On January 7, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers shot and killed 37 year old Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Multiple videos of the killing bounced around social media, which in turn triggered the usual tidal wave of knee jerk reactions. Yet there was something different about this latest version of what could be described as a digital Rorschach test. There was a cruelty and dehumanization towards Good embodied by comments from the Vice President of the United States that was a signal of the trouble we find ourselves in.
Vice President JD Vance blamed Good for her own death, and claimed the federal officer that killed her had ‘absolute immunity’. This kind of callousness from Vance, the Trump administration, and the right wing digital ecosphere wasn’t so much a surprise as it was a sobering confirmation. We are now in a time that many of us only knew from reading history books or watching movies. This is the descent into the full abyss of autocratic dystopia.
The digital discourse surrounding the killing of Good revolved around dissecting details of the incident like whether her car had put the officer in imminent danger. Yet like most things in our current reality, the nature of this particular event was better defined by the overarching conditions than its individual parts. Renee Good died because the Trump administration has turned ICE into a lawless domestic police force. An entity that uses intimidation, secrecy, and violence to carry out its orders. This type of domestic goon squad is a calling card of autocratic governance. Its very existence and mode of operation is the primary condition that led to Renee Good’s death.
It’s also important to note why federal forces had surged to Minneapolis in the first place. Allegations of systemic fraud by Minnesota’s large Somali population exploded after a video posted by 23 year old Nick Shirley. As a self described ‘YouTube journalist’, Shirley’s video showed him visiting various Somali daycare centers that seemed closed or empty. Shirley’s premise was that the daycare centers were fake businesses used only to steal money from the federal government.
Shirley’s video was quickly amplified by Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance. For the online MAGA-sphere Shirley’s video was a kind of digital cocaine. The video’s premise provided a massive dopamine hit for those convinced that dark skinned immigrants were ruining (and stealing from) the country. It didn’t matter that with a bit of scrutiny, Shirley’s claims became questionable. All that mattered was that the video scratched the ideological itch of those looking for pretexts to unleash autocratic mayhem.
Make no mistake, there is real fraud that has taken place in Minnesota. Yet the idea that the most corrupt and autocratic federal administration in history actually cares about fraud is a laughable one. The point of surging federal law enforcement assets to Minneapolis isn’t to capture illegal Somali immigrants stealing welfare checks. The point is to create a chaotic spectacle, wield power over populations that don’t support ‘the regime’, and prepare the country for disruptions to the coming elections.
Renee Good died because an autocratic regime has given permission for its agents to act violently. Yet Renee Good also died because a social media shitstorm prompted a mass response based on emotion, bias, and ideology. The brain rot created by being perpetually online has fully engulfed our political reality. Our age of autocracy runs on a fever dream of short attention spans, AI generated slop, conspiracy thinking, and outright lies.
There is no greater example of this than what has happened to the mind of Elon Musk. It cannot be denied that Musk is a genius when it comes to developing visionary technology. Yet his addiction to social media has warped what was once a seemingly reasonable mind into an autocratic, white nationalist propaganda machine. Musk recently posted in approval of a statement that embodied white nationalist racial fear mongering. He's also succumbed to a complete endorsement of autocratic punishment for speech or policies he disagrees with.
When an individual as wealthy and powerful as Musk aligns themselves with autocracy, it doesn't bode well for the future of democratic governance. Yet Musk's downturn is just one oligarchic piece of the abyss we are descending into. Techno-oligarchs like Peter Thiel or Marc Andreessen have aligned themselves with MAGA fueled autocracy not through pure ideological agreement, but rather as a cynical means to an end. For them (and many other tech oligarchs like Mark Zuckerberg) as long as their interests are advanced, it matters little whether the means are autocratic.
There are various ideologies among the autocratically aligned techno-oligarchs. Ranging from the radical techno-optimism of Andreessen, to the authoritarian friendly musings of Thiel. Yet there is one general thing they all seem to have in common. They all seem to believe that technological progress must accelerate, regardless of the consequences. Their view of society aligns with a kind of social Darwinism. They are the ‘winners’, and they are tired of waiting for democratic political processes to build the world they desire. It's not like they are really a part of regular society anyway. So why would they care if autocracy falls over the rest of us? Autocracy and oligarchy go hand in hand. So for them, an autocratic government functions as a more efficient way to achieve their goals.
As worshipers at the altar of technology, the techno-oligarchs have leaned heavily into the future of artificial intelligence. They've already shown a willingness to use AI to carry out the whims of autocratic governance. This should serve as a signal that no matter how much they wrap the coming age of AI in utopian language - the future will most likely just amplify the present. Government surveillance, economic inequality, and the inability to discern what is true are all set to be supercharged with AI's growth.
Ask yourself this, considering the current mess we are in, do you really see a future with AI that contains abundant resources and universal basic income? Or a Star Trek like future where AI has helped create a world where there is no need for money or capitalistic pursuits? If AI is to come of age in a time of autocracy and oligarchy, then its effect on society will be determined by autocrats and oligarchs.
Fittingly, the AI technological revolution is currently powered by financial shenanigans. Circular financing and opaque financial deals stir memories of the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis. New York Times financial reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin has speculated that some kind of Wall Street correction or crash is a distinct possibility. The size and scope of any future financial shock is unknown. Whether it’s a simple market downturn or a 2008 extinction level event, only time will tell.
What we do know from history is that autocratic regimes very often cause economic ruin for their country, while finding the time to enrich themselves. Whether it's the national debt, tariffs, jobs, or the cost of living; the Trump administration is causing economic damage while enriching itself. But rest assured, Wall Street is doing just fine. Like the techno-oligarchs, the financial ruling class don't really have a stake in regular society. So as long as they are allowed to keep the immense profits flowing, the impact (or morality) of autocratic governance means little to them.
While American autocracy matters little to the oligarchic ruling class, it matters greatly to the rest of the world. Whether its aggression towards Greenland or Canada; or their embrace of Russia while shunning Ukraine - the Trump administration has ended the post World War II era of alliances based on shared values. In its place now exists a world based on transaction, force, and coercion. A world where large countries impose their will on smaller, less powerful neighbors.
One of the reflexes of autocratic regimes is the exertion of power. Not for any rational cause, but just for the sake of exerting power itself. Wielding power leads to control, which then leads to more power, and so on. The killing of Renee Good was as much about the cruel application of power as anything else. Slowly but surely, President Trump has realized the source of his ultimate power - the US military. With his actions towards Venezuela and Iran, he has come to realize the true potential of utilizing the US armed forces. Instead of being used to defend the United States, the military is increasingly being used as an extension of President Trump's personal whims. Few things signal the depth of our trouble more clearly than the world's most powerful military drifting toward the absolute control of a narcissistic autocrat.
At this point, it's hard to see any hope in the near future. There comes a point in human affairs where history must run its course. We are past the point where things can be fixed, or downward trendlines can be stopped. Even if there is a Democratic victory in the 2026 midterm elections, or if a Democrat were to win the presidency in 2028; all the elements of American society that allowed autocracy to grow will remain. Democratic and civic ideals will still be in shambles. Any sense of a true, shared morality will be non-existent; and wealth will still be concentrated with those at the top of the economy. Minds will still be stunted by digital media, truth will still be relative, and oligarchs will still bend society to their will.
One day Donald Trump will be gone. But the conditions that led to his rise will remain. The abyss we are heading into wasn't made by Donald Trump - he just noticed it was there, and dragged us in. This means that even though he was the first to do so, he probably won't be the last.