Modelled after Doctors Without Borders, it sends practitioners to developing countries to administer the pseudoscience of homeopathy
something so haunting about wealthy westerners flying around the world to underprivileged or economically underdeveloped areas and, i guess applying salves or some shit?
ghoulish
So healing spells more often elicit surprised reactions than not. Makes one wonder: are healing spells accessible? They're cheap for the player and seem easy enough to forage for on your own. You have to assume they're not, because people generally still suffer in this universe, and healer is like, a profession.
But what about the reactions of its physical sensation? A companion remarks that it feels nice and another remarks that it feels like just waking up from a nap. Do you think there's possibility for recreational heal spell usage? Maybe you pair it up with Skooma/other in-universe 'narcotics' for a nice combo buzz that heals away the damage from the drugs.
This is a common misconception about doctors without borders. It's not that they operate independently of a nation, or that they are awaiting to form a nation. It's just, there's supposed to also be a complementary group known as the Militaires Sans Frontières, and the two groups would combine into one to make 2/3's of a nation. Unfortunately, this complementary group manifested in the wrong reality and is part of the reason we're in the worst timeline.
I always liked to imagine the federation had a separate economic system for trading with capitalist coded races in Star Trek. Basically an isolated, pretend command economy where, for the purposes of importing/exporting, all of these whacky alternative currencies are accepted and then immediately melted down into whatever the replicator uses. The federation operates at a loss while trading this way but the loss is ideologically justified by eventually converting the species into a federation member that will convert to trek's brand of fully automated communism.
The Ferengi's free market ideology is baked into their religion so they're this one annoying stubborn species that the federation can't flip, and the Ferengi continue interacting with the federation because they understand this system and continue to take advantage of it.
All of this headcanon serves to make any and all references to currency make sense when I watch Trek. Makes the gold-pressed latinum conundrum a sort of paternalistic struggle between the federation, trying to uplift the Ferengi, and the Ferengi government who just wants to keep hoarding shiny metals.
"Yes, sure, we'll accept your...two tonnes of worthless metal, sure. Have you given any further thought to our aid programs...?"
Westerner's depending on Amazon is such a simulacrum of where their country stands in the world. Reaping benefits from something you know is wrong and directly hurting someone. Only, while understanding the modern geopolitical landscape is complicated and takes determination/education, understanding that Amazon's business model is untenable against humane working conditions is obvious on the face of it. You can see it when you drive past their warehouses.
So while I almost never hold people personally responsible for consumption habits, I find it extremely grating that Amazon is so successful specifically because people can't say no to same-day delivery. Like, fuck, go down to the shops. Do you even need plastic junk delivered to your door today? Most people could benefit from leaving their homes more.
feeling for the two houses built next to the church in an all-white neighborhood. they better not park their cars on the street
My bad brother. Should have been more charitable before hitting reply.
your tesla steers into a group of children crossing the street b/c its grok-based brain deduced it was a woke mob of protestors attempting to box you in. you try to apply the brakes but grok has a prompt hardcoded in urging it to not shy away from politically incorrect actions. seven children are instantly killed and another two are splattered across your windshield. your tesla dings that its time to replace the wiper fluid.
elon retweets the news story weeks later with a one word reply. another twitter user asks grok if its true. grok replies by questioning the veracity of the holocaust
'the backward group' is pretty uncomfortable phrasing, if I'm being honest.
The root of anti-AI narrative on the left is reactionaries pining for the fact that automation has come for the industry that used to be artisanal.
We have, time and time again, seen the result of Luddism. It can come from a good place. It can be ethically relevant. It can be handled correctly. Yet - time marches on, and the proponents of it are seen as jokes of history.
I have no love for AI slop, but it's a part of our world and the world my children will grow up in. You better believe I intend to have a good handle of it.
Surrendering generative AI and all of its utility to the ruling class because of its disruptive effect on intellectual/artistic labour is a folly, it's luddite tactics that we know come from a good place but are ineffective and leave its advocates in the dustbin.
We are marxists and as such the material world and its realities are most important to us. The fact AI is capable of spitting out shortform content more efficiently than ever before cannot be neglected or the ruling class gets another cudgel under its belt. Why not produce propaganda using the same avenues as the elite? In addition, letting something like 'fash aesthetics' influence you is absurd. If I can eek one positive thing for the working class out of 'fash aesthetics' then I really don't care about said aesthetics.
Another thing - the 'cudgel' under the belt of the ruling class - at the moment generative AI is dominated by paid services and companies controlling its input and output. Despite this, all forms of generative AI can be handled locally. AI running on your own machine truly is just another tool at your disposal. If we don't utilize and educate about generative AI then the ruling class keeps its grip and knowledge of the 'true democratization of art' and any benefit is lost.
I was under the impression that the writers were wishy-washy about that sort of thing. Sort of a 'it functionally works this way, but varies as the plot demands.' CyborgMarx has pointed out it definitely gets a reference in an episode.