Vicar Sayeedi's Blog, page 2
September 28, 2022
Sustaining Democracy in the Age of AI
Sustaining Democracy in the Age of AI
Vicar Sayeedi
September 28, 2022
Is Democracy worth saving? Quite emphatically, yes! It remains the most successful ideology of governance we have ever seen.
However, it must be said that if Authoritarian regimes have a credible vision accompanied by a good strategic and tactical plan, then they can move very quickly to implement their vision. The society will have no say in the matter, be it small or large, but nevertheless, they may be substantial beneficiaries of the Authoritarian’s vision.
But if that vision is flawed, the lack of checks and balances – which is a hallmark of Authoritarian regimes – means no one in other areas of government, in the press, in civil society organizations, or individual citizens will be able to voice concern since doing so is likely to have very severe consequences. Thus, the outcomes can be very bad for an Authoritarian nation and its society and can even pose an existential risk.
There have been several recent examples of the consequences of unchecked governance including China’s One Child policy which is expected to result in a dramatic contraction of the population. The consensus amongst demographers is that the Chinese population will decline from its peak of 1.4B in ~2019 to ~540M by 2100. Or consider the Chinese Communist Party’s decision not to acquire American vaccines and the socioeconomic consequences of that decision. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will make that nation a pariah in the West for decades and generations to come. Entrepreneurs and investors are likely to view commercial opportunities as too problematic from a brand reputation, foreign direct investment, insurance risk and trust perspective.
There are many more examples of significant failures of unchecked Authoritarian regimes from recent history and we can address these in greater detail during the discussion if there’s interest from the audience.
Of course, in normal circumstances, Liberal Democracies cannot move nearly as fast as Authoritarian regimes, but the many hurdles imposed by the 4th Estate or Free Press, intragovernmental agencies and branches as well as civil society organizations serve to check and vociferously critique every aspect of proposed plans before much harm can be done. Further, science and technology, once integrated into governance, offer free societies the potential to dramatically improve the quality of governance.
For example, surveillance systems and technology enabled by Artificial Intelligence can monitor the actions and behavior of officials across the public and private sector. Then, all the men and women seated in positions of authority, influence and power and thus charged with the public trust and administration of public finances can be kept in check. This offers society unprecedented transparency – the misdeeds of officials can quickly be exposed, and they can be held accountable based upon irrefutable evidence.
Unfortunately, the very same suite of advanced 4th Industrial Revolution capabilities can further strengthen the hands of Authoritarian regimes. Digital Authoritarianism – or Datocracy – the comprehensive surveillance of a society enabled by gathering their digital and physical data – will, for the very first time in history, facilitate an environment of domestic totalitarianism as well as hegemony over other external polities, both near and far. Just imagine how much control and influence an Authoritarian regime enabled by Datocracy can have over people in power throughout the world just by threatening to expose their adolescent improprieties and indiscretions or other more egregious misbehavior from their more recent professional lives.
But the risks to liberal democracies from these very same technologies are growing at an alarming rate as the sociopolitical and socioeconomic implications of AI continue to proliferate in the public and private sectors. Two years ago, labor economists in Germany forecast that by the end of this decade, 800M jobs around the world would be adversely affected by Artificial Intelligence and many of the impacted workers are residents of the Developed World.
These liberal democracies comprise a constellation of nations situated at the apex of civilization – they are advanced, prosperous and peaceful. They have the world’s best academic, medical, scientific and technological institutions and industrial organizations. They also have the best civil societies, arts & humanities, literary and sporting societies and so much more. Above all, these nations are characterized by their observance of the rule of law for ordinary citizens as well as for their leaders and finally, they’re known for their world-class economies, a commercial culture and environment that have provided the highest standard of living anywhere in the world since the end of World War II.
But as embodied Artificial Intelligence relentlessly permeates highly automated factories with state-of-the-art robotics thus eliminating the jobs these workers have always known, jobs that gave them dignity, ordinary people increasingly find themselves with few options other than to scrape out a living toiling in Amazon distribution warehouses where their bathroom breaks are humiliatingly timed, or other insecure and poorly paid positions in the hospitality sector. The implications for those working in jobs in accounting, finance, healthcare or even software engineering are also facing implacable competition from disembodied AI-enabled software systems that can process data and perform tasks one million times faster than the brightest of our species. This impending future strips too many ordinary people of their honor and dignity and it substantially squelches their motivation to actively participate in the democratic process. Eventually, their belief in the superiority of liberal democracies vis a vis Authoritarianism will wane. In their own experience, the empirical evidence for the superiority of democracy is no longer compelling. And of course, we know all too well that this will dangerously undermine the future of a liberal democratic order everywhere.
