape, future projections, worker anxieties, and the impact of recent announcements from Microsoft and Google, drawing from industry reports, emerging trends, and discussions on X, to offer a guide for navigating this transformative shift.
Current Impact and Specific Examples
AI is already having a huge impact. By May 2025, estimates suggest that 14% of workers have experienced job displacement due to AI. In the US, AI was directly attributed to 3,900 job losses in May 2023 alone, constituting 5% of total job losses that month and ranking as the seventh-largest contributor to displacement (AI Replacing Jobs statistics and trends 2025). The technology sector has been particularly affected, witnessing 136,831 job losses in 2025, the highest figure since 2001, reflecting broader automation trends (AI Replacing Jobs statistics and trends 2025).
Specific cases highlight this development:
Shopify: In April 2025, CEO Tobi Lütke issued a memo stipulating that teams must justify human hires by first demonstrating why AI cannot perform the job. AI proficiency is now a “fundamental expectation,” with daily usage required and performance reviews incorporating AI utilisation (Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke memo on AI hiring policy). This policy followed previous workforce reductions of 20% in 2023 and further layoffs in 2024, leaving the company with 8,100 employees (Shopify layoffs 2023 2024 workforce reduction details).
Klarna: The CEO of Klarna reported that AI has replaced 700 customer service agents. The company plans to reduce its workforce from 4,000 to 2,000, citing a 74% productivity increase and a rise in revenue per employee from $575,000 to nearly $1 million within a year (Klarna AI replaces 700 customer service agents news). These layoffs targeted entire roles, not just underperformers, indicating a fundamental reimagining of workflows that minimises human involvement.
Microsoft: In 2025, Microsoft laid off 6,000 employees (nearly 3% of its global workforce), including senior roles such as Director of AI for Start-ups. This occurred despite AI reportedly contributing 30% of code generation in some projects, reflecting an industry-wide move towards automation (Microsoft lays off 6000 employees, including AI leadership roles).
These examples illustrate how major corporations prioritise AI-driven efficiency, often leading to job reductions, particularly in technology and customer service roles. The bottom line is profit-driven greed, growth at all costs.
Looking Ahead
Research points to significant future displacement. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2025 Future of Jobs Report estimates that 92 million roles will be displaced globally by 2030 due to technological development, the green transition, and other factors. Crucially, however, the same report projects the creation of 170 million new jobs, resulting in a net increase of 78 million. This growth is anticipated to be driven by skills in AI, big data, and technological literacy (Future of Jobs Report 2025). The survey underpinning these projections involved over 1,000 major employers worldwide, representing 22 industry clusters and over 14 million workers, lending robustness to its findings.
Other estimates include:
Goldman Sachs predicts that generative AI could expose 300 million full-time jobs to automation, affecting 25% of the global labour market by 2030. (AI and Jobs: How Many Roles Will AI Replace by 2030?).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that almost 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, with the potential for significant disruption (AI and Jobs: How Many Roles Will AI Replace by 2030?).
According to another WEF report (15 Jobs Will AI Replace by 2030?), 40% of programming tasks could be automated by 2040.
Employer expectations underscore this trend: 40% anticipate workforce reductions between 2025 and 2030 where AI can automate tasks, and 41% plan downsizing due to AI, as per the WEF’s 2025 report (AI could disrupt 40% of global jobs).
Productivity Gains and Job Creation
While displacement is a pressing concern, AI also drives substantial productivity gains, which can, in turn, foster new job creation. McKinsey research estimates the long-term AI opportunity at $4.4 trillion in added productivity growth potential from corporate use cases, highlighting its economic impact (AI in the workplace: A report for 2025 | McKinsey). A study by the NN Group found that generative AI improves employee productivity by 66% across various business tasks, with the most significant gains observed among less-skilled workers. This suggests a potential pathway for upskilling to mitigate displacement (Generative AI improves employee productivity by 66 per cent).
New roles include big data specialists, fintech engineers, and AI and machine learning specialists. Projections suggest AI could create 97 million new jobs by 2025 (Edison and Black). However, these roles often demand higher skill levels, potentially exacerbating inequality if access to relevant training remains uneven.
Worker Concerns and Adaptation Strategies
Worker anxieties are significant. A PwC survey found that 30% of workers fear job replacement by AI by 2025. Furthermore, McKinsey reports that employees believe AI will replace 30% of their work, with 47% expecting this within a year (AI Replacing Jobs statistics and trends 2025). Younger workers (aged 18-24) are 129% more likely than those over 65 to worry about job obsolescence, reflecting notable generational differences in perception (AI Replacing Jobs statistics and trends 2025).
