Bazfazz. That's a quote from Pogo, I don't know exactly what bazfazz means but presumably it's an expression of dismay. I don't know if you've noticed -- I pay too much attention -- but the zeitgeist lately is full of hand wringing about appalling scenarios. I mentioned a few days ago that a fairly small group of highly organized and moderately skilled people could cause a nationwide electricity blackout by destroying a couple of dozen transformer substations. That sounds bad.
It turns out that it is already possible to send out spoofed signals from the Global Positioning System and direct ships and airplanes off course. The GPS is also the source of precise time signals that are essential to many processes. In fact, GPS spoofing is already being used as part of the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz, so the only real question is why it isn't being used more widely.
Then we have the clanging alarms about so-called artificial intelligence running amok, terrorist drone attacks, and the climate catastrophes that are already obviously happening. The fact is that human technological capabilities have far outrun our wisdom, and the intricate interdependencies of the global economy mean that pulling a single thread could unravel it, wholly unpredictably. That the U.S. is currently run by a demented, corrupt psychopath does not provide much comfort.
I actually think that humans are more resourceful and resilient than we necessarily give ourselves credit for, and that civilization is pretty robust. While we can't just accept the human cost of any catastrophe, what may emerge on the other side wouldn't necessarily be worse than the situation we're in now. But yes, now is a time to feel a sense of urgency.
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