>Yeah, the "absolute hell" of billionaires investing lots of money to create fun and immersive entertainment options for the rest of us. Truly the worst dystopia imaginable?
Yes, the "circuses" part of "bread and circuses".
Superficial appeasement doesn't really outweigh the all the many other unethical actions made by billionaires - in this case, vying for be the proprietary controllers of the literal reality of the future.
I don't like centralized control, either, but to claim that we are living in an "absolute hell" right now is just ridiculous.
You are not forced to attend the "circus", either, if you don't like it.
As for centralized control, that is actually the one thing that disappoints me about the future. Somehow all the SF books glossed over the immense cost required to develop the cutting edge technology. How much money did Facebook spend to create the Oculus Quest? I just don't see hobbyists and hackers create the same level of technology - or think about the Apple M1 SoC. Would hackers have been able to create such a thing in their mom's basement eventually? I rather doubt it. So centralisation is an issue, simply because development costs are so high. It's not simply a conspiracy by evil billionaires.
>How much money did Facebook spend to create the Oculus Quest? I just don't see hobbyists and hackers create the same level of technology
Facebook bought a company made of hackers to get in on VR on the ground floor. Yes, they're throwing money at the problem to artificially keep the price down, but using that example really hurts your point.
Yes, the "circuses" part of "bread and circuses".
Superficial appeasement doesn't really outweigh the all the many other unethical actions made by billionaires - in this case, vying for be the proprietary controllers of the literal reality of the future.