Adaptation is crucial, with AI literacy increasingly becoming a prerequisite for employment. Employees must learn to leverage AI tools to enhance their output, as companies increasingly mandate AI usage and require justification for human hires based on AI’s inability to perform specific tasks. Developing a personal brand, through activities such as thought leadership and content creation, is suggested as a defensive strategy, as AI is perceived to more readily replace “anonymous” workers than those with established visibility and expertise (Human-AI Collaboration and Job Displacement Current Landscape).
Detailed strategies include:
Skill Development: Upskilling and reskilling in AI-related fields like data analysis and machine learning are paramount. Many companies and governments offer programmes, such as free courses on Coursera or edX, to assist workers in this transition (Impact of AI on Employment).
Personal Branding: Cultivating unique skills and a visible professional presence through thought leadership can highlight human attributes like creativity and emotional intelligence, which AI cannot easily replicate (Human-AI Collaboration and Job Displacement Current Landscape).
Complementary Roles: It is advisable to explore AI-adjacent roles such as AI ethics specialists, data stewards, and AI system managers. Emerging fields include big data specialists and AI trainers (15 Jobs Will AI Replace by 2030?).
Support Systems: Utilising government and corporate training programmes is encouraged. Public-private partnerships are increasingly designing AI curricula to align with evolving industry demands (Impact of AI on Employment).
Proactivity and Adaptability: Staying informed about AI trends, experimenting with AI tools, and maintaining openness to career pivots are key, as adaptability is vital (Job Disruption or Destruction: Adopting AI at the Workplace).
Policy Advocacy: Supporting policies that promote universal basic income (UBI), effective retraining initiatives, and ethical AI deployment can help address potential inequality (AI and Economic Displacement).
Microsoft and Google’s Recent Moves
At Microsoft Build 2025 (Seattle, May 19-22), the company introduced the Windows AI Foundry and the native Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Windows, enhancing AI-driven automation and providing developers with new tools for creating AI-powered applications. The public preview of SQL Server 2025 was also announced, featuring AI-ready enterprise database capabilities for ground-to-cloud data management and advanced analytics. Furthermore, Microsoft brought DeepSeek R1 models to Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs and debuted new research tools for Microsoft 365 Copilot, signalling a deeper integration of AI across its software and services.
Simultaneously, at Google I/O 2025 (Mountain View, May 20-21), Google unveiled substantial AI updates. They announced Gemini 2.5 Pro, which reportedly swept the LMArena leaderboard, demonstrating rapid model progress with Elo scores up more than 300 points since the first-generation Gemini Pro model. Google also introduced Android XR software for smart glasses, showcasing frames capable of language translation and answering queries about the user’s surroundings, with partnerships announced with Samsung, Warby Parker, and Gentle Monster to develop headsets featuring Android XR. New AI integrations across Search, Chrome, and other products were also revealed, emphasising AI’s increasing infiltration into all aspects of their ecosystem.
These concurrent announcements underscore the accelerating expansion of AI offerings by these tech giants. This could further hasten job displacement by embedding AI more deeply into everyday tools and services, thereby intensifying the pressure on workers to adapt swiftly.
Global Risks and Inequality
A UN report highlights that AI could disrupt 40% of global jobs. It also warns of the risk of increased inequality, exacerbated by the concentration of 40% of AI research and development spending among just 100 US-based firms. This concentration could further disadvantage regions lacking access to AI technology or training, raising significant ethical and economic concerns (AI could disrupt 40% of global jobs, UN report warns).
Recent Discussions on X
Recent posts on the X platform reflect ongoing public and expert concerns:
JoongAng Daily reported on a Bank of Korea study suggesting that more than half of South Korea’s workforce will be impacted by AI, either through job displacement or enhanced productivity.
Star Online noted that AI could affect 40% of jobs worldwide, offering productivity gains and fueling automation anxieties.
The New Yorker discussed studies indicating AI’s potential for mass job displacement, even in white-collar fields, questioning whether AI can genuinely augment rather than simply replace human expertise.
These discussions, including predictions like AegisGnosis, which suggests a 10% probability of mass displacement in manufacturing and customer service by 2025 (with 85% confidence), underscore the urgency and breadth of the issue.
