If you want a more philosophical take on this topic, you can refer to this video: The Political Commodification of YOURSELF! #SELFIE Protest: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i8yjhsJ3rtnOhpc.html

One of the worst examples of this that I've come across recently is restaurants *no longer having menus and instead forcing you to scan a QR code to receive the menu on your phone.* Nightmare.

I double majored in computer science and philosophy as an undergrad, so this video really speaks to me. I'm a big fan of open source software. Not only are open source projects brilliant educational tools, but they often provide high-quality software that meets a need without resorting to scummy business tactics like selling personal data. When it comes to software updates, open source is wonderful as well. Open source projects are only updated when the community behind the project agrees to said update, and I've never come across an open source project that forces updates on users. I used open source technology as much as I could through my college days, and I felt I had a "symbiotic" relationship with my computers during that phase of my life. That all changed when I entered the workforce as an enterprise software engineer. Within a matter of months, my job forced me to work using Microsoft or Apple software, because those were the two systems everyone else was on and those were the two systems our clients used. I was required to install a bunch of data-collecting software on my smartphone as well for communication and security purposes. Apple is absolutely the worst offender in the tech world, in my opinion. In order to even get one of their devices working properly, you usually need to use at least one of their other devices working in harmony with it. Furthermore, when something goes wrong, they have strict anti-modification rules that prevent users from getting support from anyone other than Apple. They're pretty scummy. I can never take issue with technology itself. I think technology is a neutral force in our world. It can be used to increase the quality of our lives, but it can also be used to enslave us. What I take issue with are the business-people who use technology to deliberately keep us dependent on systems that keep us so miserable that we are suggestible to advertisements and manipulation, but also so comfortable that we don't challenge it in any tangible way. I would love to see social media disappear completely. It's one of the scummiest business practices ever conceived of.

Finally Hans Georg Moeller has learned how to talk to Gen Z

Really enjoyed the "authentic" display here. Moving out of the office and away from the locked off camera, turning this into much more of a vlog/"rant", and embracing the all caps "DESTORYS" clickbait title, and even back in the office going hand held, all youtube language signifiers of "authenticity"/"Unfiltered emotions". While I have no reason to doubt this is how Georg actually feels about modern technology and its increasing complexity, I will be interested to see how Professor Moeller breaks down, as Fai described, the brand on brand (or profile on profile) conflict shown in this video. Glad to see the channel experimenting with other forms of youtube content, and hopefully raising the prolific value of this channel. You have my like and comment good sirs!

It's facinating to watch the profile of this professor evolve in real time.

I had to work 12 hours as a camera man recording a tech conference where I had to sit and listen to people talking about the wonders of Musk, Bezos and Steve Jobs. A lot of the speakers were fanboying hard and it just felt strange, like there was this one speaker who basically treat Ellon like a god, he talks about how he has went out of his way to find clips of Ellon when he was young and talked about how he tries to live his life like Ellon. The entire thing made me so angry. A lot of the people there were really rude and snobby, comparatively the workers were all really kind and helpful.

I was raised in a computer repair shop and grew to despise Apple because of their unwillingness to allow people to modify their devices. Once you have one of their devices they basically make you buy all of their devices to effectively use one. If you wanna get a device repaired you've got to go to them as well. On top of that there's the social idolization of the brand in the west, especially in America. It's too the point where people will literally admit that the phone is overpriced and not worth it but still buy it anyway.

I enjoyed this: "From a Daoist perspective I shouldn't have strong emotions, but this makes me really very angry."

I refused to get a smartphone until 2015 when I was essentially forced to. I became utterly dependent on it in a matter of months. I remember my brain working differently; I've delegated too many tasks to this device and ceded that much more control over my identity to the web of interconnected corporations that created this dystopia. This whole video felt like an Andy Rooney 60 minutes segment in the best way.

This video perfectly describes why I default to using open-source software wherever I can. I feel much more in control of my electronic devices in that way, and I feel as though those devices then primarily serve their original goal, instead of advertising to me or selling my data to the highest bidder.

Philosopher destroys apple with FACTS and LOGIC

the worst part about the constant updates is that they leave data behind that just accumulates and is really difficult to remove, making it essentially a timed self destruction for anyone who doesnt know about it. awesome video,

Great video, thank you for putting it so well!!

Apple products are deliberately constructed to be hard to repair (see Louis Rossmann's channel for more on that). The annoying hipsterism aside, this is actually more costly to consumers and worse for the environment, since devices are built to be made obsolete once their life cycle has ended and consumers are essentially forced to buy new products to keep the machine churning. The real blackpill is that apple is actually so successful with their awful business practices, that other companies are now imitating them. Looks like Spengler was right, optimism is indeed cowardice.

