The analogy is kind of striking, when you think about it.

Somehow I was surprised beyond my wildest guess what they would be asking people to do.

I want people to visit the U.S., but if they require that they submit all of this data, I expect that they all protest by not visiting or even coming here for work.

There are just so many terrible ideas that come from this administration that I think that they should try to harness the power all of those bad ideas in a infinite idiocy power plant to power the world for all generations to come.

You can easily accumulate hundreds of unique email addresses this way.

Do they really expect you to input 500+ email addresses?

I couldn’t tell you every single “social media” account I’ve made over the years as various startups failed after I tried them.

I definitely couldn’t get all my family’s information, even if constrained to just immediate family.

I bet Palantir and three letter agencies have that information though, so this will be another lever they can use to selectively enforce punishment on their enemy of the day.

At a WEF panel on the quantum future, Singapore’s cybersecurity minister made a good point, already‑stored data encrypted with non‑quantum‑resistant algorithms is extremely valuable.

She said they need to show people quantum tech can be used for things that actually benefit citizens but we also need to be aware of the dangers.

The NSA probably has a giant trove of non‑quantum‑resistant encrypted data on anyone who used the internet a lot since 9/11. US citizens are being mass‑surveilled.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_surveillance_in_the_Unite...

Take WhatsApp.

Its encryption is based on the Signal protocol, but Whatsapp hasn’t fully adopted PQXDH (Post‑Quantum eXtended Diffie‑Hellman) to guard against future quantum attacks. Do you think that’s an accident?

Right now they may only see metadata, who you talk to, but they can harvest and store the encrypted stuff now and decrypt it later once quantum breaks it.

Then someone, or some AI has to read and analyze all that data. With the massive AI facilities being built and extra data like old phone numbers, social accounts, and emails, they can automatically build and categorize profiles on people.

And the worst part, you mostly handed this to them yourself, so it’s effectively verified. If you become an activist for something a future government labels “domestic terrorism,” it’s like signing your own death warrant.

You might shrug and say, “So what if they have data on foreigners?” Remember, they have that data on you and your neighbors too. They already have your dirty secrets. They just can’t read them yet.

Once they can, people lose power.

The right to bear arms only matters if you can organize. Organizing needs secure communications, you can’t overthrow a murderous regime alone.

Microtargeting lets them neutralize organizers before resistance forms by quietly taking out the few who can spark large protests.

History repeats.

Every so often an asshole rises who wants to crush anyone who’s not like them. We used to organize and stop them, kill them or put them on trial. Now the assholes build machines to surveil and manipulate you, splitting people into tiny groups so none can exert collective pressure to hold leaders to account.

Most Americans aren’t in the favored few.

It’s almost funny. People paying $30 a month for an overhyped word generator and the average greedy user fueling the AI bubble are funding the slow collapse of American society.

We live in interesting times. I don’t know what will destroy us first, our own greed, or an AI deciding we’re more useful as matchsticks than consumers of scarce resources.

Best of luck out there. You are going to need it.