As a consequence, many ordinary citizens are likely to fall victim to misinformation, or worse, disinformation and other corrosive, irresponsible rhetoric as it insidiously and unavoidably spreads across social media. These are ideas and notions that have no basis in fact but are nevertheless curated by AI-enabled social media with a goal of maximally stimulating the human Limbic system and the emotions and impulses that reside therein. Consider for example, Cambridge Analytica. This is how social media companies optimize engagement – they shoulder little responsibility for the integrity or veracity of the content they unrelentingly present.
This persistent attack on our Mammalian brain makes us angry, frustrated and in some cases, primes us for retribution against one or more demonized minorities and other fictitious enemies. It is a very dangerous environment that provides a fertile and optimal domain for the genesis and cultivation of demagogues.
Secretary of State George Schultz was fond of wearing a tie imprinted with the phrase, ‘democracy is not a spectator sport.’ Historically, workers in the Developed World have been accustomed to living comfortable, hopeful lives and this gave them a strong reason to believe in the superiority of liberal democracy vis a vis other forms of government. The empirical evidence supporting their belief was overwhelming and palpable and so they filled churches and community halls to hear the encouraging rhetoric of elected officials and to present themselves, when summoned, at the polling booth.
So now, if we are to overcome the aforementioned negative trends and protect democracy for the future of our children and grandchildren, a continuous institutional process resulting in a holistic analysis of the numerous complex and nuanced factors impacting democracy must be debated and the various solutions evaluated. We need to approach the problem in an interdisciplinary and near constant manner since there are too many today who seek to undermine democracy, not because they have superior ideas, ideals or methods of governance but rather because they seek wealth and power for themselves and their nascent and oppressive dynasties.
In closing, the unipolar world order of the past several decades has been beneficial for many but also damaging for some. If we seek to resurrect and sustain that order and repair its deficiencies, we will need to act with the highest possible sense of urgency. Perhaps most importantly, this endeavor will require participation and sacrifice from all quarters.
There is no doubt that our system of liberal democracy is worth improving and protecting – no other ideology in the past 12,000 years since the birth of civilization has ever come close from the perspective of positive outcomes. But sustaining this extraordinary system of governance will have a price that we must collectively summon the will to pay.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
Episode 93 – https://youtu.be/r1oc9uU8Ct4
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Episode 94 – https://youtu.be/OqUfXNwqtDU
Artificial Intelligence & Authoritarianism | What’s the Attraction?
Episode 95 – https://youtu.be/-HfFs-XVnKo
Irrationality and Intolerance | Humankind’s Two Greatest Liabilities in the Age of AI
Episode 96 – https://youtu.be/-ITqhjIe4yU
Sustaining Democracy in the Age of AI
Vicar Sayeedi
September 28, 2022
Is Democracy worth saving? Quite emphatically, yes! It remains the most successful ideology of governance we have ever seen.
However, it must be said that if Authoritarian regimes have a credible vision accompanied by a good strategic and tactical plan, then they can move very quickly to implement their vision. The society will have no say in the matter, be it small or large, but nevertheless, they may be substantial beneficiaries of the Authoritarian’s vision.
But if that vision is flawed, the lack of checks and balances – which is a hallmark of Authoritarian regimes – means no one in other areas of government, in the press, in civil society organizations, or individual citizens will be able to voice concern since doing so is likely to have very severe consequences. Thus, the outcomes can be very bad for an Authoritarian nation and its society and can even pose an existential risk.
There have been several recent examples of the consequences of unchecked governance including China’s One Child policy which is expected to result in a dramatic contraction of the population. The consensus amongst demographers is that the Chinese population will decline from its peak of 1.4B in ~2019 to ~540M by 2100. Or consider the Chinese Communist Party’s decision not to acquire American vaccines and the socioeconomic consequences of that decision. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will make that nation a pariah in the West for decades and generations to come. Entrepreneurs and investors are likely to view commercial opportunities as too problematic from a brand reputation, foreign direct investment, insurance risk and trust perspective.
There are many more examples of significant failures of unchecked Authoritarian regimes from recent history and we can address these in greater detail during the discussion if there’s interest from the audience.
Of course, in normal circumstances, Liberal Democracies cannot move nearly as fast as Authoritarian regimes, but the many hurdles imposed by the 4th Estate or Free Press, intragovernmental agencies and branches as well as civil society organizations serve to check and vociferously critique every aspect of proposed plans before much harm can be done. Further, science and technology, once integrated into governance, offer free societies the potential to dramatically improve the quality of governance.
For example, surveillance systems and technology enabled by Artificial Intelligence can monitor the actions and behavior of officials across the public and private sector. Then, all the men and women seated in positions of authority, influence and power and thus charged with the public trust and administration of public finances can be kept in check. This offers society unprecedented transparency – the misdeeds of officials can quickly be exposed, and they can be held accountable based upon irrefutable evidence.
