Critical Q&A #424

This week, it’s answers about coercive control vs public relations, sexually inappropriate Scientology, issues with artificial intelligence and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) Why is it so hard for people to agree to disagree and still get along? I don’t demand others to agree with me on everything in order for me to like them or be nice to them. I don’t quite understand why it’s so difficult to be able to disagree and not be treated differently. Of course I don’t want to hang out with a racist, but that’s a bit extreme and I see this behavior in the smallest opinionated differences or about things that don’t really matter. Are people that hard wired to their opinions/beliefs that they feel attacked with any little opinion difference and strike out? What do you think?

(2) It came to my attention, from a YouTube video from somebody who is not exactly your best friend, that there are supposed to be commands in Scientology to touch certain body parts in an audit situation. As a former “Auditor”, can you validate this claim? Are sexually inappropriate commands a regular “requirement” or is it mainly dependent on the auditor, who might misuse their power in some cases?

(3) Would you consider doing a video on crossover between undue influence and PR? It’s fascinating. When we talk to individuals they are so smart, but when we put something out to the masses, things seem to get mega-filtered and only some info and feeling get through and you have to deal with the unconscious. The themes common to PR and cultic manipulation are fascinating and you’ve touched on them many times but not in a specific video.

(4) Where do you think artificial intelligence (AI) is going? What are the risks? I was wondering if AI will have the ability to instantly see the consequences of the action it is about to carry out and then change the direction to a more survival action? For sure it won’t do what humans do now – either not see the consequences or see them but instantly justify the action as correct even with full awareness of the inhumane action. That’s what all cult members, addicts, parasites and predators do right?

(5) I had an observation (maybe?) which could be confirmation bias or may be a real thing but I don’t remember seeing it talked about anywhere. I’ve seen many people (including myself) gain weight once they leave the SO. I feel like for me there was a regimentation which may have caused some level of food disorder. For me there were 3 times a day where you ate, whether you were hungry or not – you had to eat at those times or you would get hungry later. Also there was not always access to food, the canteen would have to be open or you would have had to buy some before and store it somewhere. I feel like I can’t tell when I’m hungry or full. I will eat the amount of food that is available to me. Once I realized this I started counting calories to try and figure out how much I should actually be eating but I can’t tell based on my body when I should be eating or when I should stop eating. Have you observed anything like this? Is this already a known thing?

(6) You recently made some comments about emotional maturity and how common it is for men to tend to shy away from emotions in general. I 1,000% agree with you on this but I’d like to hear your thoughts about why this is. I understand environmental factors are a part of this but do you think neurological differences are a factor as well??