Pace makers keep you from dying so they’re sort of on a different level of need. Also, if corps did planned obsolescence on one, you’re probably not around to buy another.

If they were invented today, they would definitely have a predatory subscription model for “monitoring” your heart, or require occasional maintenance at cost to the end user.

The prequels were redeemed? That’s news to me.

I’m with you on 1 and 2, but “reduced lingual skills” I think is a bit of a stretch. Becoming fluent in another language takes a lot of effort and people only do it if they have a good long term reason.

I think it’s more likely this would cover the vacation / short term business case that is already covered by human interpreters (or apps already) instead.

Any billionaire would take this deal. The hit is in imaginary money (i.e. stock/corporate assets) that won’t affect their daily lives and in return they get unspecified favors from the (other) oligarchs.

Yep. If they somehow were left with only cis white men, they’d redefine cis, white, or man to divide the remaining people.

Last I checked, Texas was literally the only red state that actually paid more into the federal government than it took out. The cold snap was just the usual idiocy, but it’s not like it couldn’t be handled, the state just stopped caring about weather proofing infrastructure.

And with the amount of natural resources and basically year round agriculture that happens in Texas, I have no doubt it could be self sufficient to some definition. I almost wish they would secede and tank the current electoral landscape. As long as I can move out first.