iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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JuneSim63 💚 @junesim63.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

On Thursday 1st October, patients, NHS workers and activists across England are taking action to say NO to Palantir in our NHS. See link for an action near you. #Palantir #NHS #UKPolitics People vs Palantir - International Day of Action | Amnesty International UK www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/inter...

amnesty.org.uk

People vs Palantir – International Day of Action

On Thursday 1st October, patients, NHS workers and activists across England are taking action to say NO to Palantir in our NHS. Join a local action near you!

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I've noticed since my AI essay (see below) some "left" folks have hardened their views on AI. They say AI has no agency, no independent actions & thus can't go "rogue". I think they confuse agency with sentience. Functional agency doesn't require sentience. rawsemantics.home.blog/2026/09/22/a...

rawsemantics.home.blog

Another schmuck’s views on AI

What would RAW think of AI & the accelerationist Silicon Valley cult? What do I think of them? … and more!

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

"Functional agency" - a good concept to understand, if you don't want to get stuck in an EITHER/OR on AI. Folks tend to lump "agency" with sentience. So if they reject the notion of sentient AI, they also reject the notion of AI's "agency" or "independent action" - a mistake.

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I liked Eoin's book on GG/Taibbi, but I think he gets this wrong. Yes, we need regs & corp accountability & we don't need scary sci-fi hyperbole. I dislike the term "rogue", but it refers to something real - functional agency (no sentience). Not just "industry narrative". bsky.app/profile/eoin....

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Free speech warriors united in censoring? Nothing new from Musk, who surely now rates as one of the world's biggest wannabe censors (I say wannabe because Internet censorship doesn't really work, despite his many & various attempts). www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

hollywoodreporter.com

The Major Social Media Platforms Are All Rejecting Paid Ads for Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ (Exclusive)

YouTube, TikTok and Meta have all turned down the trailer for the Oct. 9 doc, citing “political” content. X won't even take Bleecker Street's calls. The distributor is appealing.

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Steve Fly @flyagaric23.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Some of the clearest thinking on the subject matter I've read. A sheer delight. Wow, whattan' opener. Thank you @rawsemantics.bsky.social

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Bobby Campbell @bobbycampbell.net · 23/09/2026

Tales of Illuminatus! - The Kether Trip TPB and the Illuminatus! Skeleton Key #1 Zine PDFs now available to KS backers :))) www.kickstarter.com/projects/bob...

Cover art for Tales of Illuminatus! - The Kether Trip & Illuminatus! Skeleton Key #1

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

'Another schmuck’s views on AI' - new blog piece. The schmuck in question is me, of course. I also hazard a few guesses over "What would RAW have thought?"... and more. #RobertAntonWilson Go to link: rawsemantics.home.blog/2026/09/22/a...

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Super piece, on which I've left a few comments. We can appreciate the skills of, say, nurses, without elevating them to the status of Super-Important All-Around Geniuses. So why do many folks elevate idiots with successful money-making skills to that Top Dog status? bsky.app/profile/r-mi...

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Another (related) difference between 80s/90s RAW/Leary futurism & 2026 Silicon Valley - the latter bets on societal COLLAPSE & need for secure elite zones. Leary & RAW tended to gamble optimistically on societal SUCCESS. Two potentially self-fulfilling prophecies: dystopia & utopia. Not the same.

Timothy Leary quote: "The challenge and glory of cybernetic democracy is this: society can no longer allow one person to feel abused, persecuted, ignored.” (Neuropolitique, 1991 ed. p47"). Illustrated by the comic-book style comparison of a guarded private elite zone with an open, well-functioning futurist society.

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Difference between 80s/90s RAW/Leary futurism & 2026 Silicon Valley - latter revolves around billionaires ideologically ready to sacrifice most of humanity. RAW & Bucky Fuller, in contrast, interested in what works for all humanity. (I won't mention estimates of 700K deaths already caused by Musk).

Quote from Robert Anton Wilson, The New Inquisition, 1987. Ch7:

"In my reality-tunnel, a world in which no child ever again starved to death would be a greater accomplishment than chaps from NASA playing golf on the moon."

Background of the image is a comic-book depiction contrasting earth-bound poverty with the ultra-rich escaping in their space rockets.

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

New book from George Lakoff (now in his 80s) co-written by Srini Narayanan (scientist & AI research director at Google DeepMind, Zurich). Epic, pioneering work combining multiple fields, on neural systems, thought, language & more. Not for lightweights or lazy reviewers.

Cover of 2025 book, The Neural Mind, by George Lakoff and Srini Narayanan.

