Tech Kings

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Tech Kings

 

Zuckerberg wants the money

Elon wants the power

Bezos wants monopoly

It’s the Trump and techno hour

 

King Donald on his throne

Looking smart and looking pretty

While Elon waves his magic wand

Creating chaos in the cities

 

They will not yield to anyone

Do not get in their way

If you want a piece of the action

How much do you have to pay?

 

The tech kings are in charge now

They control the flow of information

They tell us what to think and say

The world is their creation

 

They’d like us all to settle in

And not kick up a fuss

If you become a problem

They’ll put you on a bus

 

You’ll end up in Guantanamo

For a fully paid vacation

They’ll bend your mind to reason

Til you join the techno nation

 

Tik Tok

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CHINA

Tik Tok

 

He’s got something up his sleeve

An instrument of Chinese power

Tik Tok wins a late reprieve

Must be the Chinese hour

 

They’re collecting information

On every teenaged girl and boy

All to serve a sovereign nation

Though we may think it’s just a toy

 

The Russians have their ways

The Chinese have their own

We have seen the way it plays

The kids are dancing to their tone

 

We will see how this plays out

When the next election comes around

Will the Chinese gain new clout?

Will it shake our shaky ground?

 

Xi Jinping is not our friend

He will undo us if he can

On his motives we can depend

It is the long-term Chinese plan

Room 101 (Orwell's 1984)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Room 101*

 

They know your worst fears

They can see it in your eyes

They are knowers and deep seers

They can smell all your lies

 

Every thought you’ve ever thought

Every dream you’ve ever dreamed

Every treasure you have sought

Every pleasure you have gleaned

 

They will take you in their arms

They will promise you the stars

They’ll protect you from all harm

They will tell you who you are

 

But you must promise in return

To blindly follow without doubt

Clear your mind until you learn

You’ll never know what it’s about

 

Your soul belongs to Big Brother

To this purpose you were born

Just like all and every other

To the state you will be sworn

 

* George Orwell 1984

 

The Summit of Knowledge (Revised)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

The Summit of Knowledge (Revised)

 

We are a unique species

Unique to the experience of life on earth

We are driven in the pursuit of knowledge

We have invented language to that purpose

We have invented writing and the printing press

We have invented science to reach higher

in the quest for understanding

We have invented the arts and philosophy

to reach beyond the limits of science

We have invented computers and

advanced technology

We have invented and invested in institutions

of higher learning

We have pushed and prodded the depths

of human comprehension

Higher and higher and higher we reach

until at last we have breached the very

summit of all knowledge

and we have come to this conclusion:

We know nothing

We have always known nothing

We will never learn for there is nothing

to learn beyond the simple facts

of life and death

We are here and then we are gone

We are alive and then we are not

We may choose to be good to each other

or we may choose to be cruel

It is better to be good. 

 

Robocop in San Francisco

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Robocop in San Francisco

 

The future arrives in San Francisco

Robotic law enforcement

What in seven heavens could go wrong?

Riot control

Death by cop

Justice by machine

Drop your gun or face the music

An old familiar song

 

It was only a matter of time

We trust the machine more

Than we trust the humans

Robot bankers

Robot clerks

Robot attorneys at law

Robot babysitters

Robot financial advisors

Robot card dealers

Robot construction workers

Robot doctors

Robot insurance agents

 

There is little robots cannot do

It is only a question of time

The question then becomes

What do robots do with us?