It's like two opposite forces of planned obsolescence and planned possession working at the same time.

Coming from innovation and business engineering; this trend is increasingly upsetting. Thank you, Müller and Fai for communicating your work through this medium - your channel has helped me challenge the status quo view of the why questions we are taught taking engineering degrees.

Moral language! Emotions! Authentic footage! Go profile go!!!

Moeller is a champion And you're gonna hear him roar

This video made me laugh a lot! Fai question about professor’s brand was the best ❤

Wow, I somehow saw the professor as a calm person without showing a lot emotions and if more positive ones. Seeing a person I share a lot of opinions with angry like that really makes me think if I should be more upset about it too. Concerning the self image dicussed in other episodes it makes him look more like a human.

Hi both, thank you for the video, and I like the experimentation with a new and interesting format. I have personally felt a similar sort of anger, even though I am a bit younger than you, and grew up with computers in some form or other (no typewriters at least) I only started noticing this issue about 6-7 years ago, but as you say it is exponential, and has got more acute as time goes on. What I have concluded is that the main difference between how I would wish to interact with technology, and how I end up doing so that makes me angry, is the difference between a tool and an environment: A tool is something I use to solve, or facilitate the solving of a problem I wish to solve, or something I wish to create. I for the most part understand how it works, and I know exactly what to do to get a specified outcome. An environment, on the other hand is something I have to enter for some reason, in your example to have a bank account. I have no idea exactly stuff is happening to me, it can make me uncomfortable and I don't know what is happening because I am completely immersed in it; I am not in control.

Lol I love this video so much, the endearing relationship between Moeller and his students is so sweet.

Fai is an amazing interviewer xD Ever Asking the hard-hitting questions!

I found this video highly amusing and refreshing. It feels like we are all living in some sort of black mirror dystopia or a Truman show, and here we got one guy that escaped that whole bubble for 15 minutes to give a quick, honest interview.

I really enjoyed this format and this video touched me on the level of art

I am around the same age as you Dr Moeller, and I feel exactly the same way! Thanks for this. I found it very therapeutic

Unrelated, but boy did I get giddy when I saw a volume of BLAME! on the shelf behind you. Good taste!

Professor Moeller should look into GNU, Linux and the philosophy of Free Software. It would be very interesting to hear about his thoughts on the idea and its current implementations.

Greetings, Professor, from one who has never owned a smart phone. I feel your pain over having had one inflicted on you. My reasons for despising them are identical to yours, point for point. Thanks. It's nice to know I'm not completely alone.

Hahahaha hilarious video... and the auto-update! I never thought about it that way!!! it is true! I was reading books on my kindle the other day, marveling at the convenience, but knowing that because of DRM I couldn't share it with anyone, even though I would share a physical book. I looked up at the history of DRM and how every version of kindle makes it harder and harder to share books, and now I am hesitant to grow a digital library that I cannot share. Better to buy the physical books

This video reminds me of one 'episode' or issue of the comic book Transmetropolitan where the main protagonist (a cynical journalist who returns from his retirement from basically a wood cabin into a very modern and very cyber punk world and catalogues that city's weirdness), in this issue he is basically allowed to enter private reserves which are made for people who don't want to live in the 'modern cyberpunk' world but wish to live in 'simpler times'. And this corporation that creates these reserves basically tailor different types of world based on our past. I think he enters one with celtic tribes warring. Is very interesting, and in no way am I calling you some ludite or whatever. It's just an immediate association that came to my mind.

