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Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000 Indigenous Nonsense
Indigenous Nonsense
Indigenous Nonsense
Authored by Spyridon Andrews via American Greatness,
When the dust settles hundreds of years from now and people begin to assess the hows and whys of Western decline, the issue of colonialism will figure prominently.
We are traveling from Mexico City to San Miguel de Allende with “The Professor,” a San Miguel resident who makes extra money by driving tourists from Mexico City to San Miguel. The title of professor is honorary. He is a self-taught scholar, a writer, and a highly intelligent man who works odd jobs around San Miguel to earn a living. The Professor is sharing tales of the Aztec Empire with us as we drive northward, stopped only briefly by the friendly Mexican police who take their usual bribe of around $200 as insurance against being arrested for more serious crimes, real or fictitious.
The Professor goes on to tell us that all the horrible atrocities allegedly committed by the Aztecs were lies, all lies . Native American culture is burned into the mental DNA of Central Mexico. Children assemble on holidays dressed like little Aztec warriors for parades. There is pride in their Aztec heritage.
On the way back, we stop to see the pyramids outside Mexico City, and The Professor is full of information about this fascinating culture. He describes their innovation, tremendous power, and unrivaled legacy. The Professor is a proud man.
But despite my enormous respect for The Professor, the stories about the Aztecs are not lies. The Aztecs believed that the gods had sacrificed themselves to create the world and that, out of necessity, human blood was required to keep the sun moving across the sky. Human and animal sacrifice have been elemental features of nature religions throughout history. The harvest required blood.
The Aztecs sacrificed prisoners of war in religious ceremonies. The prisoners were led to the tops of temple pyramids, held down by priests, and had their hearts cut out while still alive. Their bodies were then strewn down the steps of the pyramid; the bloodier the spectacle, the better. Archaeological studies at sites such as Templo Mayor have uncovered racks of human skulls known as tzompantli. Human sacrifice was one of the things that made the empire go, alongside continual military conquest and tribute extraction. Subject peoples were required to provide food, textiles, luxury goods, labor, and, when the priests ran out of bodies, sacrificial victims. The Aztecs were so hated that many indigenous groups allied themselves with the Spaniards.
The Mayans also get a bit of a pass. They are remembered for their astronomy, mathematics, writing system, and cities, but not nearly as much for their human sacrifice, torture, and public humiliation of victims. Ritual killings were common, and murder was infused with religious meaning and legitimacy.
There is an awful lot of emphasis on the atrocities of the Spanish conquerors, and there should be. The conquistadores were not such nice guys either. But for all the talk about colonialism, few dare to examine it thoughtfully. Contrary to what they may believe over at Barnard or Smith College, fighting colonialism does not consist of wearing a mask into Philz Coffee. History shows that colonialism is not good or bad in the abstract, any more than all indigenous populations were terrific people who deserved to remain in power forever.
The coffee-shop view of colonialism assumes that moral legitimacy flows automatically from historical priority. We are told that people who arrived first possess a uniquely valid claim to the land and that later arrivals are forever burdened by a kind of original sin. Arguments about ownership in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas frequently revolve around the endlessly repeated question of who was there first. To which I say, is this the real question?
Human history is not a story of static populations peacefully occupying fixed territories. Human history is a bloody mess. It is a story of migration, conquest, assimilation, intermarriage, commerce, shifting alliances, and conflict. Before one group was there, another was there. And before them, another. The idea of an original owner is neither logical nor provable.
The notion that being “here first” creates a permanent political entitlement does not survive even minimal scrutiny. If first possession establishes political sovereignty, then every modern nation on earth is illegitimate. Every border, kingdom, republic, and civilization would need to defend itself against claims arising from earlier migrations and forgotten peoples.
Equally false are theological and mystical claims to land. In Israel today, three different religions claim rights to the same patch of desert based upon the authority of their holy books. Throughout history, religions have invoked divine authority to invade neighboring lands, expel inhabitants, and wage war. Whether the justification comes from Manifest Destiny, the Torah, the Talmud, the Koran, or some other sacred source, the underlying claim is essentially the same. And it is nonsense.
The more important question is not who was here first. The more important question is who governs well. I submit that political legitimacy is derived from creating conditions in which human beings can flourish . Legitimacy is established through justice, the protection of liberty, the maintenance of order and safety, the safeguarding of property, the encouragement of opportunity, and the principle that rulers themselves are subject to law.
Today’s discussions of colonialism often condemn it as a single phenomenon. Yet colonial ventures—and indigenous governments—varied enormously. Some colonial regimes were exploitative and destructive. Others introduced institutions that became the foundation of later prosperity. Most contained elements of both.
Some colonial regimes, like Great Britain in many instances, created railroads, ports, courts, universities, modern medicine, commercial systems, property rights, and civil administration. Historical analysis requires attention to actual results rather than slogans.
Under British administration, Hong Kong evolved from a relatively modest trading settlement into one of the world’s most prosperous financial centers. The British were not perfect, since they were, after all, British . But they created opportunities for millions of people over the century, or so they were in power. Then the indigenous Chinese government came into power, bringing its usual basket of fun.
Beijing imposed the National Security Law in 2020. Hong Kong went from one of the freest and most prosperous cities in Asia to a place where political dissent can land you in prison. Independent newspapers were shut down, activists jailed, elections restructured, and civic organizations dissolved. But don’t worry, because it was indigenous.
Singapore followed a different path. The British established a major international port, a functioning legal system, English-language administration, and commercial institutions. Singapore’s leaders built upon those foundations rather than dismantling them. The result was one of the most remarkable economic transformations in modern history. Today, Singapore is one of the safest, wealthiest, and most efficiently governed societies in the world. They built upon foundations laid by the evil colonizers.
Then there is India. British rule was far from one big tea party. Nevertheless, modern India inherited a nationwide civil service, a common-law legal system, rail networks, universities, administrative structures, and commercial institutions that continue to play important roles today. The British made considerable damage, the most lasting of which may be the Indian fascination with cricket, a hideous and boring game, along with the equally annoying habit of taking tea in the middle of a match.
So not all colonial empires are created equal. And now, we should also point out, not all indigenous cultures are created equal. There are many examples, including recent ones, of governments that enjoyed broad cultural support before delivering poverty, repression, corruption, economic stagnation, and the suppression of civil liberties. Cuba, Venezuela, and many African nations come readily to mind.