Summary Table of Key Statistics
Metric
Value
Source
Workers affected by AI displacement
14% by 2025
AI Replacing Jobs statistics and trends 2025
Jobs displaced by 2030
92 million
Future of Jobs Report 2025
New jobs created by 2030
170 million
Future of Jobs Report 2025
Workers fearing job replacement by 2025
30%
AI Replacing Jobs statistics and trends 2025
Employers planning AI-driven downsizing
41% by 2025–2030
AI could disrupt 40% of global jobs (WEF cited source)
Generative AI improves employee productivity by 66 per cent
66%
Generative AI improves employee productivity by 66 percent
Conclusion
In 2025, AI-driven job displacement is a pressing reality. Current impacts reveal significant job losses, particularly in technology and customer service, while future projections suggest up to 40% of global jobs could be affected by 2030. Although AI stimulates productivity and creates new roles, the equilibrium between displacement and adaptation remains contentious. Workers must upskill, and companies must navigate complex ethical and economic considerations. The recent announcements from Microsoft and Google in May 2025, featuring innovations like the Windows AI Foundry, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Android XR, signal an accelerated expansion of AI, potentially intensifying these pressures.
Online discourse and expert reports highlight this urgency, advocating for strategies such as reskilling initiatives, personal branding, and potentially broader societal support systems like Universal Basic Income, to mitigate adverse impacts and strive for a future where technology augments human potential rather than merely supplanting it.
It’s a conversation echoing in homes, schools, and communities everywhere, a quiet hum of anxiety that’s growing louder: something feels profoundly wrong with how our children are growing up. We see it in their eyes, hear it in their voices, and the data, stark and unsettling, confirms this unease. The landscape of childhood, once a realm of scraped knees, whispered secrets under leafy trees, and the slow, organic unfurling of self, has been dramatically, perhaps irreversibly, reshaped in little more than a decade.
We stand at a critical juncture, witnessing what can only be described as a systemic hijacking of youth development. This isn’t a single, simple problem, but a tragedy unfolding in stages. First, there was a subtle shift, particularly in many Western societies, where a rising tide of parental anxiety – often fanned by a sensationalist media landscape despite falling crime rates – began to curtail children’s freedom. The streets grew quieter, the unsupervised adventures rarer, and the rich tapestry of peer-led play started to fray. This, in itself, was a loss, a curtailing of the very experiences that build resilience, social skills, and an internal locus of control.
But the second act, beginning in the early 2010s, delivered a far more potent blow. The advent and rapid proliferation of smartphones, coupled with the rise of intensely immersive social media platforms, didn’t just alter childhood; it rewired it. Suddenly, the primary arena for social interaction, for identity formation, for understanding one’s place in the world, migrated from the tangible to the virtual. And the consequences, as many are now articulating with increasing urgency, have been devastating for youth mental health. We’re not just talking about fleeting adolescent angst; we’re seeing soaring rates of clinical anxiety, depression, self-harm, and a pervasive sense of hopelessness that demands our immediate and sustained attention.
It’s crucial, however, to avoid a Luddite, blanket condemnation of all technology. The issue isn’t technology per se, but a specific kind of technology, driven by a particular, and frankly, predatory business model. The finger points squarely at certain massive social media corporations whose entire architecture is built not on providing a service users willingly pay for due to its inherent value, but on maximising engagement at all costs. Their profit model hinges on capturing and commodifying attention – especially young, developing attention – to sell to advertisers.
Consider the insidious mechanisms at play. These platforms are engineered for addiction, deploying sophisticated algorithms that learn and adapt to each user, feeding them a constant stream of content designed to keep them scrolling, clicking, and comparing. The horrifying revelation that some platforms target young girls with advertisements for beauty products precisely at the moment their algorithms detect insecurity – for instance, after deleting multiple selfies – lays bare the calculated, cynical exploitation at the heart of this enterprise. This isn’t an unfortunate side effect; it’s a feature, a direct monetisation of vulnerability. The very design of these platforms, from the infinite scroll to the constant notifications, is a masterclass in hijacking our evolved psychological needs for connection and validation, twisting them into tools for endless, often unfulfilling, engagement.
The harms manifest in gendered, though equally damaging, ways. Young girls are often plunged into a relentless vortex of social comparison, battling curated, filtered images of perfection that fuel anxiety, body image issues, and a desperate need for external validation. Their online lives become a performance, a constant striving for an unattainable ideal. Young boys, meanwhile, are increasingly ensnared by a different, though no less insidious, set of dopamine traps: hyper-immersive video games that can lead to social withdrawal; readily accessible and often extreme pornography that warps healthy sexual development and expectations of relationships; and even the gamification of gambling and speculative “investing.”