Unfortunately, the very same suite of advanced 4th Industrial Revolution capabilities can further strengthen the hands of Authoritarian regimes. Digital Authoritarianism – or Datocracy – the comprehensive surveillance of a society enabled by gathering their digital and physical data – will, for the very first time in history, facilitate an environment of domestic totalitarianism as well as hegemony over other external polities, both near and far. Just imagine how much control and influence an Authoritarian regime enabled by Datocracy can have over people in power throughout the world just by threatening to expose their adolescent improprieties and indiscretions or other more egregious misbehavior from their more recent professional lives.
But the risks to liberal democracies from these very same technologies are growing at an alarming rate as the sociopolitical and socioeconomic implications of AI continue to proliferate in the public and private sectors. Two years ago, labor economists in Germany forecast that by the end of this decade, 800M jobs around the world would be adversely affected by Artificial Intelligence and many of the impacted workers are residents of the Developed World.
These liberal democracies comprise a constellation of nations situated at the apex of civilization – they are advanced, prosperous and peaceful. They have the world’s best academic, medical, scientific and technological institutions and industrial organizations. They also have the best civil societies, arts & humanities, literary and sporting societies and so much more. Above all, these nations are characterized by their observance of the rule of law for ordinary citizens as well as for their leaders and finally, they’re known for their world-class economies, a commercial culture and environment that have provided the highest standard of living anywhere in the world since the end of World War II.
But as embodied Artificial Intelligence relentlessly permeates highly automated factories with state-of-the-art robotics thus eliminating the jobs these workers have always known, jobs that gave them dignity, ordinary people increasingly find themselves with few options other than to scrape out a living toiling in Amazon distribution warehouses where their bathroom breaks are humiliatingly timed, or other insecure and poorly paid positions in the hospitality sector. The implications for those working in jobs in accounting, finance, healthcare or even software engineering are also facing implacable competition from disembodied AI-enabled software systems that can process data and perform tasks one million times faster than the brightest of our species. This impending future strips too many ordinary people of their honor and dignity and it substantially squelches their motivation to actively participate in the democratic process. Eventually, their belief in the superiority of liberal democracies vis a vis Authoritarianism will wane. In their own experience, the empirical evidence for the superiority of democracy is no longer compelling. And of course, we know all too well that this will dangerously undermine the future of a liberal democratic order everywhere.
As a consequence, many ordinary citizens are likely to fall victim to misinformation, or worse, disinformation and other corrosive, irresponsible rhetoric as it insidiously and unavoidably spreads across social media. These are ideas and notions that have no basis in fact but are nevertheless curated by AI-enabled social media with a goal of maximally stimulating the human Limbic system and the emotions and impulses that reside therein. Consider for example, Cambridge Analytica. This is how social media companies optimize engagement – they shoulder little responsibility for the integrity or veracity of the content they unrelentingly present.
This persistent attack on our Mammalian brain makes us angry, frustrated and in some cases, primes us for retribution against one or more demonized minorities and other fictitious enemies. It is a very dangerous environment that provides a fertile and optimal domain for the genesis and cultivation of demagogues.
Secretary of State George Schultz was fond of wearing a tie imprinted with the phrase, ‘democracy is not a spectator sport.’ Historically, workers in the Developed World have been accustomed to living comfortable, hopeful lives and this gave them a strong reason to believe in the superiority of liberal democracy vis a vis other forms of government. The empirical evidence supporting their belief was overwhelming and palpable and so they filled churches and community halls to hear the encouraging rhetoric of elected officials and to present themselves, when summoned, at the polling booth.
So now, if we are to overcome the aforementioned negative trends and protect democracy for the future of our children and grandchildren, a continuous institutional process resulting in a holistic analysis of the numerous complex and nuanced factors impacting democracy must be debated and the various solutions evaluated. We need to approach the problem in an interdisciplinary and near constant manner since there are too many today who seek to undermine democracy, not because they have superior ideas, ideals or methods of governance but rather because they seek wealth and power for themselves and their nascent and oppressive dynasties.
In closing, the unipolar world order of the past several decades has been beneficial for many but also damaging for some. If we seek to resurrect and sustain that order and repair its deficiencies, we will need to act with the highest possible sense of urgency. Perhaps most importantly, this endeavor will require participation and sacrifice from all quarters.
There is no doubt that our system of liberal democracy is worth improving and protecting – no other ideology in the past 12,000 years since the birth of civilization has ever come close from the perspective of positive outcomes. But sustaining this extraordinary system of governance will have a price that we must collectively summon the will to pay.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
Episode 93 – https://youtu.be/r1oc9uU8Ct4
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Episode 94 – https://youtu.be/OqUfXNwqtDU
Artificial Intelligence & Authoritarianism | What’s the Attraction?
