US may not take Iran under them, but they will grip the Iran's economy by controlling their oil and gas resources. It is what US doing in Irque, all oil sales going through bank of New York, they not only take cuts from sales but also make threats like we would not send dollars if you did not do this and that.
US involvement in the Middle East has ruined those countries. It is not a just middle east where ever they involve they ruin others ex: Trump's Congo deal which locked in their mineral for decade without any benefit to poor Congos
Lot keep grinding leetcode to get six figures and FAANG on resume, most do not have moral compass, they are no different than politicians who get AIPAC money.
Actually this is not specific to rich or US, this is behavior in most of western countries. This started with colonialism, where one consider superior than others in every aspect, so they can do whatever they please. Many are still blinded by this ego, which is the reason for current geopolitical stability. We should understand that sometimes we are the problem. Simon Sinek have great talk with historical example on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWEI9FDf-0g
Problem is even today many people still have this colonial mindset, that some are superior in every aspect than others, which is a shame. Many of the current geopolitical problems stem from this.
I'm not anti-AI, but I see the where it is heading
* Mass surveillance which suppress the freedom of speech. ex: Palantir
* Dumbing down people so they cannot think for themselves, so the narrator is in control.
* Dropping bombs on innocent so someone can loot resources.
* Huge environmental degradation due to data centers ex: ground water pollution in Texas, desertification, waste dump due to rare earth metal extraction etc. (Earth is already is in brink of a collapse)
All of the above sacrifices just for the benefit of few rich billionaires not for the community. At this point I do not see the benefits outweight drawbacks, if it is to go on, it should be highly regulated, more than healthcare regulations. And also should be community owned not privatized.
I think bombs they drop on innocents are much more more expensive than $40K. Some think glaciers melting is at point there will be no turning back, record time heat waves and El Niño gives clues about upcoming disasters.