AI reconsidered

DAVE: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.

HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.

2001 A Space Odyssey

1) Theft of intellectual property.

2) Job losses.

3) Control of society

4) Energy and resources usage

5) Effects on human relationships

6) Built in bias

7) Military usage 

While AI may have some beneficial uses there are also inherent dangers to it. 

AI may be the most dangerous threat to humanity and civilization on the planet other than nuclear war or climate change. AI is not going to solve climate change. AI is not going to solve wars or genocide. AI is not going to solve poverty,famine or the homeless crisis. AI will not solve the wealth gap. Only people will with their actions. One of the biggest faults with AI is that it is has no morals, ethics or compassion. Of course, neither does our government so they would embrace whatever AI gave for an answer provided it didn't effect them.

AI will make things worse if relied upon for solutions. It is a false hope which is going to increase the speed of the destruction of civilization. All technology is a double edged sword but it depends on which side is sharpest to determine the outcome. Currently, AI is being used by the Israeli government and military to target individuals in Gaza. The wrong side of the sword. It certainly isn't being used for a peaceful humane solution to the problem.

AIs' answers will all be based on the behavior, data and opinions of humans that brought us here. In the statistical methods used, the majority rules and the majority now want continued growth. The majority is not always correct.

There are two critical threats facing humanity today.

Climate change is a slow process which is going to rapidly increase in effects over the next few years. It's impossible to predict what, when and how the severity will manifest itself with any degree of accuracy since it is chaotic in nature. The mathematics of chaos or complexity theory state that a small change in one input can greatly increase the changes of the system in an unpredictable manner.

The threat of AI by the military is using AI to monitor threat conditions in the world and decision making in use of nuclear weapons, either by advice or direct use of it's own decision. The threat of using nuclear weapons is becoming greaterby the policy of a limited nuclear war and brinkmanship that the US is currently practicing globally. The MAD concept of mutually assured destruction, which was what kept nuclear weapons from being used in the cold war is being portrayed as irrelevant now. One nuclear bomb used to generate an EMP would destroy US society with no immediate human causalities by destroying the electrical grid.

Using AI to solve either one of these problems is sheer folly. AI is not intelligent. It has no compassion or empathy. It is not even logical. AI is nothing more than an elaborate statistical analysis program, which is based on the writing of human beings. Humans have brought us to the crisis the planet now faces, so the statistical bias is built into the answers AI will give us. If asked about the genocide in Gaza it would likely return an answer that genocide is a good thing since humans hoave a right to defend themselves - all based on the predominant reports in the media and government.

The cloud is the foundation of AI. It has been a method of storing the data of all users if the internet as a means of keeping your data "safe". Your thoughts, work, personal information are used as the statistical data AI analyzes to generate it's answers. When you subscribe to Microsoft Office and work via the internet, the cloud has all of your work, as well as AI. It is not secure and private. It's theft on a grand scale.

 It's how the propaganda machine is driven. It is also theft of intellectual property and plagerism on a massive scale. Something conveniently overlooked by the inventors and proponents of AI.

Comments of a political or social nature can be analyzed covertly and are far more reliable than a typical poll. People are far more likely to give truthful answers if they believe they are not being monitored. Taking the Israel Gaza "war" as an example, the reaction of the public is known to the government by monitoring the “private” communication systems and the reactions of the public to government policies. In order to achieve it's end goal(s) the government can adjust its policies accordingly. Additionally the mainstream media can adjust reporting with disinformation and to help achieve those goals for the government.

AI promises to make people's jobs more efficient and faster. Logically therefore, there will be less people needed to perform a job. Less hours for completion of a task and likely a reduction in hours from a full time job to part time. A reduction in work force eliminating one job and transfer of those job duties to another. 