This confidence in indigenous culture is often paired with the equally dubious assumption that all cultures are equal in their outcomes. Sorry, despite what your anthropology professor told you, all cultures are not equal. Some encourage innovation, literacy, accountability, and economic development. Some protect women, minorities, and dissenters. Some cultivate the peaceful transfer of power. Others normalize violence, patronage, corruption, and disregard for human rights.
Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe was indigenous. He imposed political repression, economic mismanagement, hyperinflation, and destroyed the agricultural sector. He was handed the ball on the five-yard line and fumbled it. Idi Amin was indigenous. His regime became notorious for brutality and persecution. South Africa today has an indigenous government. So does Mexico. The fact that leaders share ancestry with the people they govern tells us nothing about whether they govern wisely.
And what about us? How much comfort should we take from the fact that our own political class is homegrown? Does it make endless debt, endless wars, corruption, and institutional decline more acceptable because the people responsible were born here?
History is not sentimental. It does not care who arrived first, whose ancestors crossed a particular river, or whose holy book claims title to a patch of ground. History does not award virtue based upon genealogy, ethnicity, race, religion, or indigeneity. It asks a far more practical question: What did you do with the place once you got it?
Did you create liberty or oppression? Prosperity or poverty? Justice or corruption? Did ordinary people have the opportunity to build families, businesses, communities, and meaningful lives? Were rulers constrained by law, or did they become laws unto themselves? Did your institutions survive your leaders, or did everything collapse into tribalism, violence, and decay?
That is how civilizations are judged. Rome is not remembered because Romans got there first. Britain is not remembered because Britons got there first. America will not be remembered because Americans got here first. They will be remembered for what they built, what they preserved, what they destroyed, and whether they expanded or diminished the possibilities of human flourishing.
In the end, legitimacy is not inherited. It is earned. It does not arise from ancestry, mythology, chronology, or blood. It arises from competence, justice, liberty, opportunity, and the rule of law. The question is not who was here first. The question has always been, and will always be, who governs well.
Tyler Durden Sun, 06/14/2026 - 07:00 Close Sun, 14 Jun 2026 03:20:00 +0000 Somaliland Opens Diplomatic Office In Taiwan Despite Strong Objections From Beijing
Somaliland Opens Diplomatic Office In Taiwan Despite Strong Objections From Beijing
Somaliland Opens Diplomatic Office In Taiwan Despite Strong Objections From Beijing
Via The Cradle
The breakaway African territory of Somaliland opened a new representative office in Taiwan on Friday, saying it had the right to establish diplomatic relations despite objections from Somalia .
"We have the right to choose who we have relationships with. It's our prerogative, and so it hasn't been successful as far as pressure tactics," stated Mahmoud Adam Jama ?Galaal, Somaliland's representative to Taiwan, at a press conference to mark the office opening.
Rti photo Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu also spoke, saying, "Taiwan and Somaliland are both beacons of democracy, freedom, and rule of law ."
Located on the strategic Horn of Africa, Somaliland has functioned as a de facto state since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, with its own governing institutions and security structures – despite receiving no recognition from any UN member state until Israel recognized it in December.
Galaal added that Taiwan, which also lacks international recognition, is a "very important ally." Somaliland and Taiwan first established representative offices in each ?other's capitals in 2020.
Taiwan separated from China after the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist government retreated to the island and established the Republic of China (ROC). The Chinese Communist Party established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland and has claimed Taiwan as its territory since that time.
Galaal said Somaliland and Taiwan would not succumb to pressure from Beijing and Mogadishu to sever ties .
Somalia condemned Taiwan's attempts to establish "unauthorized" diplomatic relations with Somaliland.
“"Somaliland remains an inalienable part of Somalia, and we strongly condemn external attempts to bypass the legitimate federal government in Mogadishu," Ali Mohamed Omar, Somalia's minister of state for foreign affairs, stated on Friday.
After Israel became the first state to recognize Somaliland's claim to independence, Mogadishu condemned it as a “deliberate attack” on Somalia's sovereignty.
Israel is seeking closer ties with Somaliland as part of its effort to establish military bases allowing it to project power in the Red Sea, including in the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, where Yemen's armed forces are dominant.
In a blow to Somaliland, Washington recently declared support for the sovereignty of Somalia .
A State Department report titled “Potential Areas for Improved US Engagement with Somaliland” was submitted to Congress on 1 June and published by the media on 2 June.
In that report, the State Department said that Somaliland was a part of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the US maintains a positive relationship with Somaliland “within that framework.”
A US congressional source told Middle East Eye
“Though lobbyists, including former Trump officials Tibor Nagy and Peter Pham, had raised the hopes of Somalilanders over US recognition, there was never a sign that the president would go through with it,” the congressional source said.
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 23:20 Close Sun, 14 Jun 2026 02:45:00 +0000 Which States Are Leading America's Economy?
Which States Are Leading America's Economy?
America’s biggest economies aren’t always its strongest.
While California, Texas, and New York dominate in economic size, long-term competitiveness depends on a br
Read more.....
Which States Are Leading America's Economy?
America’s biggest economies aren’t always its strongest.
While California, Texas, and New York dominate in economic size, long-term competitiveness depends on a broader mix of factors, from business creation and labor market strength to innovation and investment.
This 2026 analysis by WalletHub evaluates all 50 states and Washington, D.C. across 28 indicators of economic activity, economic health, and innovation potential.
This ranking, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, highlights the states that are building the foundations for future growth.