Beyond these specific mental health outcomes, there’s a more insidious, universal corrosion: the fracturing of attention. The capacity for deep focus, for sustained thought, for quiet reflection – these are fundamental human abilities, essential for learning, creativity, and critical engagement with the world. Yet, we are raising a generation (and, let’s be honest, becoming one ourselves) constantly buffeted by a fragmented, hyper-stimulating digital environment that makes deep engagement increasingly difficult. If we cannot focus, how can we learn effectively? How can we solve complex problems? How can we be truly present in our own lives and with each other? The very bedrock of citizenship, of considered thought, is at risk.
Some might dismiss these concerns as just another moral panic, akin to past anxieties about television or comic books. But this comparison misses crucial distinctions. The smartphone is not a passive box in the corner of the room; it’s an omnipresent portal in every pocket, invading every spare moment, every lull in conversation. It’s intensely interactive and deeply personalised, its algorithms constantly learning how to better ensnare each individual. And critically, this onslaught is happening during the most vulnerable developmental window: puberty. This is a period of profound neurological and psychological change, where identity is forged and social sensitivities are heightened. To subject young people to this level of intense, algorithmically-driven social pressure during these formative years is an experiment on a generational scale, and the early results are deeply alarming.
So, what is to be done? The path forward requires a multi-pronged approach, a collective movement that reasserts human values over corporate profit. We cannot wait for these companies to self-regulate; their entire business model militates against meaningful change that might reduce “engagement.”
Our Call to Action Must Be Clear and Resolute:
Reclaim Childhood Commonsense: At a foundational, community level, we need to foster new norms. This includes:
Delaying Smartphone Access: No smartphones for children before at least early secondary school (around age 14). Basic communication phones, yes; powerful, internet-connected supercomputers, no.
Delaying Social Media Access: No engagement with these hyper-social, comparative platforms until at least age 16, and even then, with significant guidance and awareness.
Creating Phone-Free Sanctuaries: Schools must become phone-free zones, not just during class, but throughout the school day. This allows for genuine social interaction, focus, and a respite from digital pressures.
Championing Real-World Independence: We must consciously push back against the culture of over-protection and actively encourage more unstructured free play, outdoor exploration, and age-appropriate responsibilities in the tangible world.
Demand Systemic Regulatory Overhaul: Individual and community efforts are vital, but they are insufficient without robust governmental action. This isn’t about censorship; it’s about regulating harmful products and business practices, just as we do with other industries that pose risks, especially to children. This must include:
Effective Age Verification: It’s absurd that children can so easily bypass age gates. Robust, non-invasive age verification systems are essential.
Stringent Data Privacy for Minors: The collection and exploitation of children’s data for commercial purposes must be severely curtailed, if not outright banned.
Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability: We need the right to understand how these algorithms work and to hold companies accountable for their harmful impacts.
Revisiting Platform Liability: The blanket immunity that platforms often enjoy for the content and interactions they host needs to be re-evaluated, especially concerning design features that demonstrably cause harm to young users.
Invest in Real-World Alternatives: This isn’t just about restricting the digital; it’s about enriching the actual. We need significant public and private investment in accessible, engaging real-world alternatives: well-funded public parks and recreational facilities, thriving community centres, affordable youth sports and arts programmes, libraries that are vibrant hubs of activity. This is a matter of social justice, ensuring all children, regardless of socioeconomic background, have access to these vital developmental opportunities.
Foster Critical Media Literacy: While not a silver bullet, empowering young people – and indeed, all citizens – with the skills to critically analyse and navigate the digital world is crucial. This means understanding persuasive design, identifying misinformation, and cultivating a healthy scepticism towards online personas and pressures.
Challenge the Dominant Economic Narrative: Ultimately, we must engage in a deeper societal conversation about the ethics of an economic system that permits, and even incentivises, the sacrificing of children’s well-being at the altar of corporate profit. Is this the kind of “innovation” we value? Is relentless growth, even at the cost of a generation’s mental health, truly progress? Or is it time to redefine progress itself, putting human and planetary health at its core?
This is not merely an issue of individual parenting choices or adolescent angst. It is a societal crisis with profound implications for public health, education, social cohesion, and the very functioning of our democracy. The path to reclaiming childhood, and indeed, to fostering a healthier society for all, requires courage, collective will, and a renewed commitment to placing human flourishing above the relentless pursuit of digital engagement and profit. The time for incremental tweaks is over. The moment for bold, transformative action is now. Our children, and the future they will inherit, depend on it.