Episode 95 – https://youtu.be/-HfFs-XVnKo
Irrationality and Intolerance | Humankind’s Two Greatest Liabilities in the Age of AI
Episode 96 – https://youtu.be/-ITqhjIe4yU
Sustaining Democracy in the Age of AI
September 1, 2022
Irrationality and Intolerance | Humankind’s Two Greatest Liabilities in the Age of AI
Irrationality and Intolerance | Humankind’s Two Greatest Liabilities in the Age of AI
Vicar Sayeedi
September 1, 2022
Twelve thousand years have passed since humankind abandoned life as hunter-gatherers, a nomadic lifestyle that characterized us and numerous other species of Hominins for countless millennia. The retreat of the Ice Age and subsequent melting of glaciers, the formation of fertile river valleys and a genetic mutation in wheat that now kept the grains on the stalk rather than scattering them across fields every time the wind blew, triggered the Agricultural Revolution and hastened humankind’s transition to life in settlements, villages, towns and cities.
But since the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia, only twenty or so of the world’s ~200 sovereign polities - nation states or city states [America, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA] have managed to reach the apex of human achievement – a point where sovereign nations and nation states can be considered advanced, peaceful and prosperous. These polities are characterized by well-developed and high-functioning governmental and nongovernmental institutions including best in class executive, legislative and judicial branches of government with the power to check one another, a free and independent press, along with world class and innovative academic, medical, scientific and technological institutions as well as industrial organizations.
Within the constellation of nations and polities that have reached the apex in our era, civil society thrives as do numerous other institutions and literary societies. This constellation is also characterized by a robust presence in the Arts and Humanities which results in cultural contributions that enrich the citizens of their respective domestic polity. Many of these institutional benefits frequently permeate cultural and physical barriers and official borders around the globe and in this way, they further enrich all of humankind. An extraordinary example is the rapid development in America and the EU of vaccines and therapies to combat the Covid-19 coronavirus. Today, most of humankind has been vaccinated twice, thrice and in some cases, four times using Messenger-RNA platform vaccines or more traditional vaccines. Such an episode is unparalleled in human history – America and the EU have literally saved humankind – and it illustrates what is possible when ethical, responsible individuals occupy leadership roles at the helm of the world’s leading liberal democracies.
But why is it that out of two hundred or so distinct polities that make up today’s world, only 10% have been able to develop economically and socially to a sufficient degree such that they exclusively constitute the rarefied constellation of nations at humankind’s apex, whilst the rest of the world endlessly struggles? Perhaps the causes vary widely across cultures, geographies and societies and perhaps their unique historical journey also plays a significant role in limiting their progress. Certainly, there is no limitation in their cognitive ability – there is no empirical or scientific evidence of that. Rather, it is most likely that such endemic and metastatic failure rests in their culture.
Specifically, it seems we can identify two attributes that appear to be present in virtually every aspirational yet struggling polity and society: namely, the endemic, pervasive and ubiquitous presence of irrationality and intolerance amongst the citizenry. The hallmark of a modern society or civilization found amongst the constellation of nations who have reached the apex is an awesome and solemn respect for the institutions described above and the establishment, cultivation and unflinching support for these institutions, come what may. Crucially, the establishment and nurturing of these institutions requires a rational and tolerant citizenry. If the citizens of a polity cannot tolerate the diversity within their society [clan, ethnicity, provinciality, race, religion, sect, sexual minorities, tribe, etc.] then they will be unable to trust one another. And if they cannot trust one another, they have invariably and unwittingly precluded their ability to work together – they will be unable to cooperate.
For the past 70,000 years, flexible, large-scale cooperation has emerged as humankind’s superpower. Following this Cognitive Revolution, Sapiens jumped from being in the middle of the food chain [a place they had occupied for the previous 200,000 years] to the very top through cooperation. Humankind erected the Pyramids of Giza on the West Bank of the River Nile in Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Kufu stands 500 ft in height, contains 2.5 million blocks of stone with each block weighing approximately 2.5 tons. This pyramid was constructed during Kufu’s lifetime – circa 2500 BCE, approximately 4500 years ago. It is humankind’s earliest example of flexible, large-scale, awe-inspiring and unprecedented cooperation.
On July 20, 1969, America sent a group of men to the surface of the moon for a brief walk-about. This Apollo mission and each subsequent mission took about seven years to initially plan and at its inception the project was considered impossible – NASA officials complained that they simply did not have the scientific and technological capabilities to achieve such a goal. They said America currently had no idea how to fulfill President Kennedy’s grand ambition. But through the unprecedented cooperation of 20,000 American companies, the nation’s leading universities and 400,000 employees – the mission was a success.
Large scale, flexible cooperation enables us to establish well-functioning institutions and these institutions are the calling card, the hallmark, the defining characteristic of the constellation of nations who have risen to humankind’s apex. These institutions and the individuals who populate them are capable of untold achievement. But the prerequisite of establishing such institutions is a society that is rational and that has overcome endemic intolerance: consistently and unequivocally, intolerance leads to distrust and distrust precludes our ability to work together; our ability to cooperate.