Where Every State Ranks in 2026
The ranking below evaluates the economic strength of all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in 2026:
Rank
State
Total State Economy Score 2026
1
Massachusetts
69.4
2
Washington
67.3
3
Utah
65.9
4
California
65.0
5
Delaware
63.0
6
North Carolina
60.3
7
New York
57.6
8
Texas
57.0
9
Colorado
56.4
10
Florida
54.3
11
Idaho
53.4
12
Georgia
53.1
13
New Hampshire
52.9
14
Virginia
51.2
15
Arizona
51.1
16
Connecticut
51.0
17
Tennessee
50.8
18
South Carolina
49.3
19
Montana
48.9
20
Maryland
48.7
21
Minnesota
48.1
22
Indiana
47.4
23
Kansas
47.3
24
Oregon
47.1
25
New Jersey
46.2
26
New Mexico
45.7
27
Michigan
44.6
28
Alabama
44.4
29
Vermont
44.4
30
Pennsylvania
44.2
31
Wisconsin
43.5
32
Alaska
42.9
33
District of Columbia
42.1
34
Nebraska
41.7
35
Nevada
41.1
36
Arkansas
40.3
37
Illinois
40.1
38
Ohio
39.8
39
Iowa
39.3
40
North Dakota
38.8
41
South Dakota
38.7
42
Missouri
38.4
43
Oklahoma
38.3
44
Hawaii
38.3
45
Mississippi
36.2
46
Wyoming
35.9
47
Rhode Island
35.4
48
Maine
33.8
49
Louisiana
33.2
50
Kentucky
32.4
51
West Virginia
25.4
Why Massachusetts Leads the Ranking
Massachusetts outperformed larger states including California, Texas, and New York thanks to its combination of innovation output, STEM talent, and business formation.
It is also home to many of the nation’s fastest-growing tech companies , with business creation propelled by its innovation-driven economy and world-class universities.
Despite being the nation’s 15th-most populous state, Massachusetts is well-positioned to drive innovation and economic growth as technology rapidly accelerates.
Innovation Is the Biggest Separator
The 10 highest-ranking states differ significantly in geography, politics, and industry mix. However, they share a common strength: generating new ideas and new businesses at a considerable rate.
Like Massachusetts, Washington is powered by technology and research. Notably, software developers rank as Washington’s most common occupation . California remains the epicenter for AI giants and venture capital activity. Utah is now one of the country’s fastest-growing tech hubs, with cost-of-living-adjusted median household income reaching $91,600, the highest in the nation.
In contrast, many of the lowest-ranked states produce fewer high-growth companies due to lower investment levels, fewer patents, and less-developed innovation ecosystems.
The New Geography of Growth
One of the clearest patterns in the ranking is the continued rise of the Sun Belt. North Carolina, Texas, Florida, and Georgia all rank among America’s economic leaders, reflecting years of population growth, business investment, and job creation.
North Carolina ranks sixth overall, ahead of New York and Colorado. In 2025, it gained a net 84,100 residents, the highest in the country. Texas places eighth, while Florida and Georgia also rank among the top 15. Tennessee and South Carolina also finish comfortably in the upper half of the ranking, while both states recorded some of the strongest domestic migration gains last year.
The result is a broader shift in America’s economic map. While coastal innovation hubs remain dominant, many Southern states are becoming important centers of growth in their own right.
The States Building Tomorrow’s Economy
The rankings suggest that future economic leadership will depend less on size alone and more on a state’s ability to attract talent, support entrepreneurship, and turn innovation into growth.
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the fastest-growing states by 2050.
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 22:45 Close Sun, 14 Jun 2026 02:10:00 +0000 China's New AI Agent Risks Trapping Western Tech In Rights Abuses: Analysts
China's New AI Agent Risks Trapping Western Tech In Rights Abuses: Analysts
China's New AI Agent Risks Trapping Western Tech In Rights Abuses: Analysts
Authored by Jarvis Lim via The Epoch Times ,
China's new state-backed artificial intelligence (AI) platform threatens to stifle domestic tech innovation through forced ideological compliance, and in the West, it could also be used to cover up the regime's human rights abuses, analysts warn.
A screen advertising Xinhua News Agency in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, on March 2, 2020. Andrew Kelly/Reuters Xinhua, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), will spend more than 1.1 billion yuan ($162.38 million) to launch an AI agent to propagate Chinese leader Xi Jinping's thinking, according to a feasibility study published on its website on June 5.
Dubbed "Xinhua Yudian," the platform positions itself as an indispensable tool for journalists, a practical asset for party cadres, and a trusted information source for the general public , the study showed.
"Through 'Q&A on Xi's Words' and 'Xi Study Guide,' it presents the core essence and practical requirements of the general secretary's important discourses," the report said.
In 2023, China passed the "Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services," prohibiting content that could incite subversion, threaten national security, or damage the country's image.
The measures require market participants to "uphold the core socialist values," according to a translation.
Cementing Control
Feng Chongyi, an associate professor in China studies at the University of Technology Sydney, said Xinhua's latest move signals that Beijing views every new AI technology developed domestically as a tool to consolidate its grip on power.
"This shows the CCP is attempting to reinforce the personality cult around Xi Jinping," Feng told The Epoch Times.
"Xi has already rolled out similar initiatives, requiring middle schoolers and party cadres to study and even take exams on his political ideology ."
Charles Cheng-chung Lo, a professor with the Graduate Institute of Science and Technology Law at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, said the regime aims to aggressively marshal national resources in AI and technology to protect its "political security."
"Political security means safeguarding the CCP's leadership and ruling status, as well as its socialist system with Chinese characteristics," Lo told The Epoch Times.
"Under such a system, all technological development naturally faces strict state regulation based on this political premise. "
'Extreme Self-Censorship'
Lee Chung-chih, deputy convenor of the Strategic Industries Program at Taiwanese think tank the DIMEs Center, said China's generative AI models, such as DeepSeek, are engineered to strictly conform to Party dogma, leaving them unable to provide objective answers on political, historical, and social issues.
The rise of agentic AI - autonomous software systems capable of taking action and performing complex tasks on behalf of users - is set to entrench that dynamic further, he said, pointing to Xinhua Yudian as the latest example.
"This is completely detrimental to the verification and creation of knowledge ," Lee told The Epoch Times.
"China is currently locking its society into an 'isolated universe.'"
Lee said the platform's proposed functions, such as content inspection, traceability, correction, and guided documentation, could prompt Beijing to demand that private AI firms align with Xinhua's standards.
"If private AI developers refuse to comply, the sector could wither and talent may flee ," he said.
Lee warned that pushing these rigid censorship standards to the extreme would lock China's entire information ecosystem into a cycle of ideological compliance, stifling genuine innovation.
"Chinese journalists and scholars will start using AI to engage in hyper-conformity, aiming to outdo the state's own narratives and push even further left," Lee said.
"This extreme self-censorship just to please the authorities will leave them completely blind to genuine technological breakthroughs or geopolitical crises from the outside world."
Global Infiltration
Lo said foreign AI products and services seeking to integrate with this state-run platform will likely face surveillance under Xi's concept of "comprehensive national security" - an overarching doctrine where ideology now dictates all aspects of Chinese governance.
