Elon Musk. Twitter. Babylon Bee.

[Falco Knotwise]

Elon Musk wants to offer an "everything app" similar to China's WeChat, but an American “free version,” without all the surveillance.

Well, if there's an app then there must be a device for that app, right? Now, one wonders what that device might be?

Hmm ...

Elon Musk is introducing the Tesla Pi Phone (will compete with Samsung and Apple) which is expected to become available to the public sometime in 2024.

So, what are some of the features of the Tesla Pi Phone?

The Tesla Model Pi NeuraLink Phone

Tesla’s smartphone will be able to communicate with the brain. Users will be able to enter commands on their phones simply by thinking of them, thanks to Neuralink technology ...

Fingerprint Scanner

A biometric fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication is located under the screen. You’ll be able to use the scanner to unlock your phone and make mobile payments, among other things.

Tesla Model Pi Phone Can Mine Crypto

One of the most important features of the Pi Phone is its ability to mine cryptocurrency. ... Musk founded Paypal, so he knows online payments well. The Model Pi will further promote cryptocurrencies with mining payments or even integration to other services.

Tesla Model Pi Phone Has Solar Charger

(Battery is solar chargeable.)

Tesla Model Pi Phone Security

The Tesla Model Pi smartphone includes state-of-the-art security features that ensure your privacy and security. The phone has built-in encryption for browsing. After all, the phone will include built-in wi-fi, which greatly reduces the chances of being hacked when using a public wi-fi network. Fast and secure Wi-Fi will be provided by Starlink, a Tesla subsidiary. Elon Musk is doing his best to ensure that the phone is only supported by Tesla-related companies for maximum security. End-to-end encryption features will prevent anyone from spying on you. Only the sender and the receiver have access to the message due to the security feature. I mean, not even Tesla will be able to decipher your messages. You can be sure that your privacy will be kept strictly private with the Tesla Model Pi.

Price is expected to be $800 - $1200.

https://www.teslapiphone.net/

Plus, if you happen to have family members living on Mars, you'll even be able to use your Pi Phone to keep in touch with them there! Yes, this is intended to be an interplanetary communication system. So, there's that, too, just in case you were wondering.

Also, Elon Musk has just appointed a new CEO for Twitter. Conservatives are upset because she chairs some committees on the World Economic Forum while Musk assures them they will all likely find her rather agreeable and be glad that she’s running it.

I think he’s got what he wanted out of Twitter & now he’s moving on to attend to bigger and better things. Twitter is important to him but as a business investment it was mostly a means to other ends.

He’s been warning against the dangers of AI, and that it’s future dominance is inevitable, but also seems to think that people “merging” with it is the best way to keep it under control. Apparently, he wants to help us achieve that goal by selling us the necessary products.

I think this was his plan all along.

[temporal1]

Falco K:
.. I think this was his plan all along.

^^i would not venture to guess about Elon Musk’s plans!
i hold out hope mankind might come to its senses. (hope of Biblical proportions!)

- - - - - - -

The 2020 Vermont bill (below) did not pass, i believe the conversation should continue .. esp wrt minors,
even better, might young consumers+their parents CHOOSE “dumb phones?!”

Dumb phones are useful+practical. The artical makes several good points.
Phones should be stand-alone devices, separate from computers, cameras, et al.

2021

I don't think it is the technology that causes people to sin. We need to deal with the heart issue, not bans, filters, accountability systems, or other things that can be evaded.

That doesn’t mean you give something harmful and addictive to children.

I think we can outlaw heroin, it’s more than just a “heart issue” of avoiding addictive drugs. .. ..

I agree, filtering is only part of the issue. A bigger issue is the socializing the children get. I would homeschool my children long before having them in that cesspool called public school, no offense to some very good teachers...
The danger of social media is often laughed about but has more risk to the Christian often then many other things we do.

Agreed. You’re best off sending your kids to school where the school agrees not to have students possessing cell phones.

Of course there is immense pressure for youth to get cell phones for “safety”, yet little concern for the serious dangers.

i’m baffled that parents allow smartphones for teens+children.
why not restrict to basic cellphones, NOT phones ATTACHED to full-on computers with cameras?
when i began MD, some were allowing basic cell phones - with camera lenses blocked, scratched off, painted over.

separation of use of these devices could make a world of difference.

