The New Romanticism Just Found an Unexpected Spokesperson

Sometimes heroes really do wear white hats

Is the backlash against tech overreach a real thing?

Or am I kidding myself when I claim that we will experience a revival of the humanist and Romanticist values of the 19th century?

The leaders of that movement pushed back against slavery, exploitation, and the excesses of the Industrial Revolution. Against all odds, they were victorious. Even huge businesses and nation states eventually backed down.

Could it happen again?

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People tell me it’s impossible.

The technocracy is funded by the richest people in the history of the world. They could replace all our jobs with AI bots, meanwhile rotting our brains with an endless scroll of 15-second videos.

(I’m not exaggerating. Just look at what they’re doing. Those really are their two top objectives right now.)

Who will dare stop them?

They own the media (literally in some instances). They have lobbyists all over DC. They run the digital platforms which shape public discourse nowadays. What they don’t own today, they can buy tomorrow.

And if you criticize them, as I have done, you may find yourself shadowbanned or censored outright. So you can keep on speaking, but it’s like talking to an empty room.

If this were poker, they’re holding a Royal Flush. And I’m trying to bluff with just pocket deuces.

But I’ve said that the tide is turning. I’ve insisted that a real backlash is underway. Even more outrageous, I’m confident that a new humanist counterculture will prevail.

And so I am happy to share this little tidbit —a news story you might have missed.

Yes, the very first thing the new Pope does is name himself after a nineteenth century critic of the Industrial Revolution. And he announces to the world, at the very outset of his papacy, that we need a similar pushback against tech overreach today—all in the name of human dignity.

He even identifies AI as the main weapon of those who threaten “human dignity, justice, and labor.”

Here’s the video:

I note that the last Pope Leo held his job for a full quarter of a century. During that period, he championed the weak against the strong, and was a fervent defender of human rights.

You should expect something similar from Pope Leo XIV.

Source

This news from Rome isn’t coincidence. The zeitgeist is shifting.

All the bots and chips in Silicon Valley won’t be enough to stop it.

There’s a reason why the billionaires running X, Alphabet, and Meta all changed the names of their companies recently. That always happens when you’re ashamed of what you’re doing—you hope that a new name will wipe away the stain.

But nobody is fooled by a new name. More substantive changes must happen—and will happen.

By the way, this is why I keep insisting that the revival of humanism and the humanities won’t come from the universities. The real rebirth will happen in society at large, spurred by individuals—not academics.

And today we happen to have another individual in a powerful position to articulate the message and spread the word. Let’s listen and see what he has to say.