THE Broligachy OWN YOUR MIND: Welcome to Technofeudalism
Alright, you! Yes, YOU! Snap out of it! You think capitalism was the bloody bogeyman? Ha! That was just the warm-up act, the polite dinner guest before the real monster kicked down the door. We are now neck-deep, drowning in something far more insidious, a digital dark age they’re calling TECHNOFEUDALISM, and it’s rotting us from the inside out. While we mindlessly scroll and feed on clickbait like zombies.
Once upon a time, even that festering wound of capitalism left you a few miserable hours to yourself. A few moments to pretend you were an individual, that your home was your castle, a tiny patch fenced off from the market, the boss, even that you had time to raise your family. That flimsy fence/defence? IT’S GONE! Pulverised! There’s no escape, no private corner where their greasy, data-sucking tentacles can’t reach, right into and manipulate your unguarded mind!
Look at the people around you in social spaces swiping up and down, left and right. Browsing social media. Their faces etched with a gnawing anxiety, not about who they are, but about what carefully constructed, “authentic” version of themselves they need to perform for the algorithms, for the faceless Big Tech overlords who’ll decide their future. “Be yourself,” these hypocrites coo, while they hold the puppet strings, demanding a 24/7 audition for a life that’s already been scripted for their profit. Every TikTok, every post, every sodding photo is another brick in the portfolio of their “curated self,” a digital show pony prancing for a job, for approval, for a scrap from the master’s table. It’s a science fiction dystopia, and guess what? IT’S ALREADY HERE!
Worried about Big Brother watching? Cute. That’s kindergarten stuff. What keeps me up at night, what should be giving YOU cold sweats, isn’t just what they know about you; believe me, they know more than your mother’s maiden name. It’s what they OWN. They own the digital railroads, the town squares, your very identity! And more terrifying still, they own the magnificent machines, the AI, the software with the chilling capacity to MODIFY YOUR THINKING, TO REWIRE YOUR BRAIN, to infect your soul with desires and beliefs that serve THEM and their customers, not you! This isn’t just surveillance; it’s psychological warfare, a constant, subtle waterboarding of your free will!
And we’re complicit, unwitting but willing stooges, aren’t we? With every click, every swipe, and every mindless scroll, you’re training their rotten AI to train you better and to burrow deeper into your psyche. It’s a sick, twisted dance macabre where we’re teaching the digital executioner how to sharpen the axe and infect our minds with urges functional to the interests of the “Cloud,” the shadowy owners of this new form of capital. For the first time in history, we’re in a dialectical relationship with the puppet masters colonising our minds.
Your attention? That’s their gold, their oil, their vampiric lifeblood! They suck it up, package your anxieties and desires, and then sell your commodified consciousness to “vassal capitalists” – pathetic businesses, big and small, forced to pay outrageous “cloud rent,” a digital tithe, just for the privilege of existing on their digital turf. Jeff Bezos doesn’t run a marketplace; he runs a monopolistic digital fiefdom! The moment you enter Amazon.com, you exit the market, you exit capitalism, and you enter a domain belonging to one man and his algorithm, which charges those vassal capitalists a sickening 40% of what you pay. You can’t talk to other buyers or haggle with sellers. It’s a walled garden designed to bleed everyone dry to enrich the technofeudal lord.
And how did this happen? Remember the Internet? The dream of a free, open digital world for all? They privatised it, strangled it, and turned it into their personal playground! You don’t own your identity online anymore! You have to beg Google, or some bank, to vouch for who you are, like a digital peasant pleading for papers. It’s an outrage!
Steve Jobs, the “visionary”? Visionary in building the first fully-fledged cloud fiefdom with his App Store! “Come,” he beckoned to developers, “build your apps on my land!” Then he slapped a 30-40% tax on every dollar they made. Free labour for Apple, and a mountain of cloud rent. The blueprint for every digital overlord since! Elon Musk buying Twitter? Don’t be naive. He wasn’t after a “public square”; he was buying an interface, a direct pipeline into your brain for his data-slurping, behaviour-modifying empire!