"In other words, the price of tapping into China's vast market is strict localized regulation ," Lo said.
He said that securing this access could mean filtering out factual answers on sensitive topics, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement, to meet Beijing's political red lines.
"The likelihood of self-censorship will increase as ideological screening becomes the inevitable compliance cost for entry," Lo said.
But the risks could extend further, as any Western tech firms that choose to partner with platforms like Xinhua Yudian may inadvertently become tools of CCP repression, according to Feng.
"Many companies operate under the belief that technology knows no borders, selling their products to the CCP," Feng said.
"What they fail to realize is that Beijing could harness their advanced technology on Xinhua Yudian and others to further violate the privacy and human rights of ordinary people ."
Feng said that adopting these authoritarian standards could ultimately backfire, endangering the developers' own home nations.
"If democratic societies fail to counter Beijing's cognitive warfare, Western AI systems forced into compliance will essentially hand the regime a digital backdoor," he said.
"It allows China to push this warfare seamlessly across frontiers, severely subverting the international order."
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 22:10 Close Sun, 14 Jun 2026 01:35:00 +0000 North Korea Rips Fresh Western Criticism Of Expanding Moscow Relationship
North Korea Rips Fresh Western Criticism Of Expanding Moscow Relationship
North Korea fired back on Saturday and lashed out at the Washington-Seoul alliance, tearing into a fresh South Korea-EU joint statement that condemned
Read more.....
North Korea Rips Fresh Western Criticism Of Expanding Moscow Relationship
North Korea fired back on Saturday and lashed out at the Washington-Seoul alliance, tearing into a fresh South Korea-EU joint statement that condemned Pyongyang's deepening military alliance with Russia .
North Korea has increasingly over the past acknowledge a significant number of troops sacrificed in support of Russia and in the context of the brutal and grinding Ukraine war.
The Western-aligned statement, inked Wednesday during South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's high-profile trip to Brussels, took direct aim at the "illegal military cooperation" fueling the war in Ukraine.
"We condemn support by third parties, in particular the DPRK, which enables Russia to sustain its war of aggression against Ukraine ," the statement said .
A fully anticipated, North Korea's foreign ministry quickly hit back through the state-run Korean Central News Agency, framing its axis with Moscow as a mere "exercise of sovereign rights."
Russia and North Korea under Presidents Putin and Kim have even signed a defense, technology and economic cooperation pact relatively recently.
The ministry didn't mince words, calling the joint condemnation a "clear infringement on the sovereignty of our state and a grave hostile act," while pointedly reminding everyone that South Korea remains the North's primary "enemy state."
Pyongyang has of late branded Seoul as Washington's "favorite dagger" in alleged grand American plot aimed at "invading... the Asian continent.”
The reference was a play on words after General Xavier Brunson, the top American military commander in South Korea, raised eyebrows last month by provocatively describing his host nation as "the dagger in the heart of Asia."
Both North Korea and China have seized on Brunson's slip of the tongue, painting it as proof of Washington's true playbook ofusing Seoul to contain Beijing.
With North Korean leader Kim Jong Un already putting his money where his mouth is - shipping troops and heavy munitions to bolster Vladimir Putin’s front lines - the war in Ukraine has slowly been morphing into more than just a EUropean crisis.
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 21:35 Close Sun, 14 Jun 2026 01:00:00 +0000 Why The Millionaire Next Door Drives A Used Car - And What That Teaches About Real Wealth
Why The Millionaire Next Door Drives A Used Car - And What That Teaches About Real Wealth
Why The Millionaire Next Door Drives A Used Car - And What That Teaches About Real Wealth
Authored by Peter Daisyme via Due ,
The wealthiest person I know personally drives a 2018 Toyota Camry. He owns three rental properties, has over $2 million in investment accounts, and could buy any car on any lot without blinking. He chooses not to, and his explanation is both simple and profound: "A car is a tool that takes you from one place to another. Everything beyond that is a payment for other people's perception of you. "
Income alone doesn't create wealth. The key is the gap between what you earn and what you spend. Morakod1977/Shutterstock That conversation rearranged how I think about money, status, and the difference between looking wealthy and actually being wealthy. And the more I studied the habits of genuinely rich people - not the Instagram version of rich, but the people with real, substantial, enduring wealth - the more I found that his approach was the rule, not the exception.
The Wealth Illusion
We live in a culture that equates visible consumption with financial success. A nice car, a big house, designer clothes, expensive vacations - these are the signals we use to judge who has money and who does not. The problem is that those signals are almost perfectly inverted from reality.
The person leasing a $70,000 SUV might have a negative net worth. The person buying rounds at the bar might be maxing out a credit card. The couple who just renovated their kitchen might have raided their retirement accounts to pay for it.
Meanwhile, the person with $1.5 million in the bank is wearing jeans from Target, driving a paid-off Honda, and eating dinner at home . They do not look wealthy because they channeled the money that would create the appearance of wealth into building actual wealth.
This is not a new observation - the book "The Millionaire Next Door" documented it decades ago - but it bears repeating because the cultural pressure to spend for status has only intensified with social media. Every platform is designed to show you people living aspirational lifestyles, and the psychological pull to keep up is relentless.
The Math Of Lifestyle Inflation
The mechanism that keeps high earners from building wealth is lifestyle inflation - the tendency to increase spending proportionally (or faster) as income grows. A $10,000 raise should accelerate wealth building. Instead, it usually gets absorbed by a nicer apartment, a better car, more dining out, and upgraded vacations.
Consider two people who both earn $100,000 per year. Person A spends $90,000 and saves $10,000. Person B spends $70,000 and saves $30,000. After 20 years of investing at a 7 percent annual return, Person A has about $410,000. Person B has about $1,230,000. They earned exactly the same amount. The difference is entirely in spending decisions.
The gap gets wider as incomes grow. If Person B receives raises over the years and keeps spending at $70,000 while saving the difference, their accumulation accelerates dramatically. Person A, who upgrades their lifestyle with every raise, stays on the same slow trajectory regardless of how much more they earn.
This is why income is a poor predictor of wealth. The correlation between earning and accumulating is much weaker than people assume. The real predictor is the gap between earning and spending - and that gap is a choice.