Hahah, I enjoyed both the performance and the message, nicely done

OMG! I cannot believe that I am in precisely the same boat, as it were. For years I've told my students I don't even own an a cellphone and they just cannot believe it (also didn't own a TV for roughly 25 yrs). They think I'm some kind of Luddite -- if they knew the reference -- but, more to the point, they cannot imagine living without the cellphone whereas I cannot imagine living with it. I finally did purchase one, albeit an Android version, which has very limited capacities, and which I was effectively forced to purchase in order to access my various teaching aids (Zoom, Canvas, et cetera) when I'm in the classroom. I see what it's done to the younger generation and I have no desire to become addicted to a time-vampire that has no value to my life, despite its potential usefulness. It's amazing how difficult it is to explain to people why I would elect not use one. They ask, "what if your car breaks down?". I respond, "I get out and walk". They cannot imagine it! They ask, "what if there is an emergency?", and I ask "precisely how many times have you used your cellphone to deal with an actual emergency?". Typically, the answer is none. And it's not as if we didn't have emergencies before the cellphone.! What does the phone do to mitigate against emergencies exactly? "What if you want to find someplace?". "I look at a map", I answer. My God! What the hell has happened that I am forced to purchase some stupid thing that tracks everywhere I am, when I'm there, and can potentially be used to listen into every single conversation I have? Why I God's earth would I want to give that kind of power to anyone, let alone to corporations which don't even pretend to represent my interests? Trust me, the cheap phone I use is no less neutral than your Apple device. After all, I must explain to my peers why I don't have an Apple...I feel like Nietzsche when he remarked that the mail came too often. My students just expect to hear back from me within minutes of sending me an email, and I get nearly a thousand a day. How did we all suddenly make ourselves on-call 24 hours a day? In hearing you speak of loss of control, I must suggest that you not invest in Windows 11 unless you wish to cede access to your hard drive to Microsoft, because effectively it has complete control over the cypher keys to our machines.

Recently I've seen people of LinkedIn refer to their profile as a "personal brand" which confuses me because I don't understand why anyone would willingly brand themselves except perhaps in entertainment. To me a brand is openly inauthentic. The reason for this is that I went to the first lecture on a course on marketing and they explained that a brand is an image. Not an image of what the product actually is but an image of what the company wants the consumers to see it as. So I can't trust a "personal brand" because they are more likely there to just sell me something and not there to teach me something useful nevermind something useful to the world.

Very humorous, I love it!

You should do a video on GNU/LINUX and the philosophy of free software

First time on this channel where I am completely in agreement with Prof. Moeller.

Okay, it's really hard to tell what's going on here. Am I the only one who sees this as a weird, sarcastic, perhaps intentionally "profilic" display. I just can't shake the feeling that there is something more experimental and philosophical going on here than just talking about Apple and technology.

Fai, you're English is fantastic, don't feel the need to always put subtitles for it when you are speaking :)

Loved this!

Very funny to see the Prof's "authentic" side! Planned obsolescence is a scourge against humanity.

I came for the clickbait title and stayed for the curation of a commodified profile

I almost couldn't finish watching this video as it makes me so angry what is happening to us. The extra convenience or efficiency of the technology is what we would call the 'thin end of the wedge' in this situation.

Thanks for acknowledging the pain modern technology breeds and brings. I live in Hawaii in a Soto Japanese Zen temple, and the saddest thing I ever heard was Japanese Buddhist priest saying DOGEN WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF WITH A SMART PHONE RATHER THAN GOING TO CHINA. I am sure you can relate to my pain upon hearing the words of the priest!

I thought I could detect some kind of Irish accent, and upon a wee bit of research, I noted that you spent a lot of time in Cork. It shows, as it were!

😂 F- word authentically expressing the professor. The ideas discussed are thoughtful. 👍

I think a more appropriate title is "Apple DESTROYS Philosopher"

I'm a web developer, so I'm fairly squarely inside the system you're arguing against, but I do have to agree with many of your statements. I dislike Apple with a passion. Part of it is the lifestyle branding, but it's more about the control they have with its success. Not only are they taking away my control, they're also making it nearly impossible to repair their phones, in a way that makes one all but certain that it's planned. And where they lead other companies follow, even companies like Samsung. I think you might have the same phone like me, an S10e. It's one of the last flagship Samsung phones that has a headphone jack and extendable memory, now it's gone because of "waterproofing" (at the same time smartphone makers introduced motorized selfie cameras, so that's obviously bullshit) and a pursuit of flatness beyond what's comfortable in my hand. Yeah, no, the reason they removed these ports is to make one buy their Bluetooth headsets. I'll pass for as long as I can. These in-display fingerprint scanners were also for the longest part a clear regression compared to the regular ones. And how they now have 5 Cameras in every smartphone.... Stupid. The only variant on the camera that makes sense is a wide lens variant that causes distortions at the border, zoom lenses with fixed zoom, usually not much, have not really been useful for me. But the battery has to go, no place for it anymore... Oh, and Apple is also deliberately crippling their browser to avoid competition with their App-Store. And they are forcing every other browser to use their engine, making Safari essentially a monopoly on ios devices. Microsoft got hit with successful litigation FOR JUST PREINSTALLING their browser in Windows, how Apple is scraping by with an enforced monopoly is a good question. To think how completely Steve Jobs betrayed the values he and Steve Wozniak made Apple originally successful with.