Together, we now live in an age where 4th Industrial Revolution science and technology including Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing [Quantum and Super], Data Science and an increasing capacity to intervene in human intellectual and physical capacity through these disciplines is opening a chasm between the nations within the constellation at the apex and those without. These extraordinary sciences and technologies are increasingly infiltrating virtually every aspect of modern life and those societies that are unable to overcome their endemic, pervasive and ubiquitous irrationality and intolerance are likely facing a predictably bleak future. It is the work of statesmen and women everywhere to alert their citizens to the consequences that await them and to try to affect change. The people must learn that awaiting and praying for messiahs is not the solution; overcoming irrational behavior and intolerance is.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
Episode 93 – https://youtu.be/r1oc9uU8Ct4
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Episode 94 – https://youtu.be/OqUfXNwqtDU
Artificial Intelligence & Authoritarianism | What’s the Attraction?
Episode 95 – https://youtu.be/-HfFs-XVnKo
Irrationality and Intolerance | Humankind’s Two Greatest Liabilities in the Age of AI
Vicar Sayeedi
September 1, 2022
Twelve thousand years have passed since humankind abandoned life as hunter-gatherers, a nomadic lifestyle that characterized us and numerous other species of Hominins for countless millennia. The retreat of the Ice Age and subsequent melting of glaciers, the formation of fertile river valleys and a genetic mutation in wheat that now kept the grains on the stalk rather than scattering them across fields every time the wind blew, triggered the Agricultural Revolution and hastened humankind’s transition to life in settlements, villages, towns and cities.
But since the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia, only twenty or so of the world’s ~200 sovereign polities - nation states or city states [America, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA] have managed to reach the apex of human achievement – a point where sovereign nations and nation states can be considered advanced, peaceful and prosperous. These polities are characterized by well-developed and high-functioning governmental and nongovernmental institutions including best in class executive, legislative and judicial branches of government with the power to check one another, a free and independent press, along with world class and innovative academic, medical, scientific and technological institutions as well as industrial organizations.
Within the constellation of nations and polities that have reached the apex in our era, civil society thrives as do numerous other institutions and literary societies. This constellation is also characterized by a robust presence in the Arts and Humanities which results in cultural contributions that enrich the citizens of their respective domestic polity. Many of these institutional benefits frequently permeate cultural and physical barriers and official borders around the globe and in this way, they further enrich all of humankind. An extraordinary example is the rapid development in America and the EU of vaccines and therapies to combat the Covid-19 coronavirus. Today, most of humankind has been vaccinated twice, thrice and in some cases, four times using Messenger-RNA platform vaccines or more traditional vaccines. Such an episode is unparalleled in human history – America and the EU have literally saved humankind – and it illustrates what is possible when ethical, responsible individuals occupy leadership roles at the helm of the world’s leading liberal democracies.
But why is it that out of two hundred or so distinct polities that make up today’s world, only 10% have been able to develop economically and socially to a sufficient degree such that they exclusively constitute the rarefied constellation of nations at humankind’s apex, whilst the rest of the world endlessly struggles? Perhaps the causes vary widely across cultures, geographies and societies and perhaps their unique historical journey also plays a significant role in limiting their progress. Certainly, there is no limitation in their cognitive ability – there is no empirical or scientific evidence of that. Rather, it is most likely that such endemic and metastatic failure rests in their culture.
Specifically, it seems we can identify two attributes that appear to be present in virtually every aspirational yet struggling polity and society: namely, the endemic, pervasive and ubiquitous presence of irrationality and intolerance amongst the citizenry. The hallmark of a modern society or civilization found amongst the constellation of nations who have reached the apex is an awesome and solemn respect for the institutions described above and the establishment, cultivation and unflinching support for these institutions, come what may. Crucially, the establishment and nurturing of these institutions requires a rational and tolerant citizenry. If the citizens of a polity cannot tolerate the diversity within their society [clan, ethnicity, provinciality, race, religion, sect, sexual minorities, tribe, etc.] then they will be unable to trust one another. And if they cannot trust one another, they have invariably and unwittingly precluded their ability to work together – they will be unable to cooperate.
For the past 70,000 years, flexible, large-scale cooperation has emerged as humankind’s superpower. Following this Cognitive Revolution, Sapiens jumped from being in the middle of the food chain [a place they had occupied for the previous 200,000 years] to the very top through cooperation. Humankind erected the Pyramids of Giza on the West Bank of the River Nile in Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Kufu stands 500 ft in height, contains 2.5 million blocks of stone with each block weighing approximately 2.5 tons. This pyramid was constructed during Kufu’s lifetime – circa 2500 BCE, approximately 4500 years ago. It is humankind’s earliest example of flexible, large-scale, awe-inspiring and unprecedented cooperation.