What Actually Wealthy People Spend On
After studying the spending patterns of people I know who have built significant wealth, a clear pattern emerges. They spend freely on what matters to them and ruthlessly cut everything that does not.
One friend spends generously on travel - international trips, business-class seats on long flights, quality hotels. But she drives a ten-year-old car and lives in a modest house. Travel brings her joy and enriches her life. The car is transportation. The house is a shelter. She allocates accordingly.
Another friend spends very little on himself personally but funds his children's education and activities without hesitation. His wardrobe is basic. His entertainment spending is minimal. His kids' college accounts are fully funded.
The common thread is intentionality. Wealthy people do not spend less overall because they are cheap - they spend less on things they do not care about, so they can spend more on things they do care about and invest the difference. They have examined their own values and aligned their spending with those values rather than with social expectations.
The Status Tax
I think of unnecessary status spending as a tax - the status tax. It is the premium you pay for goods and services, not because they perform better, but because they signal wealth or taste to others.
A $300 watch tells time just as well as a $5,000 watch. A $30,000 car gets you to work just as reliably as a $60,000 car. A $2 coffee tastes nearly identical to a $6 coffee with a designer label on the cup. The difference in price is the status tax, and over a lifetime, it is enormous.
If you spent $500 a month less on status consumption - the car upgrade, the brand-name clothes, the visible luxury purchases - and invested that $500 at 7 percent, you would have roughly $260,000 after 20 years. That is the real cost of caring what strangers think about your car.
I am not arguing that you should never buy nice things. I am arguing that you should buy them because they genuinely improve your life, not because they improve how other people perceive you. The distinction is everything.
Building Wealth The Boring Way
The actual wealth-building formula is anticlimactic. Earn a reasonable income. Spend significantly less than you earn. Invest the difference in diversified, low-cost index funds. Do this consistently for 20 to 30 years. That is it.
No one gets famous for this approach . No one writes viral social media posts about it. No one makes a documentary about the person who maxed out their 401(k) every year and retired comfortably at 60. But that person exists in enormous numbers, and they are far wealthier than the influencer showing off a rented sports car.
The boring approach works because it harnesses the only truly reliable wealth-building force: time and compound growth. A portfolio growing at 7 percent doubles roughly every 10 years. $100,000 at 35 becomes $200,000 at 45, $400,000 at 55, and $800,000 at 65. But only if you leave it alone and keep adding to it.
The wealth-building strategies that work in your 30s are the same strategies that work at any age. They just work better the earlier you start.
How To Resist The Pressure
Knowing the right approach and actually following it are different things. The pressure to spend for status comes from everywhere - advertising, social media, peer groups, family expectations, and your own psychology.
Here are the tactics that work for me. First, I curate my information diet. I unfollowed accounts that showcase luxury consumption and followed accounts that discuss financial independence and intentional living. What you see shapes what you want, so be deliberate about what you see.
Second, I calculate the real cost of purchases in hours worked. A $200 dinner after taxes costs me about six hours of work. Is that dinner worth six hours of my life? Sometimes yes. Often no. This reframing makes spending feel real rather than abstract.
Third, I keep my financial goals visible. I have a spreadsheet that projects my net worth at five-year intervals. When I am tempted to make a large discretionary purchase, I consider what that money would become in 10 years if invested instead. Seeing the compound growth I would forfeit is a powerful deterrent against impulse spending.
Fourth, I surround myself with people who share my values around money. Peer influence is the strongest force in spending behavior. If your friends measure success by possessions, you will spend to keep up. If they measure it by freedom and security, you will save to keep up.
The Ultimate Status Symbol
The wealthiest people I know share one trait that no purchase can replicate: they have options. They can leave a job they dislike without panic. They can handle an emergency without debt. They can retire when they choose rather than when they must. They can help family members without compromising their own stability.
That kind of freedom is the real status symbol , even though nobody can see it from the outside. It does not fit on a bumper sticker or in an Instagram photo. But it is the thing that every person chasing visible wealth is actually searching for - the security and peace that come from knowing you are financially independent.
My friend with the Camry has that freedom. And if you asked him, he would tell you it is worth more than every luxury car on the road combined.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. ZeroHedge does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. ZeroHedge holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 21:00 Close Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:25:00 +0000 "Tell Him He's A Piece Of Shit": Employee Hijacks Meta Meeting In AI Revolt
"Tell Him He's A Piece Of Shit": Employee Hijacks Meta Meeting In AI Revolt
Earlier this week, a routine livestreamed Meta meeting descended into open revolt.
During a presentation open to thousands of empl
Read more.....
"Tell Him He's A Piece Of Shit": Employee Hijacks Meta Meeting In AI Revolt
Earlier this week, a routine livestreamed Meta meeting descended into open revolt.
During a presentation open to thousands of employees, one participant suddenly interrupted the speakers with a profanity-laced outburst, according to WIRED . The employee declared they felt like "the company's bitch" and demanded that the people leading the call write to a specific Meta AI executive and "tell him that he's a piece of shit."
One presenter reportedly covered their face with their hands. Moderators asked everyone to mute. The technical discussion eventually continued, but the moment - which employees in the chat described as "spicy" - revealed something much deeper: widespread anger and disillusionment inside Meta's newly formed Applied AI unit.
"It's literally the gulag. You have zero purpose in life all of a sudden, you barely interact with anyone, you just have these tasks every week," one current employee told WIRED
A Rapid, Painful Reorganization
That unit, formed in March 2026 to support researchers at Meta's Superintelligence Labs, now employs roughly 6,500 engineers and product managers. Many were reassigned with little warning. Their new work - largely generating puzzles, coding challenges, and evaluation tasks to test how reliably AI models can solve problems - has left a significant portion of the team feeling demoralized and stripped of purpose.
"Most people find the work soul-crushing," another employee said. All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Meta declined to comment.
Key Numbers
The Applied AI unit is only the most visible flashpoint in a much broader restructuring. In May, Meta laid off approximately 8,000 employees as part of an AI-focused overhaul. Another ~7,000 people were transferred into new AI-related initiatives.
The speed and bluntness of the changes have created ripple effects across multiple divisions . Employees in data center engineering and Instagram have reported increased stress and workload. Meanwhile, more than 1,600 Meta employees signed a petition demanding the company stop a recently launched program that monitors U.S. employees' clicks, keystrokes, and screen activity to generate training data for AI agents. The company has since scaled the program back slightly.
