Welcome to Dispatch #46! This week we're diving into how AI technology is changing the way we find and verify information in the world, and how that will impact our politics. In addition, a great story from North Macedonia where activists used creativity and humor to fix their crumbling infrastructure, and a new theory of domination called psychopolitics. Plenty of juicy stuff - let's get into it!
🤓 Did you know 96% of our subscribers are free readers? If you like what we've been sharing, consider uplifting us–even if just for a bit! To keep this project going we need mutual support from a group of like-minded people (like you!) to help us out! Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a big difference in covering our operating costs.
You can become a paid member for as little as $2 USD/mo ($24/year), or contribute a one-time donation here.
Easy Actions to Take
⏱~3min | (US Only) Tell Congress: Ban Lethal Autonomous Weapons
Why: Trump's "AI-first" military¹ could allow a lethal autonomous drone to decide where and when to drop a bomb. An AI-equipped autonomous weapon could easily misidentify a civilian as a soldier, or a family vehicle as a military vehicle, then kill innocent people in droves. And such autonomous weapons will inevitably end up in our local communities too. Organized by MPower Action
⏱~3min | (US Only) No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands!
Why: AI data centers bring noise, light, air, and water pollution, and can increase energy costs by astronomical amounts. It’s why 63% of Americans oppose AI data centers being built in their communities. But destructive data centers could soon be popping up on federal lands and military bases across the country if the Pentagon gets its way. Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands Act would BAN data centers and associated infrastructure on land owned or managed by the U.S. government, including on military bases. Organized by World Without War
Why: Ali G is a retired character by the actor Sacha Baron Cohen that Black comedians have called an alibi for racism. Similar racist characters have been depicted by Cohen in movies such as Borat (which mocked Kazakh people) and The Dictator (which mocked Arabs). Cohen has also an outspoken Zionist who portrayed a Mossad agent in the TV show The Spy. Amazon MGM has revived Ali G and secretly filmed a new movie, but we can show that this type of minstrel racism is unacceptable by demanding cinemas to refuse screening the film. Organized by Newscord
Little (Movement) Wins
How Macedonians Used Humor to Fix Their Streets
Activist History
What sort of impact can creative activism have? If you ask co-founder of the Contemporary Art Center in North Macedonia, Nikola Pisarev, the answer is “potholes!” As is the case in many countries, corruption runs rampant in Macedonia’s government. Money allocated to infrastructure repairs are often pocketed instead of being used properly, leaving huge craters that swallowed tires, cracked axles, and made streets nearly impossible to navigate for years. And despite public outcry, the issues were never fixed - petitions were met with empty promises, public meetings displayed fake photos of progress being made, and some protestors were even beaten up by police.
Large potholes became an enduring symbol of a larger issue: corruption, an issue that seemed almost impossible to tackle when facing a government that didn’t listen to its people. That’s when the Contemporary Art Center took an unconventional approach that finally worked.
Continue reading to learn about the creative tactics that North Macedonians used to bring attention to their failing infrastructure when all else failed.
💝 Like our newsletter so far? Treat us to a coffee and some encouraging words so we can keep up the good work!
Psychopolitics
The Conscious Citizens Dictionary
Psychopolitics describes a mode of power that governs by shaping minds rather than disciplining bodies. Philosopher Byung-Chul Han popularized the term in his 2017 book Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power, extending Michel Foucault's concept of biopolitics into the digital, neoliberal era. He argues that today’s form of power is smart and internalized. Rather than external coercion, psychopolitics operates through self-optimization, Big Data, and the psychological economy of desire, emotion, and attention, making people voluntarily exploit themselves in the name of freedom and productivity. Gamified metrics like Likes, streaks, and follower counts turn everyday communication into a mode of self-surveillance and submission, commercializing connection itself.
Psychopolitics explains how algorithms, surveillance capitalism, social media, and hustle culture quietly steer behavior and emotion to reinforce the current system. Mark Fisher's ties this directly to the youth mental health crisis, framing burnout, anxiety, and depression not as individual failure but as the intended output of a system engineered to keep people compliant and productive.
The Birth of AI & the Death of Truth
Deep Dive
There’s a disturbing pattern emerging online. You see a video of a cute puppy and rabbit that are best friends. The top comment: “Is this AI?” You see an new e-girl going viral on Instagram. “Are you AI?” You reshare a video of protestors making a fool of the police at a rally, but all the replies say, “This is AI.”
Right now we are at a critical crossroads. In just a few years since AI, or more accurately Large Language Models (LLMs), were unleashed onto the world, the majority of content online is now being created by AI. Writing, images, videos, and songs are all being generated at a terrifyingly fast pace, and the quality is only getting better and better each month making these fakes more difficult to spot. What’s more: AI is also changing how we interact with information on the internet itself. Now, when people try to look something up on Google, they just read the AI-generated summaries at the top of the page rather than looking through the search results - summaries that have no guarantee of being true, but it is certainly convenient.
The problem here is not only that AI is filling our internet with fake slop, but it’s also changing the way we interact with information and how we determine what is real or not. The current systems and tools we have are woefully unprepared for this moment, and this is a critical issue because without objective truth the foundation of democracy itself will crumble.
So what is objective truth anyway? How have we defined it in the past, and how is it changing today? And what can we do to reclaim our right to truth?
Help us reach more people–Share our project with someone!
We're using our skills as creatives, connectors, and communicators to help more everyday people like ourselves understand how our struggles are connected and provide them with practical ways to channel that knowledge into practice. We believe if more folks are informed and have the guidance to propel them into action, we could more effectively build alternative systems centered around care and sustainability. If you can, take 1-minute to share the Conscious Citizens with someone, we'd seriously appreciate it!
- Shout out @TheConsciousCitizens on your social media channels
- Share our Instagram posts
- Influence someone to become a paid member
- Forward this issue to someone!
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
- Angela Davis
Resources & Tools
We've gotten a few emails from people who say they didn't realize they signed up for a membership with us, so that might mean people's personal information is being stolen! Here are a few resources to make sure your digital security is up to par. Please share these links with anyone that might find them helpful:
- AI Resist List | Built by journalists and researchers including author Karen Hao, the AI Resist List documents dozens of grassroots movements around the world – from data poisoning tools for artists to worker coalitions and community-controlled language models – organized around 9 pillars that aim to keep the AI industry’s power in check. Lots of interesting links here!
- Have I Been Pwned | A web tool to help you check if your email address has been exposed in a data breach.
- 1Password | One of the most secure and widely recommended password managers on the market to help keep your private information safe from data breaches.
- Easy Opt Outs | An affordable tool to remove your data from data broker websites.
- Digital Security for Protestors & Organizers Guide | A comprehensive guide for protestors, organizers, and other activists to protect our data from prying eyes before, during, and after an action.
➡️ Explore More on our Directory!
If you're new here, don't forget to sign up to get full access to our directory and free newsletters sent to your inbox every other Sunday. Till next time, do your best and take it one day at a time. Care for yourself and the people around you. Believe that the world can be better than it is now. Never give up. And remember, you're not alone. We always have each other.
With Love & Light,
Elisa & Ray
Don't Forget:
🙏 Our work is 100% reader-supported. You can uplift us for cheap.
👕 Support our mission with style in some Conscious Citizens merch! Shop Now!
📣 Shout out The Conscious Citizens on your social media platforms and help us get connected with more like-minded people!
💌 Forward this to a friend and tell them to subscribe (hint: it's here).
🎥 Stay in our orbit! Follow us on Instagram, Bluesky, Upscrolled, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
☕️ If you like our newsletter, treat us to a coffee and some encouraging words to keep us going!
