Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

usonian

(21,734 posts)
Sat Oct 18, 2025, 09:45 PM Saturday

Why AI is needed to speed up translation of OLDSPEAK into NEWSPEAK (1984-style)

From Emmanuel Goldstein's work:
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF OLIGARCHICAL COLLECTIVISM
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Oligarchical_Collectivism

PDF download:
https://archive.org/download/the-theory-and-practice-of-oligarchical-collectivism_202408/THE%20THEORY%20AND%20PRACTICE%20OF%20OLIGARCHICAL%20COLLECTIVISM.pdf

Back in Orwell's time, he couldn't imagine instant "translation" of the body of western literature into right wing SSB (my term for self-serving bullshit) rewriting history, STARTING WITH THE CONSTITUTION.

Just like they did to the Bible. Turned it into a weapon of hate.

Put an anchor chain on both the RW revisionism and AI in the service of fiends.

Begin
It was impossible to translate any passage of Oldspeak into Newspeak unless it either referred to some technical process or some very simple everyday action, or was already orthodox (GOODTHINKFUL would be the Newspeak expression) in tendency. In practice this meant that no book written before approximately 1960 could be translated as a whole. Pre-revolutionary literature could only be subjected to ideological translation—that is, alteration in sense as well as language. Take for example the well-known passage from the Declaration of Independence:

WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN INALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. THAT TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, GOVERNMENTS ARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN, DERIVING THEIR POWERS FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED. THAT WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THOSE ENDS, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE NEW GOVERNMENT...

It would have been quite impossible to render this into Newspeak while keeping to the sense of the original. The nearest one could come to doing so would be to swallow the whole passage up in the single word CRIMETHINK. A full translation could only be an ideological translation, whereby Jefferson’s words would be changed into a panegyric on absolute government. A good deal of the literature of the past was, indeed, already being transformed in this way.

Considerations of prestige made it desirable to preserve the memory of certain historical figures, while at the same time bringing their achievements into line with the philosophy of Ingsoc. Various writers, such as Shakespeare, Milton, Swift, Byron, Dickens, and some others were therefore in process of translation: when the task had been completed, their original writings, with all else that survived of the literature of the past, would be destroyed.

These translations were a slow and difficult business, and it was not expected that they would be finished before the first or second decade of the twenty-first century. There were also large quantities of merely utilitarian literature—indispensable technical manuals, and the like—that had to be treated in the same way. It was chiefly in order to allow time for the preliminary work of translation that the final adoption of Newspeak had been fixed for so late a date as 2050.
End

absolute government?
plenary authority ?
Asking for a fiend.

5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why AI is needed to speed up translation of OLDSPEAK into NEWSPEAK (1984-style) (Original Post) usonian Saturday OP
Did you post about this earlier today here ? dweller Saturday #1
Only a very short reply. No mention of transliteration, but great minds DO think alike! usonian Saturday #2
It must have been FB dweller Saturday #3
Digital is more compact. A terabyte or more drive fits in the palm of your hand. usonian Saturday #4
. . . dweller Saturday #5

dweller

(27,382 posts)
1. Did you post about this earlier today here ?
Sat Oct 18, 2025, 09:59 PM
Saturday

If not I saw the same on FB , ie transliteration of all great works into digest form with A I , and then all original works destroyed .


✌🏻

usonian

(21,734 posts)
2. Only a very short reply. No mention of transliteration, but great minds DO think alike!
Sat Oct 18, 2025, 10:06 PM
Saturday

I *NEVER* frequent FB
If someone there copied my post, GREAT!

I thought of Emmanuel Goldstein with regards to this post:

Have they ever named a specific person as being Antifa ?
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220731052#post4

Emmanuel Goldstein

Orwell modelled the character of Emmanuel Goldstein on Leon Trotsky (1)



The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism. (pdf download)
https://archive.org/download/the-theory-and-practice-of-oligarchical-collectivism_202408/THE%20THEORY%20AND%20PRACTICE%20OF%20OLIGARCHICAL%20COLLECTIVISM.pdf


(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Oligarchical_Collectivism

dweller

(27,382 posts)
3. It must have been FB
Sat Oct 18, 2025, 10:30 PM
Saturday

Because I didn’t see the other post here .. but that ‘ destroying the originals ‘ part stuck out with me .

I’ll never let my library go .


✌🏻

usonian

(21,734 posts)
4. Digital is more compact. A terabyte or more drive fits in the palm of your hand.
Sat Oct 18, 2025, 10:50 PM
Saturday

I'm once again merging all my e-books into one place from various disks.

Any mention of destruction gets my goat, even the so-called "creative destruction" of Schumpeter.

Of course, flooding the world with algorithmic bullshit has a similar effect.

And the kicker is that "original" and rare things are hoarded by collectors, so we never see them anyway.

I have some first editions of magazines (most of which are defunct) and very few autographed books.

And I really have no use for them. I'd hand them down to my daughter and SIL, but they have no room for anything.

There are some printed books that have made my "move" list. (mainly, I can't find digital versions of what I already bought)

The Internet Archive has the same general idea, though I noticed that when they scan a book with halftones, they have a compromise contrast setting that leaves text-only pages with a gray background.

But I digress. I save what I can!

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why AI is needed to speed...