Amen, sir. 🙏🏻

The office segment has a "few beers deep" vibe

6:18 cracked me up lol, excellent profile building

This is the reason why I like this channel

There are people living without smartphone. You can go the the bank physically, it's just inconvenient. You can still write by hand and let someone to type it like your dad did. Print your emails and so on. You have to put effort and it's inconvenient, but such was the past too. You had to go to buy a stamp and then walk to the post office. It's not like you've owned the roads to get there, or the post office. Over time post office building got closed and moved. Only difference I see is that physical limitations made it very slow and somewhat gradual (although there were abrupt changes). I'm 34 and remember time without mobile phone, PC and internet. I remember taking a blanked to the car during winter, because it was cold in there. I remember my dad repairing his own car. There seems to be two sides of this "enforcement". On one side, you're absolutely correct, that people are pushed and forced by companies and state (I have to have ID with a chip nowadays), and there is no escape. On the other hand, some of these changes are enabling way more efficient way of doing things (you don't have to go to the bank physically) and thus making life easier, more reliable (tech in healthcare) and cheaper (now the bank doesn't have to operate physical store) therefore more accessible. One thing remains through the time. The older people are the more they miss being young.

Anyone notice the BLAME! volume in the bookshelf?

As others have pointed out: It would be interesting to hear the professors perspectives on the philosophy of free/libre software, and perhaps also the shortcomings of free/libre software. (See the article "Freedom Isn't Free" by Wendy Liu)

That glimmer of a smile @3:52 😂❤️ This whole video is based 10/10

I want to have a long beer consuming session with this man

"Local philosopher goes on luddite rant." :D

Watching on the latest iPhone.

Hm. If I'm judging on the audience who ist judging on the professor who is judging on a brand, what will this do to my profile?

does the professor have any thoughts/ experiences on/ with non-corporate technology like linux?

Watching this video and reading the comments feels like one big mindfuck. Thanks for the reminder of how profiles shape my expectations and how easy it is to make me uncertain of my judgements!

DJ Premier has a series on tracks of his with floppy disks back at the time. I know it's not related, just wondered how such a fantastic crossover could come to life.

I entirely feel for the loss of the typewriters, CD players, phones etc that weren't all bundled up into one internet device that's connected to the cloud and insists that everything you have be on the cloud (where a tech giant has control of). Previously, there was more emphasis on a machine being more mechanical, static and like he says more easy to figure out entirely. Additionally, there was also more of an emphasis on keeping media on physical form (tapes, DVDs, flash etc) where it's under your control and not under the whims of Netflix or Amazon. The worst thing is there might not be going back to the old world of static machines as they cost more to produce now because no one demands them. Maybe in the future there will be a pushback and a new appreciation of having seperate devices that aren't internet enabled, but we should see.

Hearing this, it makes me wonder what Prof. Moellers opinion is about contemporary capitalism-critical social theories like, for example, the acceleration-thesis as advanced by Hartmut Rosa is. A problem with capitalist marketing and especially with how it relates to time seems (rightfully) endemic in our day. [Also, I didn't mind smartphones - or, frankly: internet per se - until they invented push-notifications.]

Get a Light Phone 2 professor. I’ve been using it for over year. It’s hilarious to me now when I am in public and the only one not looking at my phone.

Would like to know what he thinks about Dieter Rams.

Can you make a video on the division between continental and analytic divide in philosophy?

this is SO out of character that i can't stop watching haha

Start a new segment and call it "what grinds my gears"

He's slowly turning into Zizek.

I love this video.

Its kind of funny to see professor Moeller get mad at an apple product when he is usually so calm and objective. This is an interesting development of his profile.

This applies to the depersonalization of services, abd some home appliances too

Id love some more of this content where you just talk like this

I can't explain the pleasure I felt when he swore 🤣

I am actually in the middle of Heidegger’s essay on technology and it would be really sick to hear your thoughts on it?

The worst thing is new generations distinguish less and less how life can be without all these devices

I'm confused, what is happening in this video? Is it a joke, a provocation or something I have missing?

"...not cool at all...I find it ugly!" I love this guy.

I can't tell if this is like some exaggerated attempt at trying to manipulate the algorithm lol

Well said.

The morphing of consumer choice into consumer dependency. Your observation on being subdued by technology really struck me, we should all consider the consequences of this

New title: Philosopher’s Homemade Apple Crumble Recipe

I was hoping to see someone taking a sledge hammer to the apple corporate headquarters but I guess in it's absence this is pretty nice too.

