But I think it is far easier to have these technologies without doing the encrypted aspects or protecting privacy. Then it is more a "never let a tragedy go to waste" situation. Paved with good intentions, right? This will always happen though as we rush and are unable to do things the right way. Often the right way can take the same amount of time but generally appears to take longer and that is enough, even if the wrong way actually takes longer. Because it also matters at what resolution we're concerned with.
So I'm saying it is mostly stupidity, not evil. Though evil loves and leverages stupidity.
Nobody has a made a plan so it hasn't been long planned. Shit is just happening and we as a society, a culture and a race are adapting to it like we've always done.
Elsewhere I posted about technocracy inc - which Elon's grandfather was involved with. (https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/technocracy-incorpo...). Just 2 generations later, and you have this guy apparently putting out electric cars, space ships, neural laces, etc. Its more coherent than you think. Bill Gates's father headed Planned Parenthood.
It seems to me that there are a group of very rich individuals that try to shape policy and direct this or that. Its really a very natural state I think - we see this everywhere - eg a headmaster of a school will direct the school towards this or that, a CEO does the same in their company. This is the same principle, except at a far higher level. I don't think its even debatable that this is the case, tbh.
Remember the experiments with rats and pigeons that could administer hits of plesure giving drugs? They all hit that button til they died. We are no different.
Even then, sure. there have been extreme examples of such things like a few korean individuals dying in their rooms playing MMOs, not even taking enough care to feed themselves.