Note: Other than for illustrative purposes, no LLMs were used in the creation of this content. All opinions, typos, em dashes, and uses of negative framing in this artisanal, hand-crafted content are my own. There is a battle underway between those of us who produce value by beautifying, improving, and mending our frayed world and those who seek to collect and hoard the fruits of our labor by fueling endless conflict as a means toward endless revenue.

More recently, this battle has evolved through the proliferation of large language models (LLMs), which offer a simulacrum of human communication and creativity in the name of economic growth and efficiency. When technology automates the creation of a single product, higher-quality, carefully crafted versions of that product become rare, coveted, and even command a higher price. For example, original paintings are worth more than prints.

What happens, though, when a technology emerges that promises to automate the creation of everything? An increased scarcity of creativity and originality emerges. I believe a New Renaissance has already started, built upon the rediscovery and appreciation of human, non-LLM ingenuity. Part 1: Here Be Dragons There is no more suitable metaphor for those addicted to wealth accumulation than the dragons of fantasy, creatures possessed by a constant need for more, equally feared and worshipped by fools through cartoonish acts of loyalty and exaltation, in earnings calls and cabinet meetings alike.drag'on (dra-gən), noun 1. something or someone formidable or baneful 2.

A real "drag on" society. 3. Billionaires/trillionaires/the wealthy.human (hyü-mən), noun 1. of, relating to, or characteristic of humans 2. One possessing humanity. 3.

The rest of us. Psychologically mangled, dragons are drawn to seizing and holding power as a means to one end: the acquisition, preservation, and growth of their hoards. Incapable of acts of pure humanity and altruism, they're delighted to borrow against ours, while placating us with a myth: that they're benevolent creatures, divinely chosen to create opportunity, jobs, and capital that would have never existed otherwise.

As healthcare and housing costs have ballooned against rising tides of inflation and climate change, the wealthy have enjoyed the high ground, perched upon hundreds of thousands of human lifetimes' worth of riches, grown through the privatization of everything, including government. Our melting pot boiled slowly, but steadily: pensions replaced with 401(k)s to fund their enterprises, and strong unions, built on decades of sacrifice, smeared and eroded in favor of the tagline: "taking advantage of a divided workforce working directly with employees." While private equity funds have grown exponentially, wages have stagnated through a series of "tough economic times" where the idea that "we're all in this together" is repeated ad nauseam. Our offensively convoluted healthcare and immigration systems have been transformed into systemic methods of indentured servitude.

Trillions of dollars have been poured into a gradual rebranding of public services as "socialism," and with the extreme privatization that has followed, we have ceded control of society's foundations to the wealthy. They say to us: "Your retirement, if it comes, will be financially stable only if you give us all of your productive years as tribute and risk your retirement capital by investing in companies we own and operate. If you dare even muse about forming alliances with other peasants, your employment prospects will suffer, or perhaps be eliminated.

You will not be paid more to sustain the cost of your existence, and if you defy us, you will be abandoned without sustainably affordable healthcare—you and your loved ones, children included, children especially, will endure the challenges of life, because we've privatized your safety net." Cold-blooded, indeed. We're On A Road To Nowhere On October 20, 2024, almost two weeks before a national e...