And when did these leeches get so powerful, so fast? Cast your mind back to 2008! When the states, those supposed guardians of the public good, unleashed socialism for the bankers and brutal austerity for the rest of us! Trillions of dollars, printed out of thin air, didn’t go to you and me, did it? Hell no! It fuelled the exponential growth of Cloud Capital. The Jeff Bezoses, the Googles, the Apples – they gorged on that free money, building their digital empires while society crumbled. They accuse us of wanting a “money tree”? These bastards invented the money tree, and they’ve been shaking it for themselves ever since, making damn sure you don’t get a sniff of the fruit!
Don’t let them fool you by calling this “algorithmic capitalism” or “hyper-capitalism.” This isn’t just capitalism in new clothes; it’s a mutant, far more toxic species. Capitalism, for all its myriad sins, had markets and profit extracted from entrepreneurial activity. This new beast, Technofeudalism, has replaced markets with these digital fiefdoms, and entrepreneurial profit with parasitic cloud rent. These aren’t innovators; they’re digital landlords, extracting wealth just because they own the platform you’re trapped on! It’s the revenge of the rentier, dressed up in shiny tech!
Your precious “liberal individual”? Dead and buried under an avalanche of data points. Social democracy? A quaint, forgotten dream when industrial capital itself is now a pathetic vassal to these cloud lords. How the hell do you bargain with an algorithm designed to exploit you 24/7? “Liberal democracy”? What a bloody joke! It was always an autocracy of capital with a thin veneer of elections to keep us quiet. Now, even that flimsy illusion is shattering. We’re living under a system of perfect, voluntary surveillance, where Big Brother isn’t the state, but the new ruling class of cloudalists controlling the means of behavioural modification.
And the sickest part? We need these tools! We love these apps! I get it. I use them too! But that’s how they get their hooks in! The question isn’t if we use them, but who the HELL OWNS THEM and what that concentrated ownership is doing to us, to our societies, to the bleeding planet! This is the new Cold War between the US and China? Don’t buy the propaganda. It’s a turf war between two colossal technofeudal empires, two giant cloud fiefdoms, battling for global dominance, and we’re just the bloody collateral damage! While these technoführers fight over the digital spoils, the planet is burning, and we’re doing sod all, mesmerised by their automated propaganda machines that would make Goebbels blush!
It’s hard to even see this system, isn’t it? We’re like fish, swimming in their toxic, algorithmically-curated water, thinking it’s normal. But it’s NOT. This is a creation of human beings, and it can be DIFFERENT!
SO, WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Feudalism didn’t end because the lords had a change of heart. It ended because of a GRAND ALLIANCE of peasants, workers, and proto-capitalists. That’s our only bloody chance now!
BUILD DIGITAL SOLIDARITY, DAMN IT! A global alliance of “cloud serfs” – that’s YOU, me, the warehouse workers, the coders, even the small-time “vassal capitalists” getting squeezed dry by that 40% cloud rent! Organise online, offline! Share tactics, expose their manipulative bullshit, and amplify our collective roar! This is a digital labour movement for the cloud age!
SOCIALISE CLOUD CAPITAL! These algorithms, these apps, this AI – WE ALL HELP CREATE IT with our data, our labour, our damn attention! Demand collective ownership! Turn these platforms into public utilities or worker-owned cooperatives. We’re not Luddites trying to smash the machines; we’re fighting to make them serve humanity, not a handful of sociopathic billionaires!
REJECT VOLUNTARY SERVITUDE! STARVE THE BEAST! Minimise your engagement with their exploitative brain-rotting platforms like Amazon, Google, or X wherever you can. Support decentralised, open-source alternatives that prioritise your control, not their profit. Every click is a choice – OPT OUT OF THEIR SURVEILLANCE TRAP!
EMPOWER INDEPENDENT MEDIA! Ditch the mainstream mouthpieces owned by the cloudalists! Fund, share, and amplify the independent, progressive voices brave enough to tell the goddamn truth! Truth is our weapon – use it to wake up everyone around you!
FIGHT FOR TECHNO-DEMOCRACY! Advocate for policies that smash Big Tech monopolies, enforce data sovereignty (YOU own your digital identity, not them!), and fund public tech infrastructure. This needs an INTERNATIONAL PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT because these companies operate beyond borders!
RESIST SURVEILLANCE AND BEHAVIOURAL CONTROL! Use privacy tools – VPNS, encrypted messaging, ad-blockers! Educate yourself and others on how these algorithms are designed to manipulate you! Awareness is the first goddamn step to breaking free!
ORGANISE LOCALLY, ACT GLOBALLY! Start community tech collectives, teach digital literacy, develop local alternatives, and link these efforts to the global fights for climate justice and economic equality because technofeudalism is pouring gasoline on all those fires!