"It's Like What The Fuck"
During an all-hands meeting this week for Instagram employees, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox addressed the turmoil directly. According to a recording obtained by WIRED, Cox described the past few months as a "difficult" and "brutal" environment created by the "insanity of this company."
He praised Instagram teams for continuing to ship features and serve roughly 2 billion users while navigating constant upheaval. Then he compared the situation to "running a marathon in the middle of a hailstorm and then, like, your teammate gets replaced and then we're recording you."
"It's like what the fuck," said Cox - adding again, "It is like what the fuck."
Cox also struck a notably measured tone on AI itself: "It is neither god, nor is it the devil. And it's nowhere near as good as you think it is, and it is nowhere near as bad as you think it is ."
Engineers across Meta have reported feeling sidelined and demoralized by sudden reassignments into repetitive AI evaluation work.
Zuckerberg Acknowledges Mistakes
The same week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent an internal memo to employees acknowledging that the company had made errors in how it reshaped its workforce around AI.
"Given the complexity of these changes, we've made mistakes and will almost certainly make more ," said Zuckerberg, according to Reuters .
Zuckerberg wrote that he is "focused on providing as much stability as possible" going forward and does not expect additional company-wide layoffs this year. He said Meta would work to create "important new roles" for employees who were reassigned to AI training and support work.
He also noted plans to increase spending on team-building initiatives, including a large-scale hackathon in July, and to scale back the unusually wide manager spans that appeared in the new Applied AI unit (some reportedly reached 50:1 ratios).
Why The Work Feels Like Punishment
The core complaint inside Applied AI is not that the company is investing in AI - most employees understand the strategic importance. It is the nature of the tasks many were suddenly asked to perform and the way the transition was handled.
Generating high-quality evaluation puzzles and coding problems is genuinely difficult and valuable work for frontier model development. But for engineers who previously built products, shipped features, and collaborated creatively, being reassigned to repetitive, solitary evaluation tasks has felt like a demotion.
"You have zero purpose in life all of a sudden," one of the employees told WIRED . "You barely interact with anyone, you just have these tasks every week."
The flat organizational structure exacerbated the problem. With so few managers, many employees felt they had little support, visibility, or path to more meaningful roles.
Many engineers were reassigned to repetitive puzzle-generation and model-evaluation tasks - work they describe as soul-crushing compared to their previous roles.
The Stakes Are High
Meta is not alone in pushing rapid AI-driven reorganization. Across Silicon Valley, companies are redirecting resources, cutting teams, and experimenting with new workflows to stay competitive in the AI race. But few have done so at Meta's scale or with such visible internal blowback.
The risk for Meta is real. Engineering talent remains the scarcest resource in AI. If skilled people feel their work has been devalued or that leadership is moving too fast without regard for the human impact, attrition to competitors becomes more likely - exactly when the company needs its best people most.
Zuckerberg's memo and Cox's candid remarks suggest leadership is aware of the damage . The promised July hackathon, new role creation, and reduced manager spans are concrete steps toward repair. Whether they will be enough remains to be seen.
For now, the message from parts of the workforce is clear: the company's aggressive AI transformation has left many employees feeling used, undervalued, and angry. And some are no longer willing to stay quiet about it.
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 20:25 Close Sat, 13 Jun 2026 23:50:00 +0000 Discs, Orbs, 'Heavenly' Phenomena, & More Revealed In 3rd Batch Of Declassified UFO Files
Discs, Orbs, 'Heavenly' Phenomena, & More Revealed In 3rd Batch Of Declassified UFO Files
Discs, Orbs, 'Heavenly' Phenomena, & More Revealed In 3rd Batch Of Declassified UFO Files
Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times,
Americans living in the northeastern United States witnessed “brilliant and beautiful” glowing red and white orbs in their backyard, which they caught on video, the Pentagon’s third release of declassified UFO files on June 12 showed.
The new documents contained encounters from around the world, such as reports of a “disc-like” object in Zimbabwe, a “potato shaped” craft in Colorado, and “heavenly” phenomena moving at speeds of 12,000 kilometers per hour in Hungary.
The third batch adds to the previous two document dumps of UFO and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files released by the Pentagon on May 8 and May 22 .
Those batches also detailed stunning encounters, including Apollo 11 astronauts seeing a “sizable” object near the moon and a UAP being shot down over the Great Lakes.
Here are some key highlights from a partial review of the newly released files.
‘Brilliant Red Sphere’
The FBI interviewed U.S. citizens in February about their firsthand accounts of potential UAPs in their backyard. The documents were partially redacted and did not disclose when or where these encounters occurred—only that it was in the northeastern United States.
Upon returning home one night, one of these individuals witnessed an “intense bright light” hovering just below the tree line in their backyard. Another person in the home came outside and also saw the phenomenon, describing it as a red sphere about a meter in diameter with what appeared to be a “white plasma sun” the size of a basketball in the center.
One of the individuals described the red color as “brilliant and beautiful” and a tint they had never seen before.
The pair watched this orb move and noticed another identical orb directly above it, floating together in a silent and smooth manner as if they were tethered.
The two orbs moved above the tree line and merged into one before they floated out of sight.
In July 2025, in the northeastern United States, an eyewitness observed an intense bright light in their backyard as they parked their car upon returning home from work. This is a screenshot from the witness’s personal video. Screenshot via The Epoch Times/Courtesy of the Pentagon
One individual captured video of the phenomenon, which was included in the Pentagon’s release of files. The recording is 50 seconds long and shows two bright red orbs with white centers floating slowly together.
A few weeks after this event, one of the individuals also saw several white orbs in the same area traveling at a much higher altitude than the red ones.
More newly released video from this same area in the northeastern United States showed bright red orbs hovering at about 2,500 feet.
In March 2022, in the northeastern United States, a witness observed two bright red luminous light sources hovering near the horizon at an estimated distance of 2,500 feet. This is a screenshot from the witness’s personal video. Screenshot via The Epoch Times/Courtesy of the Pentagon
Cheyenne Mountains Sighting
Former U.S. Army intelligence officers witnessed a UAP over the Cheyenne Mountains in Colorado as they left their office building, according to the files.
FBI agents interviewed one of the individuals in June 2024 about their experience during a February morning of an unspecified year. This person described the day as perfect conditions, no clouds, little humidity, and about 50 degrees outside.