On July 20, 1969, America sent a group of men to the surface of the moon for a brief walk-about. This Apollo mission and each subsequent mission took about seven years to initially plan and at its inception the project was considered impossible – NASA officials complained that they simply did not have the scientific and technological capabilities to achieve such a goal. They said America currently had no idea how to fulfill President Kennedy’s grand ambition. But through the unprecedented cooperation of 20,000 American companies, the nation’s leading universities and 400,000 employees – the mission was a success.
Large scale, flexible cooperation enables us to establish well-functioning institutions and these institutions are the calling card, the hallmark, the defining characteristic of the constellation of nations who have risen to humankind’s apex. These institutions and the individuals who populate them are capable of untold achievement. But the prerequisite of establishing such institutions is a society that is rational and that has overcome endemic intolerance: consistently and unequivocally, intolerance leads to distrust and distrust precludes our ability to work together; our ability to cooperate.
Together, we now live in an age where 4th Industrial Revolution science and technology including Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing [Quantum and Super], Data Science and an increasing capacity to intervene in human intellectual and physical capacity through these disciplines is opening a chasm between the nations within the constellation at the apex and those without. These extraordinary sciences and technologies are increasingly infiltrating virtually every aspect of modern life and those societies that are unable to overcome their endemic, pervasive and ubiquitous irrationality and intolerance are likely facing a predictably bleak future. It is the work of statesmen and women everywhere to alert their citizens to the consequences that await them and to try to affect change. The people must learn that awaiting and praying for messiahs is not the solution; overcoming irrational behavior and intolerance is.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
Episode 93 – https://youtu.be/r1oc9uU8Ct4
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Episode 94 – https://youtu.be/OqUfXNwqtDU
Artificial Intelligence & Authoritarianism | What’s the Attraction?
Episode 95 – https://youtu.be/-HfFs-XVnKo
Irrationality and Intolerance | Humankind’s Two Greatest Liabilities in the Age of AI
June 15, 2022
Artificial Intelligence & Authoritarianism | What’s the Attraction?
Artificial Intelligence & Authoritarianism | What’s the Attraction?
Vicar Sayeedi
June 15, 2022
The most important lesson we have learned from history is that everyone is guilty. The second most important lesson we’ve learned is that if a society cannot overcome its intolerance of one another – ethnonationalism, religious and sectarian conflicts, clan and tribal rivalries, etc. – it will never rise to fulfill its potential. This is an open secret and is on display around most of the world – it’s very difficult to identify any leading nation which rests on a foundation of endemic, pervasive intolerance. The main reason for this is that diverse but simultaneously intolerant communities are unable to work together productively. As it turns out, working together in flexible, large Networks of Cooperation is humankind’s superpower; it distinguishes us from all other species and virtually all our great achievements across 12,000 years of civilization can be traced to our ability to establish these Networks of Cooperation.
Unfortunately, tolerating differences between people within the same society is something that most of humankind finds too difficult to achieve. Despite irrefutable evidence that the development of their shared society cannot be erected on a corroded foundation of endemic, pervasive intolerance, most societies have not demonstrated the ability to implement the cultural and societal changes required to establish tolerance. Even in a nation as advanced as the United States, it’s shocking to learn that 70% of America’s GDP is generated by just 5% of the nation’s landmass – these are the most tolerant communities and self-contained ecosystems including Boston-Cambridge, the LA Basin, NYC, the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley and a few other major metros.
These socio-economic ecosystems are able to attract, nurture and retain the best academic institutions, medical and scientific institutions, technological and industrial organizations, as well as the best of the Arts and Humanities. The remaining 95% of the American nation generates only 30% of the country’s GDP, overwhelmingly from traditional industrial output and services and the hospitality sector. This is similarly the case in the UK, prominent examples of world class ecosystems being London & Oxbridge. Sadly, although the pathway to achieving such advanced, developed, diversified economies with correspondingly literate societies is an open secret, the foundational tolerance underpinning such advanced socio-economic ecosystems has for most communities and societies around the world proven intolerable.
An examination of China is a unique case study in achieving a tolerant foundation upon which to build a developed society. The Chinese Communist Party [CCP] understood that it is impossible to build a modern, developed economy and society on a foundation infested with intolerance. The evidence of this was abundantly clear as they examined their own society along with the multitude of underdeveloped and failing societies across Africa, Asia and most of the world. The hallmark of these societies was endemic, pervasive intolerance – they were trapped in a perennial struggle to achieve sustainable economic and social development.
But China has also correctly observed that it took many centuries for North America and Western Europe to achieve the current degree of tolerance, vis a vis constitutionally and legally enforced Liberalism. The CCP could clearly see the extraordinary ecosystems erected upon these foundations, but they also didn’t want to and could not afford to spend several centuries catching up to North America and the European Union. They were thinking in five-year planning cycles. China has 55 distinct ethnic groups and they realized, probably correctly, that if they were to wait for all these groups to learn to tolerate one another, economic and social development to world class status might still be a millennium away. Or perhaps it would never happen.