The alternative isn’t to go back to some mythical past. It’s TECHNO-DEMOCRACY! We can’t disinvent this tech, nor should we want to! These tools could liberate humanity, if we rip the property rights from their greedy claws and distribute power to those who produce the value – US!
It sounds utopian? Is it more utopian than sleepwalking into a future where we are only batteries for their machines, serfs on their digital plantations? This isn’t a game! This is a fight for our minds, our dignity, our future, and the very soul of humanity! The clock is ticking! So, will you be a docile data set in their machine, or will you get angry and FIGHT BACK?!
That phone in your pocket? It’s not your friend. It’s a brain-rotting instrument, meticulously engineered by tech oligarchs to scramble your grey matter, decimate your focus, and keep you hooked so they can sell you more shit you don’t need and further a far-right-wing anarcho-capitalist ideology that is killing the planet. It both undermines progressive thought and serves far-right governments, bad actors and authoritarians across the globe. It’s unregulated, unfettered digital anarchy and for sale to the highest bidder, no questions asked. It’s not just you; it’s a societal affliction, this creeping idiocy by design. You feel it, I feel it. We’re all getting a bit too responsive, easily angered, dafter, a bit more on edge, and that bloody phone is usually the prime suspect.
Now, I could parrot the usual advice: buy an old-fashioned dumb phone, look in phone settings and grey-scale your screen, mute notifications, go smell the roses, and chill out. But you’ve already tried that, and it’s a sticking plaster on a gaping wound that just won’t heal.
Why is an artist like me delving into big tech and self-help? The answer is simple: I am appalled by the rot in our society, the political radicalisation, the public apathy, and the hyper-capitalist frenzy gutting our communities and our planet. It’s all amplified, refined, and delivered through that devilish device in your pocket. It’s a weapon of mass distraction and, frankly, mass derangement. So, disarming it, or at least understanding its mechanics, is a political act.
Step One: Recognise your Enemy (It’s Not You, It’s Them)
You know it isn’t good for you, but you feel you can’t live without it. That’s the trap. And how do I know? Because everyone I talk to says the same damn thing. Your time, attention, and sanity are being siphoned off simply to serve you adverts. That’s the grand, pathetic truth. All this psychic damage, this digitally engineered ADHD, this paranoia – it’s so some algorithm can flog you a pair of cheap trousers from a sweatshop via Temu.
That’s the sole purpose of these “social” media platforms: to keep your eyeballs glued long enough to absorb advertising. The brightest minds of a generation, not curing cancer or solving climate change, but figuring out how to make you click on an ad. It’s built on casino psychology – the endless scroll, the intermittent rewards – turning us into lab rats pulling a lever for the next dopamine pellet.
And notice how everything feels a bit… worse? It’s the relentless ‘shitification’ of society, isn’t it? The grim endgame of decades of trickle-down economics that have plundered the working class, with the phone now a key accelerant. These platforms thrive on engagement, and what gets engagement? Outrage. Fear. Division. The algorithms aren’t designed to inform you or make you happy; they’re designed to keep you on the app, even if it means turning you into a raving bigot against, say, migrants, or anyone deemed too ‘woke’ by a right-wing press waging its own relentless war on common sense and decency. Fascism always needs a scapegoat to ‘otherise‘, and they’re adept at finding new ones weekly. Very soon, in the words of the National Lottery, ‘It could be you’.
Researchers and whistleblowers have repeatedly linked platforms like Facebook to real-world violence and even genocide. Social media platforms whip up hatred, fracture communities, and for what? To sell you some plastic tat you don’t need. It’s grotesque. We’re letting them rewire our brains for their profit margins. The phone isn’t a tool anymore; it’s a direct conduit for Silicon Valley’s richest and most morally bankrupt to extract value from your consciousness. The broligarchy is real, and it wants your soul, your vote, and constantly demands your attention 24/7 if you let it.
So, here’s the first practical step: stop blaming yourself. The guilt, the “I have no discipline” narrative – that’s what they want. Instead, get righteously angry. These corporations, these billionaires, did this to us, deliberately, for profit. Channel that anger. It’s far more motivating than shame. There’s a reason it’s called “rage bait,” not “guilt bait.”
Step Two: Reclaim Your Tools – The Humble Computer
You’ve seen the videos: “I cut my screen time by 80%… by using my computer more.” Sounds like a cheat, but it’s fundamental. The phone is the brain-rot machine; the computer, by and large, remains a tool. Computers were built for doing things, not just passively consuming.
