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AI and Democracy

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Clarissa

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This is another problem with democracy. It doesn’t pay to have a long-term vision. Doing things today that are oriented towards anything beyond the next election, which is always a few months away, makes no sense.

As a result, nothing stands between the love of “societal disruption” by people like Pichai and all the rest of us. Politicians are chasing the happy pill that will bring instant gratification, and future be damned. This is why no political force in the country has even attempted to take a position regarding AI. Politicians will do so when it’s too late. Then they’ll run around like headless chickens, promising harebrained schemes to solve everything in one fell swoop. And will end up solving nothing.

13 responses to “AI and Democracy”

  1. Stringer Bell Avatar
    Stringer Bell

    AI has shown so little actual value to businesses that they’re already demanding federal bailouts because “they’re too big to fail.” We’ve heard that before!

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  2. ed Avatar
    ed

    Clarissa, sometimes I find you s bit naive. At least you seem to ignore the money angle and with Trump everything is about money and business. Everything is for sale, all that matters is all might profits. That’s what we get having an oligarch as president.

    “In July, David Sacks, one of the Trump administration’s top technology officials, beamed as he strode onstage at a neo-Classical auditorium just blocks from the White House. He had convened top government officials and Silicon Valley executives for a forum on the booming business of artificial intelligence.

    The guest of honor was President Trump, who unveiled an “A.I. Action Plan” that was drafted in part by Mr. Sacks, a longtime venture capitalist. In a nearly hourlong speech, Mr. Trump declared that A.I. was “one of the most important technological revolutions in the history of the world.” Then he picked up his pen and signed executive orders to fast-track the industry.

    Almost everyone in the high-powered audience — which included the chief executives of the chip makers Nvidia and AMD, as well as Mr. Sacks’s tech friends, colleagues and business partners — was poised to profit from Mr. Trump’s directives.”

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      OK, but what was Harris offering regarding AI? What is Newsom’s position?

      I haven’t been following so maybe I missed it. Does anybody else have a strong, interesting position?

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      1. ed Avatar
        ed

        Biden and especially Lina Kahn was going hard against their monopolistic tendencies, but that all went away with Trump. They hated her, and that’s always good.

        There is absolutely nobody even close to being like Lina Kahn in today’s administration.

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        1. Stringer Bell Avatar
          Stringer Bell

          Agree. Lina Khan was the only competent hire in the entire biden administration.

          This man is pardoning democrat party politicians!

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        2. Clarissa Avatar
          Clarissa

          I don’t know what this means. The problem of AI is not that there’s a monopoly.

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          1. ed Avatar
            ed

            AI right now is all about money, and money is driving politics. Trump and the administration is in the pocket of these interests, so I’m just trying to show you the depth of the issue.

            Breaking up these monopolies dilutes their power, increased competition, and it’s overall better for the consumer.

            The problem of AI absolutely is about who controls it and how concentrated those profits and power are.

            Weren’t you complaining about the same about social media? Imagine how it will be when AI penetrates our algorithmic driven life and it’s controlled by 2-3 companies that get to decide what it shows you. Without any guardrails because the government is in their pocket. See an issue there?

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          2. Avatar
            Anonymous

            There’s not just one problem with AI. Among them, when we’re talking about government, the crazy amounts of money sloshing around a few hands for this magic powder invites corruption, regardless of whether the government is democracy or some other form.

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  3. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Are you actually against democracy and in favour of limitless free speech at the same time?
    Do you know of any systems that are not democratic but have free speech?
    Or are you just criticizing some aspects of democracy?
    It sometimes sounds like you really sympathize with anti-democratic positions, or is that a misunderstanding?

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    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

      I’ve been wondering the same thing for a while. For all of Clarissa’s devotion to narionalism, she often craps on core U.S. national principles like liberty and the proposition that all men are created equal.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Clarissa Avatar
        Clarissa

        Oh, another great question! People are on a roll. Is it the cold weather that’s sparking creativity?

        I’ll answer in a separate post but later because I’m meeting with students.

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    2. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      This is a great question and I’ll answer in a separate post.

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  4. ed Avatar
    ed

    The billionaire class is doing REALLY well right now. Just in case people didn’t know who the system benefits most right now. AI and tech is their money making machine.

    “The total number of billionaires across the globe reached new heights in 2025, due partly to the soaring valuations of tech companies and rising stock markets, according to a new study by Swiss banking giant UBS.

    Some 2,900 billionaires now control $15.8 trillion, up from about 2,700 billionaires with a cumulative wealth of nearly $14 trillion a year earlier. The number and wealth of billionaires as a whole were boosted by the second-highest number of new billionaires minted in a year—287—since UBS began tracking that figure in 2015. Only 2021, with its flood of government stimulus and low interest rates that boosted the prices of assets, saw a higher number of new billionaires created.”

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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