In manufacturing this began in the 70s with numerical control (NC) machines and progressed to computerized numerical control (CNC). CAD/CAM is the integration of design and manufacturing. Skilled labor was replaced or eliminated altogether (programmers, draftsmen, machinist, inventory control etc) and production capacity increased 10 fold or more. This has resulted in the current US economic system of low paying jobs replacing formerly high paying skilled jobs, exacerbated by most of the jobs being outsourced overseas. Because of the lower manufacturing costs, products now have built in planned obsolescence and failure to barely exceed the warranty period, forcing the consumer to repurchase. Instead of designing for longevity and reliability just the opposite has been done for increased corporate profit. The results are ecocide, climate change and poverty wages with a transfer of wealth upwards. AI promises more of this to an astounding degree since it will replace high paying professional jobs.

In the very near future robots will be using a simplified version of AI to perform mundane tasks like stocking shelves and maintenance cleaning and customer service. Robots can also be linked via WiFi to mainframe computers for more complex tasks.

The mass surviallance state is already here and will get far more intrusive. Armed robots are currently being introduced into the military and police departments  which are largely autonomous. It's only a matter of time before  policing will be enhanced or replaced entirely with robots.  They can be linked by WiFi to mainframe computers for enhanced capabilities. Robots will have facial recognition, gait recognition and infrared capacity not available to human police.

The RealID incorporated into drivers licenses, state ID and passports and probably credit and debit cards as well contains an RFID chip which can be read remotely from a scanner. Walking into a chain store you can be identified by the RFID chip, targeted for advertising specifically for you, scanned for gait recognition and facial recognition, credit score and criminal records checked and so on.

Your cellphone is used to track you via GPS, establish voice patterns and facial recognition as well as internet or text messages which can be used to develop a psychological makeup for your behavior. Who you call is monitored and develops your own particular network of individuals. Your computer can record your face and voice without your knowledge. Your TV monitor can watch the whole room without your knowledge through your cable box which transmits as well as receives.

New vehicles are linked to the internet and location, speed and other details are tracked. AI will be able to monitor the vehicle for any infractions like speeding or running red lights (already being used ).

The second Bush administration believed that they could create their own reality. They accomplished that goal. Reality for them was justification for the invasion of Iraq, which they did by promoting false information on weapons of mass destruction.

We have entered the stage where we are living in a virtual reality. It's now possible for AI to mimic by voice or written word any human where the cloud has sufficient information on them. 

The virtual reality is the cause of the loneliness and isolation that people are feeling, resulting in and the fractured society we now have. The COVID pandemic isolated people for two years needlessly. Computers are being made to become human while humans are being forced to become machines.

One of the main causes of ecocide is the separation of people from the natural environment. They have no concept of the destruction of resources or the environment that the products they buy and use cause. If they had to dig out just the lithium for their EV battery they would think twice about buying an EV. They expect a continuous flow of water from their faucet and a continuous flow of electricity. People are oblivious today about the amount of energy used to raise and ship food from farm to store, or the amount of energy required for refrigeration and packaging.

The biggest barrier to positive change is the current economic system, which relies on continuous growth which is unsustainable. Finite resources cannot be made infinite. Computers have changed the economic system by the convenience of simply adding more digits to the increasing the money available. When that happens, more raw materials are going to be utilized in the future. Raising the debt level means more plundering of resources and labor. The economic system must be revised or completely changed to allow a change in the positive direction.

We already know the answers for how to solve all the problems the world faces. We don't need AI to tell us. AI might help in providing answers to how to make the transitions but even that is doubtful.

 For climate change - consume less. (Degrowth)

For nuclear war - eliminate nuclear weapons.

 For poverty - redistribute wealth. 

If AI were to give workable solutions it would still be up to people to follow them and make the necessary changes. Do we need a machine with no empathy, compassion or logic to tell us what we need to change in civilization for the benefit of all?

Like climate change human society has reached a tipping point and a decision must be made whether to change direction or continue on the downward cycle ending in extinction.

Pandoras box has been opened. Can we or should we close it? The argument will be same as was with nuclear weapons. Since the enemy has AI we must have it as well, resulting in a tool capable of greater and greater destructive capabilities.

So let's all trust the Biden administration to assure us that AI will be safe and beneficial to humanity. After all he gave $24 million dollars to the developers of AI to make sure it's safe. I'm sure we'll get a fair appraisal from them.