Think about “apps.” If, back in 2007, Twitter had said, “To read these short messages, you must first download and install our proprietary program,” we’d have told them to sod off. You’re a website, mate. But on phones, this became normal. We stopped visiting websites and started living inside these corporate-owned, walled gardens. Each app’s sole purpose, remember, is to keep you in the app, away from the open internet, so they can farm more data and show more ads. Click an external link on Instagram? “Are you sure you want to leave our lovely, data-rich environment? How about our terrible in-app browser instead, so we can track you further?” It’s insidious.
On a computer, you have the whole messy, wonderful internet. Plus, actual programs you can (sometimes even legally) own and use. You can still doomscroll on a PC, but it’s less appealing, less immediate. And crucially, you can do other things. My survey showed most use phones for mindless entertainment. But for creative pursuits – music, writing, coding, art – it’s the computer that truly serves as a tool for active engagement, not passive consumption.
The early internet was a “Wild West” precisely because these tech feudal lords hadn’t yet enclosed the commons for profit. You can still find that spirit on a PC. That’s how I learned most of what I know – by stumbling across something interesting online and giving it a go.
Worried about DMs? Apps like Beeper or Texts can pull all your messages onto your computer. You see the funny tweet your mate sent without falling down the Twitter rabbit hole for an hour. The point is, on a computer, you can walk away. It’s not physically tethered to you.
And enhance your computer’s defences:
Unhook for YouTube: Kills the recommended videos, stopping the endless rabbit hole.
uBlock Origin (or similar for Reddit): Block those distracting, addictive homepages.
SelfControl (or equivalent): When needed, hard blocks sites and reclaims your focus.
One tool is absolutely non-negotiable: AD BLOCKER. If Chrome phases them out, switch to Firefox. Seriously. Once you experience ad-free internet, going back is like being waterboarded with commercials. This is about reclaiming your mental space from corporate bombardment.
This fights “algorithmic complacency”, that passive acceptance of whatever Zuckerberg or Musk decides to mainline into your brain. Don’t let them be your curators. Actively choose your information. That’s freedom of thought. On a computer, you have more agency. You could scroll Twitter, or you could open a tutorial and learn something, create something, or engage with something real.
Step Three: Sundry Practical Defences
Screen Time Passwords: If you use them, get a trusted friend to set it, or do it with your eyes closed and forget it.
Replace Bad Habits with Less Bad Ones: Instead of Twitter, try Sudoku, chess puzzles, a language app, or even an e-book from the library. Something engaging but not soul-destroying. Replace mindless scrolling with things like general knowledge or puzzles.
No Phone in Bed. Ever. It’s the devil’s work. It’s the mind-killer. Keep it charging in another room. Your alarm can be a cheap, old-fashioned clock.
Fidget Wisely: If you’re like me and your hands need to be busy, find an alternative. Draw, write, play a tune, sing, have a conversation, go for a walk. Anything to stop that reflexive phone grab.
Embrace Full Albums: A night listening to actual, complete albums, perhaps with a nice cup of tea or a glass of wine, if that’s your thing, is infinitely better than doomscrolling.
A Final Word on Accessing Culture (and Sticking it to the Man)
Are you really going to subscribe to Disney+, Netflix, HBO, Now TV, and whatever else these media conglomerates cook up, especially in this economy, while writers and actors get shafted? Consider where your money goes. Typing ‘TV show online free’ or exploring alternative ways to access culture isn’t just about saving a few quid. It’s about questioning who controls information and art. The knowledge that Jeff Bezos or some other media baron isn’t getting another cut, while you still get to engage with culture, is liberating. Think about supporting independent artists, local venues, or buying directly from creators, rather than padding the pockets of massive corporations who increasingly treat art as mere “content” for their streaming wars.
Ultimately, this is about reclaiming your mind, time, and agency from systems designed to exploit them. It’s a small act of rebellion, but it is vital for your sanity and, dare I say, for the health of our democracy and planet. Use your tools wisely. Don’t let them use you. Your mind is the last uncolonised territory; defend it.
Switch off data roaming on your phone and Wi-Fi while you are at it. Make your use of the devil in your pocket a conscious choice, not a dopamine-fueled automatic reflex that feeds the machine. Look at the world outside; see the beauty of life beyond the tiny screen in your hand.
Quentin Budworth 