The object this group of former Army personnel witnessed was “potato shaped” with distinct edges and a “creamy/whitish opalescent color.” The object was slightly translucent and shimmery, the documents showed.
Its texture was described as “fish scales” or non-symmetrical, non-overlapping, irregularly shaped panels. Although the UAP itself was motionless, each panel “shifted in slow waves starting at different points of origin but at the same time.”
After about two minutes, the object vanished or “cloaked” itself in the time it takes to turn one’s head. There was also no shadow, according to the files.
The new files also included an artist’s rendering of the craft.
Former U.S. Army intelligence officers witnessed a UAP over the Cheyenne Mountains in Colorado as they left their office building. The Pentagon files included this rendering of the craft. Screenshot via The Epoch Times/Courtesy of the Pentagon
UAP in Zimbabwe
A July 2008 report of an unexplained craft above the Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe stoked debate on whether the sighting was an advanced device from a foreign government or had extraterrestrial origins.
The craft was observed at an undetermined high altitude.
Witnesses described this UAP as “disc-like” with a hollow center and a series of rotating lights on its underside. At one point, “beams” emanated from the craft, according to the documents.
The object eventually ascended rapidly out of sight. A “high alert” was implemented.
There was no video, photo, or artist’s rendering of the Zimbabwe UAP provided in the Pentagon’s files.
Flying Saucers in Hungary
A report on sightings in Hungary came about from letters of correspondence in 1955 between relatives living in the United States and Budapest.
The CIA released a report on this encounter with a sketch showing the formation and suspected flight path of several objects traveling between Budapest and Moscow.
A man living in the United States received a letter from his niece in Budapest mentioning “flying saucers.” Much of the letter was casual conversation, with one paragraph detailing the UAPs.
The niece wrote to her uncle that “everyone has been excited” over the mysterious crafts “for the past few weeks.”
“These fast-rushing heavenly [phenomena] have been and still are keeping scores of scientists busy,” the letter reads. “These amazing fliers moved at a speed of 12,000 kilometers per hour.”
Five Feds Witness UAPs
Part of the Pentagon’s release of files on Friday included multiple statements from “federal law enforcement special agents” who witnessed UAPs near a sensitive national security site in the western United States over the course of two days in October 2023.
A map of four sightings was included in the documents in addition to detailed witness statements of each encounter and several digital renderings.
This map is a representation of four incidents involving unidentified anomalous phenomena in the western United States. It depicts multiple incidents reported by U.S. federal law enforcement special agents over a period of several days in October 2023. Courtesy of the Pentagon
The federal officers reported “orbs launching other orbs.” This happened multiple times, according to the files, where an orange “mother orb” appeared to produce smaller red ones multiple times over a period of several hours.
This is a screenshot from a video of an artistic interpretation of a reported incident near a sensitive national security site in the western United States. Witnesses described the larger orange sphere as a “mother orb.” Screenshot via The Epoch Times/Courtesy of the Pentagon
These red orbs’ behavior was described as “anomalous” with “varied kinematic profiles including seemingly coordinated horizontal motion” and changes in altitude.
According to the documents, the red orbs only persisted for several seconds before disappearing, but at least once, the witnesses said one of the red UAPs hovered above a ridgeline for hours.
This is a screenshot from a video of an artistic interpretation of a reported incident near a sensitive national security site in the western United States. Multiple witnesses described seeing a “mother orb” launching smaller red ones. Screenshot via The Epoch Times/Courtesy of the Pentagon
In this same area, the federal agents also witnessed a “dark kite” and a “translucent kite” at close estimated ranges.
All of the crafts were silent, the documents said, and the sightings remain unresolved.
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 19:50 Close Sat, 13 Jun 2026 23:15:00 +0000 Hillary Clinton Fears "Revolution" Preventing The US From Becoming A "Rainbow Nation"
Hillary Clinton Fears "Revolution" Preventing The US From Becoming A "Rainbow Nation"
The word "Democracy" is thrown around frequently within progressive circles as a call to arms; a rallying cry based on a fraudulent narrative of p
Read more.....
Hillary Clinton Fears "Revolution" Preventing The US From Becoming A "Rainbow Nation"
The word "Democracy" is thrown around frequently within progressive circles as a call to arms; a rallying cry based on a fraudulent narrative of patriotic duty. Throughout the entirety of Joe Biden's first and last term, the political left painted conservatives as a threat to democracy. Anyone who opposed pandemic mandates, compelled vaccination, open borders, mass immigration, gender ideology in public schools etc., was labeled a danger to society.
The inherent fallacy being that leftists (and by extension Democrats) represent the majority of the nation. However, this notion has been consistently debunked by multiple elections, polls and the fact that the vast majority of liberal movements have been exposed as astroturf funded by NGOs.
If Democrats actually cared about democracy, they would listen to the actual American majority, instead of waging a propaganda war on the majority in order to manufacture a false consensus. And, the majority of Americans do not support multicultural or "intersectional" ideology. The liberal vision is on the decline and that's a good thing.
Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton disagrees.
At the first Rainbow PUSH Coalition conference since the death of Reverend Jesse Jackson in February. Pete Buttigieg and Hillary Clinton took to the stage in front of a small audience in Chicago this week to sell their Utopian future, but mostly they slandered the Trump Administration. Their rhetoric continues to echo the message of the Biden era, that conservatives want the end of civil rights and voting rights in the US.
Buttigieg asserted that the Trump Administration was "corrupt" and "corruption is bad".
VIDEO
The former DOT Secretary makes no mention of the fact that he shares a stage with Clinton, widely known as one of the most corrupt politicians in recent American history. While Democrats spend endless media time trying to tie Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, it's the Clinton Family that is well documented as being truly friendly with the globalist pedo pimp. Around 90% of Epstein's political contributions went to the Democratic Party including multiple donations to Hillary Clinton. None of his donations went to Trump.
Buttigieg faced extensive backlash for his handling of the pandemic lockdowns, including his avid support for draconian mandates which were ultimately found to be useless in stopping the spread of covid; and all over a virus with a 99.8% average survival rate. He continues to echo the party line, calling for rigging of the Supreme Court to ensure Democrat supremacy.
Buttigieg is expected to run in the 2028 Democrat primaries for President. Though, he lacks any mainstream popularity and, like most Democrats, he continues to campaign as if he's running against Trump even though Trump is leaving office.
