A combination of AI, algorithms, and just the sheer overwhelming amount of stuff there is on the Internet has already started to force me offline—I know find it much more pleasingly tactile to write by hand or take pictures with my film camera and actually feel present with what I’m doing.
Have you read The Hour of the Predator? A short book that came out last year, by Giuliano da Empoli. He suggests that, in addition to the kind of information-based and spiritual violence you’re describing, the tech bros running these AI companies are already richer and more powerful than almost all national governments, so what’s to stop them from actually becoming autocrats and invoking real world violence to maintain power and really reshape the world?
Interesting! I came here to recommend another book by da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin. It’s nominally a novel, but it reads like a nonfiction analysis of the techniques of Putin’s top advisor, Vladislav Surkov. Both AI deepfakes and Putin’s bots sow confusion, chaos, and fear. The intended result is that people become so uncertain and afraid that they willingly embrace a dictator to remove all the uncertainty by eliminating all free choice.
Thank you for writing this sobering piece, Ed. I am not hopeful.
A combination of AI, algorithms, and just the sheer overwhelming amount of stuff there is on the Internet has already started to force me offline—I know find it much more pleasingly tactile to write by hand or take pictures with my film camera and actually feel present with what I’m doing.
Have you read The Hour of the Predator? A short book that came out last year, by Giuliano da Empoli. He suggests that, in addition to the kind of information-based and spiritual violence you’re describing, the tech bros running these AI companies are already richer and more powerful than almost all national governments, so what’s to stop them from actually becoming autocrats and invoking real world violence to maintain power and really reshape the world?
Fun times to be raising small children!
Interesting! I came here to recommend another book by da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin. It’s nominally a novel, but it reads like a nonfiction analysis of the techniques of Putin’s top advisor, Vladislav Surkov. Both AI deepfakes and Putin’s bots sow confusion, chaos, and fear. The intended result is that people become so uncertain and afraid that they willingly embrace a dictator to remove all the uncertainty by eliminating all free choice.
Thank you for writing this sobering piece, Ed. I am not hopeful.
Haven't heard of this book but I can't say I disagree, sadly! Im gonna look it up