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Of course. "Silicon Valley" in these short-form posts refers to the most prominent billionaires pushing a certain ideology. Shorthand, as I've said before. Which prominent voices would you list as pushing back against this dominant, grim elitist SV ideology? rawsemantics.home.blog/2024/08/06/t...

rawsemantics.home.blog

TSOG 2025 – & other scenarios

RAW’s Guns & Dope Party advocated “an end to Tsarism and a return to constitutional democracy”. Does a new Tech Tsarism seem on the cards?…

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

BBC reports "Russian strikes destroy 12 million books", targeting Ukraine's publishing houses, printing presses, second-hand book markets, etc. More than 35 publishing facilities hit - latest fuckery in Putin's twisted mass-murderous crusade against Ukrainian existence. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Russian strikes destroy 12 million books in Ukraine ahead of new school year

Ukraine says Russia is deliberately attacking its culture, after strikes on publishers and churches.

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Some folks may've got the wrong end of the stick on this. RAW occasionally *referenced* the topics in question (ESP, "mental telepathy") in his books. But you wouldn't begin a short summary of what his books are "on" with those topics (which is what his Wiki currently does). bsky.app/profile/rawi...

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Gil Duran says the apocalyptic views popular in Silicon Valley look like Christian eschatology + tech. And that a billionaire cult "is chasing a self-fulfilling prophecy of societal collapse" (RAW warned in similar terms of the power of such "self-fulfilling prophecies"). youtu.be/lMM6LgeIbfc?...

youtu.be

Gil Durán and Wajahat Ali: The Rise of "The Nerd Reich”

YouTube video by Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

And while I'm momentarily online, I want to say I think this paragraph in RAW's wikipedia entry does him a disservice. The idea he wrote books "on ESP, mental telepathy" etc comes from a poorly informed NYT obituary. (He *referenced* many things in his books of course). I hope someone corrects this.

Paragraph in RAW's wikipedia entry, which reads: "In addition to writing several science-fiction novels, Wilson also wrote non-fiction books on extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs, and what Wilson called "quantum psychology"."

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Unputdownable read, and a positive sign (& no small achievement) that a book on these 'uncomfortable' but urgent matters by a debut author (@gilduran.com) makes it straight to NYT Bestseller status. (Btw, Musk's X *permanently* banned the author for his views)

The Nerd Reich, a New York Times Bestseller. B&W image of book cover.

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Advance pic #2 for Maybe Day 2026. #RobertAntonWilson. Hi-res version: rawsemanticshome.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...

Robert Anton Wilson image (montage) for Maybe Day 2026, by Raw Semantics #2

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Going offline for a few months, so a couple of advance pics for Maybe Day 2026. #RobertAntonWilson #1 Hi-res version: rawsemanticshome.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...

Robert Anton Wilson image (montage) for Maybe Day 2026, by Raw Semantics

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Please do read Jaron Lanier's book. I've just re-read it. Amazing book, full of immediately relevant insights. Don't be put off by the title. It's a short, fun, hugely *essential* read. (Btw, 6yrs ago I wrote a post meshing Lanier & RAW's semantics: rawsemantics.home.blog/2020/08/13/r...)

Cover of Jaron Lanier's terrific book, 'Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts'

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Btw, FIRE's Nico Perrino asked me to comment further on my point that the main AI-"media" threats to speech in fact counter-intuitively exist OUTSIDE the "free speech vs censorship" dichotomy. I suspect it'll be misunderstood, but FWIW:

The actual and potential harms from AI that exist OUTSIDE the free speech vs censorship dichotomy seem vast (as do the potential goods).

I don't know what the biggest concern is - that would be speculative. So start with the harms identified by Facebook execs in the early days. The reasons they gave for avoiding their own platforms were mostly not outlier extremes of hate speech or violent porn, etc. Rather, they wanted to avoid the addiction, surveillance and behavior-modification schemes built into Facebook.

Three things stand out about those Facebook-identified harms:
1. They're the responsibility of the platform.
2. They're avoidable.
3. They DON'T boil down to a free speech vs censorship dichotomy.

It might seem counter-intuitive, but if you want to avoid censorship, age-verification, etc, then go after the platform-created harms that DON'T boil down to the free speech vs censorship binary. Then you'll have a clearer view of the avoidable aspects of the harmful business models (which knowingly use manipulative technological designs).

Traditional right-libertarianism tends to resist this argument with the belief that whatever happens in a "free market" is legitimate - hey, it's "free competition", not coercion - and that therefore the platforms should be left alone to implement their technologies as they see fit. Coercion, by definition, comes from government, not markets, right? I don't think anyone really believes this anymore in a landscape dominated by giants like Google and Facebook (and, increasingly, the likes of Palantir).

These giant coercive entities can't adequately be categorized as "media" or "communications technologies" - the dividing line has disappeared between surveillance, data-mining, population profiling, behavior modification, policing, weapons support, carceral (etc) technologies and so-called "media" or "communications" technologies. Folks should think twice about wanting to "extend" the protections of the US First Amendment to AI t…

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Bobby Campbell @bobbycampbell.net · 27/06/2026

Yo Delaware! Stop by and say hi! Free art show at the Create Magic Art Shop on July 23rd from 11 AM - 8 PM :))) <3<3<3

Flyer for the Maybe Day Pop Up Art Show - featuring discombobulating art & comix by Bobby Campbell and his amazing friends. July 23rd 11 AM - 8 PM at Create Magic Art Shop 419 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

So much of the AI / SM-algorithm problem/threat exists (by its nature) OUTSIDE the dichotomy of free speech vs censorship. One shouldn't try to conceptually crowbar it into that binary. Of course government overstepping remains a bad thing. But government isn't the only Big Coercive Entity in town.