Thus, the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] opted for a different pathway to achieve tolerance in their society. They chose an Authoritarian approach and used the power of the State to define an ideology for the people of China [“Xi Jinping Thought” is captured in what’s known as the Little Red Book and it is studied at lunch time in leading Chinese companies. Workers are encouraged to memorize passages and to compete in recitations]. The CCP has also chosen a uniform culture – Han – as well as a uniform language – Mandarin.
Any Chinese person who would like to progress from life as a peasant farmer or herdsman in the country’s harsh interior will need to successfully demonstrate the subjugation of their own culture, ethnicity, language and religion in favor of Han Chinese, the Mandarin language and “Xi Jinping Thought”. [We can observe this forced cultural, linguistic and religious identity transformation on display in the northwest province of Xinjiang in recent years.] Ethnically Han Chinese women are encouraged to have children whilst Chinese women from any of the other 54 ethnicities are told to use IUD’s to prevent pregnancy and are increasingly being forced to undergo sterilization.
Only once convincingly transformed into a Han Chinese citizen can people gain access to the developed parts of China where they can attain good paying jobs, schools for their children and access to better health systems. It is a novel experiment in the identity subjugation of hundreds of millions of people and not something that free people in the West will tolerate. Nevertheless, it does seem to be a palatable option to many Authoritarian figures in Africa, Asia, Central Europe and beyond. These tyrants would also like to erect the socioeconomic ecosystems of America and the UK without relinquishing their power as absolute, dynastic rulers whilst simultaneously crushing centuries of ethnic, religious, sectarian and tribal disputes which do not serve their economic or political interests.
Historically, the Chinese approach has proven very challenging. The Soviet Union also tried to purge cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious identities in favor of a Russo-Soviet identity, but they failed. They didn’t have the technological ability to forge and sustainably enforce a centrally planned socioeconomic system or polity. But with the advancements of 4th Industrial Revolution Sciences and Technologies things have changed.
Specifically, Artificial Intelligence can now be used to constantly surveil an entire society, even one as large as China’s. People’s behavior can realistically be monitored from moment to moment, and offenders can be quickly punished. If misbehavior, vis a vis the expectations of the State, continue, a new AI-based system called the Social Credit Score can be employed to make life very expensive and inconvenient for offenders. In this system, everyone has a rank which rises and falls in response to their obedience to the State and subsequently, access, availability and costs of goods and services can be altered based upon behavior. In the infrequent cases in which this Social Credit Score is ineffective in controlling a citizen’s behavior, offenders can be made to return to an agrarian or pastoral existence in the remote western interior of the country or they can be made to disappear completely.
It's a chilling approach to achieving tolerance in a society but we must acknowledge that it has been effective in laying a foundation upon which to erect an advanced economy and society. Today, China is the second largest economy in the world. But what are the long-term ramifications of such a statist approach to tolerance? Will it be sustainable? How do the citizens of China feel about living in such a society and about losing all dimensions of their identity? Undoubtedly, this is a deeply emotive issue which goes to the core of who we are as humans. And how do the people of the world view the Chinese system and the nation? At least at this point, the evidence seems to show that Liberal Democracies are far preferable to the State enforced model for tolerance now on display in China. But time will tell. Liberal Democracies are not free from fault or flaws, either.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
Episode 93 – https://youtu.be/r1oc9uU8Ct4
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Episode 94 – https://youtu.be/OqUfXNwqtDU
Artificial Intelligence & Authoritarianism | What’s the Attraction?
Vicar Sayeedi
June 15, 2022
The most important lesson we have learned from history is that everyone is guilty. The second most important lesson we’ve learned is that if a society cannot overcome its intolerance of one another – ethnonationalism, religious and sectarian conflicts, clan and tribal rivalries, etc. – it will never rise to fulfill its potential. This is an open secret and is on display around most of the world – it’s very difficult to identify any leading nation which rests on a foundation of endemic, pervasive intolerance. The main reason for this is that diverse but simultaneously intolerant communities are unable to work together productively. As it turns out, working together in flexible, large Networks of Cooperation is humankind’s superpower; it distinguishes us from all other species and virtually all our great achievements across 12,000 years of civilization can be traced to our ability to establish these Networks of Cooperation.
Unfortunately, tolerating differences between people within the same society is something that most of humankind finds too difficult to achieve. Despite irrefutable evidence that the development of their shared society cannot be erected on a corroded foundation of endemic, pervasive intolerance, most societies have not demonstrated the ability to implement the cultural and societal changes required to establish tolerance. Even in a nation as advanced as the United States, it’s shocking to learn that 70% of America’s GDP is generated by just 5% of the nation’s landmass – these are the most tolerant communities and self-contained ecosystems including Boston-Cambridge, the LA Basin, NYC, the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley and a few other major metros.
