I feel this question is very trite, but Ive been considering how AI hasnt really had its killer app in the consumer market. The military industrial complex has floods of cash and you can see the collaboration between big tech and the government today. Also as conditions worsen the average person is not going to be able to afford the AI toaster or whatever they come up with as a consumer product. I dont see the bourgeois who invested so much into AI pivoting to something else, so the conclusion ive drawn is it will have to be the military that is going to be the main consumer.

Conditions worsening is going to lead to chaos and resistance in the streets and it seems like that is when the government can start deploying their AI-based military applications. Idk what form it woukd take, possibly autonomous systems that put down protests/demos etc.

Talking more about how we in the imperial core are exploited, rather than how imperialism exploits other countries' resources, labour etc. I'm trying to find a satisfying explanation for why "well-paid" workers are also exploited.

From my understanding of Marx, exploitation happens in capitalism by the worker producing more value than what they are paid. This is evident by the profit these companies make, as it wouldn't exist if their workers were not exploited. But I find it awkward to try to get this across to people not well versed in theory. You have job types like office workers that don't really produce anything and only contribute to the companies bottom line indirectly. I get that theres unproductive and productive labor, but this is also alot to explain to someone who is not deep into economics.

This also got me thinking that exploitation is broader than just underpaying workers. There's also psychological and physical abuse at the workplace that I feel has some connection to exploitation. The fact that the employer can threaten you with firing, or cutting some benefit also seems like exploitation to me.

https://xcancel.com/DavidLe76335983/status/1910523571199189264

Have to hand it to him. America totally bought his propaganda

So was talking with a Sunni friend, and he was telling me that Iranians are not muslim. He was also saying this is a common belief in the middle east.

I couldn't tell if this was some old prejudice thing, or I am just ignorant on the matter because from my understanding they are Shia muslims and have a religious head of state (even though maybe they are not following Islam in the same manner as other muslims would approve of).

When I asked him to clarify if he meant that Shia muslims are not true muslims or if he meant Iranians are not muslims it also got kind of confusing. He was talking about the history of the split over who would be the successor to Ali, and then something I've never heard before. He said a Jewish person created a new Shia'ism with "12 infallible imams", which honestly sounds like some antisemetic conspiracy but Im just not knowledgeable on the matter. From what I searched I dont see any origin from a Jewish person in Shia'ism.

Anyways, curious to know more about how Iran is viewed by the rest of the middle east and how they view themselves. Also hope I didn't say anything offensive.