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Jaron Lanier on Channel 4 News, 2018. Good summary of his views on social media. Silicon Valley insider, there at start, helped build foundations of current tech landscape, knows what he's talking about. Also vocal critic of the industry. @taylorlorenz.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc_J...

youtube.com

Jaron Lanier interview on how social media ruins your life

YouTube video by Channel 4 News

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advantardeodus ⧖ @advantardeodus.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I just signed Foxglove's petition to Andy Burnham: if you become our next PM, get Palantir out of our NHS. A secretive US spy tech firm with deep Trump ties has no business holding our health data. Add your name: www.foxglove.org.uk/campaigns/an...

foxglove.org.uk

Sign the petition to Andy Burnham: If you become our next Prime Minister, please get Palantir out of our NHS.

ADD YOUR NAME NOW!

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

youtube.com

Jaron Lanier interview on how social media ruins your life

YouTube video by Channel 4 News

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

This take frankly surprises me. There's a vast amount of evidence that social media algorithms cause harm. That doesn't mean algorithms are all bad or that we can't have algorithms that work to a healthier business model (one not driven by maximising engagement for profit). bsky.app/profile/tayl...

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Most people are for freedom, against coercion. But some see coercion *only* in governments, not in markets. In markets, it's called "competition", even if it looks like coercion. That comes from Platonic 'Natural Law'-type ideology. How so? Read: rawsemantics.home.blog/2026/06/17/r...

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

You get a lot of resistance to this idea from clichéd rightwing-type ideology. One such cliché was described well by Robert Anton Wilson:

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Nicholas Sarwark @sarwark.org · 22/06/2026

“‘I very early in my life decided I didn’t believe in the capitalist system. Frederick Soddy, the physicist, said, “Economics? It should be called banditry.” I mean it’s the science of robbing and looting, organized.‘ – Robert Anton Wilson, 2001 (Lance Bauscher interview)”

rawsemantics.home.blog

Libertarian..? Scandinavian..? Excluded middle..!!

Robert Anton Wilson on economic ‘excluded middles’ & the Scandinavian economic system he favored…

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Nicholas Sarwark @sarwark.org · 22/06/2026

Robert Anton Wilson with an early prophecy about American resistance to Mamdani-style Scandanavian socialism. From @rawsemantics.bsky.social's article, “Libertarian..? Scandinavian..? Excluded middle..!!” rawsemantics.home.blog/2024/11/28/l...

RAW adds: “I hate to sound like a Marxist, which I’m not, but the reason you haven’t heard about Scandinavian Socialism is because the media of this country is controlled by rich people who are scared shitless of socialism. They want Americans to think there’s only one type of socialism, Soviet Communism, which is the kind of place where dissident scientists get thrown in lunatic asylums… The Scandinavians reward their poets and they don’t put anyone in jail for dissident political opinions.”

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Bobby Campbell @bobbycampbell.net · 22/06/2026

Last few hours to pre-order at discounted prices! We'll take full price pre-orders right up until the end of the dog days and then we go to press :)))

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Robert Anton Wilson @rawilson23.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

What Does WoMan Want?

Timothy Leary and Gaia: "What is the question to which life is the answer?"

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Part 2 of new post - 'Right Men, Natural Law & Platonic Free Markets'. Goes into more detail on Platonic Free Markets & the so-called "Free market of ideas". #RobertAntonWilson rawsemantics.home.blog/2026/06/17/r...

rawsemantics.home.blog

Right Men, Natural Law & Platonic Free Markets – part 2

Platonic Free Markets and the Platonic Free Market of Ideas – through the Robert Anton Wilson lens…

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

That this crucial matter - and related issues - gets so little coverage says something about the info-realm we live in. The Deregulatory Platonists have been winning the framing wars. Hopefully this can change... before it's too late. bsky.app/profile/huma...

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Gabriel Kennedy aka Prop Anon @propanon.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Spring Blooms Eternal! Newest Substack about Bloomsday, Robert Anton Wilson, Chapel Perilous, and Kool Artists doing Kool Shit! gabrielpatrickkennedy.substack.com/p/spring-blo...

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R. Michael Johnson @r-michael-johnson.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

A review of Jos. Flatley's 2026 book The Occult Timothy Leary, which focuses on Leary's life, his influences & especially the influence of Crowley's tarot deck and corresponding symbols and knowledge between systems, whether they be psychological, sociological, philosophical, scientific, or occult.

overweeninggeneralist.substack.com

Book Review: The Occult Timothy Leary

The imaginative fire of correspondences

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