Discussions of heart need to be regarding ADULTS, and it’s NOT easy there.
Handing over these devices to children+teens is rotten. “everybody’s doing it” is a problem for adults - maybe moreso than children!

i’m with (former) Vermont SENATOR RODGERS who introduced this important, yet ignored, bill:

https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documen ... oduced.pdf

.. Referred to Committee on
Date:
Subject: Crimes; possession of cell phones by persons under 21 years of age
prohibited
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced:
This bill proposes to prohibit the possession of cell phones by persons under 21 years of age.
An act relating to prohibiting the possession of cell phones by persons under 21 years of age

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. FINDINGS
The General Assembly finds:
(1) The use of cell phones while driving is one of the leading killers of teenagers in the United States. According to the United States Department of Transportation, cell phones are involved in 1.6 million automobile crashes each year, causing half a million injuries and 6,000 deaths. Each day, 11 teenagers die in automobile crashes in this country.

(2) Young people frequently use cell phones to bully and threaten other young people, activities that have been linked to many suicides.

BILL AS INTRODUCED 2020
S.212 Introduced by Senator Rodgers
S.212 Page 1 of 2
VT LEG #344677 v.1

(3) The Internet and social media, accessed primarily through cell phones, are used to radicalize and recruit terrorists, fascists, and other extremists.
(4) Cell phones have often been used by mass shooters of younger ages for research on previous shootings.
(5) In light of the dangerous and life-threatening consequences of cell phone use by young people, it is clear that persons under 21 years of age are not developmentally mature enough to safely possess them, just as the General Assembly has concluded that persons under 21 years of age are not mature enough to possess firearms, smoke cigarettes, or consume alcohol.

Sec. 2. 13 V.S.A. § 1312 is added to read:
§ 1312. POSSESSION OF CELL PHONES BY PERSONS UNDER 21
YEARS OF AGE PROHIBITED
A person under 21 years of age shall not possess, own, or use a cellular telephone.
A person who violates this subsection shall be imprisoned for not more than one year or fined not more than $1,000.00, or both.

Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
This act shall take effect on passage.

BILL AS INTRODUCED S.212
2020
Page 2 of 2
VT LEG #344677 v.1

This proposal is a good starting place.
Personally, i would differentiate between basic cellphones without cameras - for safety and convenience.
Texting and sexting might remain problems.

Smartphones are sophisticated computers with phones attached. 100% unnecessary.

Smartphones eclipse gun control controversies many times over.
Is there a problem with arming every child and teen with firearms? Yet, smartphones .. “everybody’s doing it.”

https://ballotpedia.org/John_Rodgers_(Vermont)

2023

Gen Z goes retro: Why the younger generation is ditching smartphones for ‘dumb phones’
https://theconversation.com/gen-z-goes- ... nes-204992

.. Digital detox

Another reason why people might be purchasing flip phones is to do a digital detox and cut down on screen time.
A digital detox refers to a period of time when a person refrains from using their electronic devices, like smartphones, to focus on social connections in the physical world and reduce stress.

In 2022, people in the U.S. spent more than 4.5 hours daily on their mobile devices. In Canada, adults self-reported spending about 3.2 hours per day in front of screens in 2022. Children and youth had about three hours of screen time per day in 2016 and 2017.

Excessive smartphone usage can result in a number of harmful side effects, such as sleep disruption.
Just over 50 per cent of Canadians check their smartphones before they go to sleep.

The blue-light emitted from smartphones may suppress melatonin production, making it harder to sleep and causing physiological issues including reduced glucose tolerance, increased blood pressure and increased inflammatory markers. ..

[Josh]

Good point, t1. The rise of mass shootings coincides perfectly with the rise of every young person having a smartphone. (Young people have had access to firearms, on the other hand, for hundreds of years.)

[temporal1]

Good point, t1. The rise of mass shootings coincides perfectly with the rise of every young person having a smartphone. (Young people have had access to firearms, on the other hand, for hundreds of years.)

true.
perhaps questions of smartphones involved with criminal acts (like coordinating mayhem in cities for fun looting+destruction)
should be addressed in courts? for instance, removing privileges of ownership+use?

[Josh]

Good point, t1. The rise of mass shootings coincides perfectly with the rise of every young person having a smartphone. (Young people have had access to firearms, on the other hand, for hundreds of years.)

true.
perhaps questions of smartphones involved with criminal acts (like coordinating mayhem in cities for fun looting+destruction)
should be addressed in courts? for instance, removing privileges of ownership+use?