This video seems like a great example of performance art. Valid points emphasized by fake outrage. The exemplification of profilicity in the modern age. 🖼

I've had to use a CPAP machine since 1998. Now, the machine is controlled over a weak cell phone signal by the medical equipment leasing company at the behest of the insurance company.

This reminds me of something I recognized when smart phones became popular. Their convenience also came with a sacrifice. PCs at the time were obviously far more capable and had better games, but because the phone was convenient people settled for worse games and experiences... Like typing on a phone compared to a computer, or interacting with a website. The interaction with existing technological services became objectively worse through a phone in exchange for convenience (while at the same time being less convenient)

Totally agree with him!!!

this is why I appreicate having a certain level of technical literacy. it is possible to participate in modernity while living on the outside of these maze-like structures. that being said, it feels like it requires a lot of dedication to truly make it work. I think of it as being sort of "cyber-amish," where it feels an entire lifestyle needs to be adopted to make up for all of the convienieces that are lost. and even in the case where one is living comfortably, isolated from these structures, it seems like it will always require discipline to maintain it, as there will inevitably come times for creative solutions or compromises, such as the banking app example. I am glad Mr. Moeller has shared frustrations that feel very similar to mine. I am bit worried with how much I have agreed with his previous ideas on this channel, but this video in particular suprised me as I have spent a good amount of time in the past few years trying to make a permanent transition. in a way, it seems obvious that the professor would be passionate about these problems. as I think that much of his videos are essentially about modern identity, the structure within which these profiles are facilitated (as well as being essential in daily function for just about everyone) should be something important to someone who cares about identity. I think that while these social-technological structures are difficult to understand on their own, there is an obvious abuse of those participating by their creators, and a seemingly reckless reliance on complex algorithms to manage something that affects people so personally. it has been hard to have a passion for these ideas because it is hard to find many others who express the same concerns. it feel like to comform is to not be as concerned about such things, and I just don't feel like I have the confidence or experience to defy what I believe the public does. to have Moeller say similar ideas makes me feel better, as I respect many other things that he has said, and some of his videos on things like hegel have really touched me. I know that Prof. Moeller didn't exactly say what I have, but I have the impression that he shares some similar ideas. in any case, thank you for inspiring me further.

Professor, you should be a model of samsung ad saying: "It's better than apple because it's not cool. actually it's shitty that i can't use a common bank app"

He's right - it's the whole reason this coof thing was delivered via iphone - if the phone tells you to do something, MANY ppl do it without question. It's called a 'smart'phone for a reason

I feel like this entire argument, you could swap out Apple with cigarettes or alcohol or sugary drinks and the reasoning would still hold, but people would get more defensive about the latter options

Last time I was in an actual apple store was a nightmare, it was as cramped and seizure lit like a night club but the only people dancing were silhouettes on screens. super jealous of the store in this video… that shit was palatial! I live in a rural area where the nearest grand-mal is over an hour’s drive away so next time if I need it maybe I’ll just go for a 20 minute walk and feed my phone to a horse instead

for a minute I thought I was watching a computerphile video!

Heh, did you think that 'clickbait' title (with Capslock-ed word and everything) and the shaky handheld smartphone footage from the streets, strong wording, judgment, opinions, interview format, sound design, editing, the whole package... Did you really think that we, your audience, will 'miss' all these clues that this video is nothing but a 'Profilicity' experimental demonstration (even if it is 'Authentic')? I guess you were right, sadly. Judging from the top comments most viewers completely missed it all. They only heard exactly and only one thing they wanted to hear... "Yeah, I hate Apple too, bad, evil big corp! Whoa prof, we so alike." Well, at least some of us 'got it' (or am I also just being foolish).

Professor Moeller, I can recommend you to look into the free software movement. It is centered specifically around the freedom of the users of software, and their ability to collectively control what the software does. Here is described what this means precicely: (link removed because otherwise youtube deletes my comment. The article is "What is free software?" by the GNU project.) Of special relevance to your feelings would be freedom 0: - The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose This includes the freedom *not* to run the program. The philosophy of this movement is what birthed the GNU/Linux operating system. I think this movement helps put words on much of what is so gross with the modern tech industry. More people need to be made aware of these issues. Also, there is a talk by Stallman, the founder of the movement, named "Free Software, Free Society". Listen to that, it is very illuminating and aimed at regular people. It's about 15 minutes.

Please, introduce a bit of Free Software and FOSS philosophy into this! Most of what he said are things that Richard Stallman already stated, and I'm so curious about what a bit of "Free Software Free Society" may do for the argument !

I feel exactly same distrust & anger with technological "progress"