Clinton, on the other hand, seems less concerned with Trump and far more concerned with the larger conservative and anti-woke movements which have left Democrats stunned and bewildered. Clinton calls these movements a "counter-revolution" which she believes is undermining the liberal order established over the last several decades.
Clinton fearmongers with the usual rhetoric, claiming that civil rights and voting rights are under threat.
She is ostensibly referencing the end of redistricting using race-based gerrymandering, which exclusively worked in the favor of Democrats. But, this was enforced by the Supreme Court, not Trump or the MAGA movement. Clinton is also a vocal opponent of the Save Act, which would make proof of citizenship a requirement for voting in the US (a bill which is supported by around 80% of American voters).
Her comments on the "Rainbow Nation" might be confusing for those who don't understand what this entails. Jackson used "Rainbow" to describe a broad coalition of "marginalized groups" (Black Americans, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, LGBTQ+ people, low wage workers, etc.) uniting for political power and social justice. His organization commonly promotes Marxist "intersectionality" and multiculturalism.
Clinton has made similar anti-populist statements in recent months, arguing that the rise of American conservatism has the potential to break apart the liberal west. At the Munich Security Conference in February, she participated in panels on what they call the “West-West Divide”, warning of democratic backsliding on human rights (including women’s and LGBTQ+ rights), and authoritarian dangers.
Clinton called for civil rights and grassroots networks to counter the weakening of liberal institutions. She made the same call for popular opposition in Chicago.
“We have to reconstitute the movements that moved us forward, that made it possible to claim we were trying to get to that more perfect union. They were not led by politically elected officials. They were led by clergy, they were led by business leaders, they were led by civic organizers, they were led by young people. So we don’t need to have a bunch of elected officials leading this new movement. We need to have it be from the bottom up, the grassroots, coming back to get organized and move forward again.”
In other words, if they can't win (or steal) the elections and if they can't gain the majority approval of the voters, then they will turn to mob actions to disrupt reforms and force the public to accept woke ideology anyway. Democrats only romanticize democracy when it works in their favor. When it doesn't, they completely abandon it.
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 19:15 Close Sat, 13 Jun 2026 22:40:00 +0000 AI's Core Flaw: "Mass Regurgitation Of Misinformation"
AI's Core Flaw: "Mass Regurgitation Of Misinformation"
AI's Core Flaw: "Mass Regurgitation Of Misinformation"
Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,
These immense hidden costs will not show up in GDP until they collapse the entire house of speculative gambling cards propping up the global economy.
I approach all AI topics with several things in mind. One is the nature of problems , which implicitly define what qualifies as solutions , and the resulting incentive to define the "problem" such that the "solution" happens to be the one we own and control.
So the "problem" AI solves is "corporate profits are too low," and so the "solution" is to replace costly human labor (made costlier by SickCare insurance and taxes on labor) with "cheaper" AI (cheaper because the full costs are hidden or subsidized).
My other lens: the economic, social and cultural consequences of AI as it is and AI hype , a topic I've explored most recently in Is AI Reversing Anti-Progress or Is It Accelerating It? , AI Data Centers Are Not the Railroads of Today and Inequality, AI and Digital Life Are Undermining Society .
Correspondent Mike Fasano recently submitted a succinct and telling summary of AI's insurmountable structural flaw : AI's inability to discern the difference between truth and falsehood, be it intentional misdirection / misinformation or errors generated by AI hallucinations, a systemic flaw which he summarized as mass regurgitation of misinformation :
* * *
"I read you post on AI and railroads. Here is another observation.
So far, AI has only regurgitative intelligence. It--at best--can collate and respond to queries on masses of acquired data.
But what if that data is wrong?
Who now believes the inflation or unemployment statistics? Virtually every human knows that those statistics are false.
Does AI know that?
And the problem goes much deeper.
The former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, Marcia Angell, noted:
'It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.'
That being the case, can we rely up AI medical advice?
And that problem goes beyond medicine. It is now generally conceded that the inability to replicate scientific studies of any type has give rise to a 'replicability crisis' in science. Can we trust 'science' that cannot be proven to be accurate?
Any adult past the age of 40 knows that the above listing of questionable information sources is just the tip of the iceberg. We live in a sea of 'official' but false data.
Railroads could transport grain to cities, minerals to factories, manufactured goods to those needing those goods. That served a public purpose.
But what is the use of the mass regurgitation of misinformation? And is anyone subtracting the losses engendered by the utilization of inaccurate information from GDP?"
* * *
Thank you, Mike, for clarifying an essential point: the foundation of all "value" is fact, truth, accuracy and the transparency, replicability and accountability of the processes validating fact, truth, accuracy. If AI is incapable by its nature of validating all these, it's worse than useless--it's destructive on a system-wide scale.
The evidence of the systemic destruction is already overwhelming. Bogus "scientific papers" are already proliferating at an accelerating rate, making the task of identifying incorrect and fabricated (i.e. hallucinated by AI) data, processes and conclusions impossible due to the scale of the misinformation and the difficulty of identifying the misinformation buried inside superficially legitimate papers.
With both scientific and economic data and analysis now untrustworthy without exceedingly expensive, time-consuming vetting by human experts, where does this leave the "AI will automatically generate superabundance" hype? What's already clear--but inconvenient--is the mass adoption of inherently flawed AI is undermining the foundations of "value," however we wish to define it.
And as Mike also points out, this undermining of value has a financial consequence. We all know Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a superficial, distorting measure of "prosperity," and the structural distortions of GDP (Waste Is Growth ) are amplified by the hidden destruction of transparency, replicability and accountability by AI slop, whether intentional (malicious, deceptive, fraudulent) or as the unavoidable consequence of AI's core flaw.
These immense hidden costs will not show up in GDP until they collapse the entire house of speculative gambling cards propping up the global economy. Only then will the structural damage being wrought by our increasing reliance on tools that cannot discern the difference between fact and fantasy / fabrication / hallucination become visible.
And by then, of course, the damage will be irreversible without extraordinary costs and sacrifices , sacrifices few will volunteer to bear.
Remember that AI isn't "thinking," "understanding" or "making judgments": AI tools are engines of linguistic automation, not engines of understanding. The simulation is not the thing simulated. AI is not a "mind," it is a prompt and a probability distribution.
Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 18:40 Close
Dotsquares