I’ve always wondered about that, since the government surveils it all anyway. Seems they could use their large police state to actually stop crime like flash mobs, or gathering evidence to catch murderers and people who break gun laws.

[Ken]

Good point, t1. The rise of mass shootings coincides perfectly with the rise of every young person having a smartphone. (Young people have had access to firearms, on the other hand, for hundreds of years.)

true.
perhaps questions of smartphones involved with criminal acts (like coordinating mayhem in cities for fun looting+destruction)
should be addressed in courts? for instance, removing privileges of ownership+use?

How would you do that? Criminals often just use pre-paid burner phones which can be bought with cash at any convenience store and are often themselves stolen.

[Josh]

Good point, t1. The rise of mass shootings coincides perfectly with the rise of every young person having a smartphone. (Young people have had access to firearms, on the other hand, for hundreds of years.)

true.
perhaps questions of smartphones involved with criminal acts (like coordinating mayhem in cities for fun looting+destruction)
should be addressed in courts? for instance, removing privileges of ownership+use?

How would you do that? Criminals often just use pre-paid burner phones which can be bought with cash at any convenience store and are often themselves stolen.

In Australia and NZ, you have to show ID like a passport or driver licence to get a phone activated. Come to think of it, you have to do so in the U.S. too.

If a phone is stolen, well, then perhaps the surveillance state could track the stolen phone’s location, retrieve it, and return it to its lawful owner.

[temporal1]

Good point, t1. The rise of mass shootings coincides perfectly with the rise of every young person having a smartphone. (Young people have had access to firearms, on the other hand, for hundreds of years.)

true.
perhaps questions of smartphones involved with criminal acts (like coordinating mayhem in cities for fun looting+destruction)
should be addressed in courts? for instance, removing privileges of ownership+use?

I’ve always wondered about that, since the government surveils it all anyway.

Seems they could use their large police state to actually stop crime like flash mobs, or gathering evidence to catch murderers and people who break gun laws.

LAPD, Chicago, and other large police departments stopped reporting crime to the FBI (hmm, I wonder why),
so you can’t really look at recent years on FBI crime statistics to see trends.

Motor vehicles, firearms, alcohol, cigarettes, and more are regulated and deemed conditional privileges.
Many good reasons to add legal conditions to smartphone privileges, esp wrt minors.

Of course there are violations! Murder is illegal, but this does not stop all murders.

As for riots, looting, etc., lots of folks believe welfare payments, ed subsidies, food stamps, etc., should also be “on the table” for courts to implement in their rulings. Lots of contemporary vandals+rioters live cushy lives compared to many of us struggling to make ends meet, while simultaneously respecting others’ wealth.

In other words:
Before heading out to do some fun rioting, looting, burning the place down - - - what will it cost YOU?! THINK ABOUT IT.

[Ken]

true.
perhaps questions of smartphones involved with criminal acts (like coordinating mayhem in cities for fun looting+destruction)
should be addressed in courts? for instance, removing privileges of ownership+use?

How would you do that? Criminals often just use pre-paid burner phones which can be bought with cash at any convenience store and are often themselves stolen.

In Australia and NZ, you have to show ID like a passport or driver licence to get a phone activated. Come to think of it, you have to do so in the U.S. too.

If a phone is stolen, well, then perhaps the surveillance state could track the stolen phone’s location, retrieve it, and return it to its lawful owner.

Um no. Not pre-paid phones. You can pick up any pre-paid phone at any convenience store and it self-activates the first time you use it. I bought one for an exchange student we had last year. No ID required. And if you want to buy more minutes you just go online and enter a credit or debit card. Again, no ID required.

Sure we could pass laws in the US to restrict cell phone usage and require that the government or cell phone companies verify and track the ID of all users. But I don't see that happening. And restricting cell phone use by certain individuals would have to be a condition of sentencing. They sometimes do that when they prosecute hackers. But state governments would probably have to re-write their sentencing guidelines and such to make that happen in any systematic way.

[Josh]

It would not be difficult at all for the US to require KYC for phone lines. Wouldn’t even require new legislation, just regulation.

I wish they’d do this so I would quit getting so many spam / junk calls.