These socio-economic ecosystems are able to attract, nurture and retain the best academic institutions, medical and scientific institutions, technological and industrial organizations, as well as the best of the Arts and Humanities. The remaining 95% of the American nation generates only 30% of the country’s GDP, overwhelmingly from traditional industrial output and services and the hospitality sector. This is similarly the case in the UK, prominent examples of world class ecosystems being London & Oxbridge. Sadly, although the pathway to achieving such advanced, developed, diversified economies with correspondingly literate societies is an open secret, the foundational tolerance underpinning such advanced socio-economic ecosystems has for most communities and societies around the world proven intolerable.
An examination of China is a unique case study in achieving a tolerant foundation upon which to build a developed society. The Chinese Communist Party [CCP] understood that it is impossible to build a modern, developed economy and society on a foundation infested with intolerance. The evidence of this was abundantly clear as they examined their own society along with the multitude of underdeveloped and failing societies across Africa, Asia and most of the world. The hallmark of these societies was endemic, pervasive intolerance – they were trapped in a perennial struggle to achieve sustainable economic and social development.
But China has also correctly observed that it took many centuries for North America and Western Europe to achieve the current degree of tolerance, vis a vis constitutionally and legally enforced Liberalism. The CCP could clearly see the extraordinary ecosystems erected upon these foundations, but they also didn’t want to and could not afford to spend several centuries catching up to North America and the European Union. They were thinking in five-year planning cycles. China has 55 distinct ethnic groups and they realized, probably correctly, that if they were to wait for all these groups to learn to tolerate one another, economic and social development to world class status might still be a millennium away. Or perhaps it would never happen.
Thus, the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] opted for a different pathway to achieve tolerance in their society. They chose an Authoritarian approach and used the power of the State to define an ideology for the people of China [“Xi Jinping Thought” is captured in what’s known as the Little Red Book and it is studied at lunch time in leading Chinese companies. Workers are encouraged to memorize passages and to compete in recitations]. The CCP has also chosen a uniform culture – Han – as well as a uniform language – Mandarin.
Any Chinese person who would like to progress from life as a peasant farmer or herdsman in the country’s harsh interior will need to successfully demonstrate the subjugation of their own culture, ethnicity, language and religion in favor of Han Chinese, the Mandarin language and “Xi Jinping Thought”. [We can observe this forced cultural, linguistic and religious identity transformation on display in the northwest province of Xinjiang in recent years.] Ethnically Han Chinese women are encouraged to have children whilst Chinese women from any of the other 54 ethnicities are told to use IUD’s to prevent pregnancy and are increasingly being forced to undergo sterilization.
Only once convincingly transformed into a Han Chinese citizen can people gain access to the developed parts of China where they can attain good paying jobs, schools for their children and access to better health systems. It is a novel experiment in the identity subjugation of hundreds of millions of people and not something that free people in the West will tolerate. Nevertheless, it does seem to be a palatable option to many Authoritarian figures in Africa, Asia, Central Europe and beyond. These tyrants would also like to erect the socioeconomic ecosystems of America and the UK without relinquishing their power as absolute, dynastic rulers whilst simultaneously crushing centuries of ethnic, religious, sectarian and tribal disputes which do not serve their economic or political interests.
Historically, the Chinese approach has proven very challenging. The Soviet Union also tried to purge cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious identities in favor of a Russo-Soviet identity, but they failed. They didn’t have the technological ability to forge and sustainably enforce a centrally planned socioeconomic system or polity. But with the advancements of 4th Industrial Revolution Sciences and Technologies things have changed.
Specifically, Artificial Intelligence can now be used to constantly surveil an entire society, even one as large as China’s. People’s behavior can realistically be monitored from moment to moment, and offenders can be quickly punished. If misbehavior, vis a vis the expectations of the State, continue, a new AI-based system called the Social Credit Score can be employed to make life very expensive and inconvenient for offenders. In this system, everyone has a rank which rises and falls in response to their obedience to the State and subsequently, access, availability and costs of goods and services can be altered based upon behavior. In the infrequent cases in which this Social Credit Score is ineffective in controlling a citizen’s behavior, offenders can be made to return to an agrarian or pastoral existence in the remote western interior of the country or they can be made to disappear completely.
It's a chilling approach to achieving tolerance in a society but we must acknowledge that it has been effective in laying a foundation upon which to erect an advanced economy and society. Today, China is the second largest economy in the world. But what are the long-term ramifications of such a statist approach to tolerance? Will it be sustainable? How do the citizens of China feel about living in such a society and about losing all dimensions of their identity? Undoubtedly, this is a deeply emotive issue which goes to the core of who we are as humans. And how do the people of the world view the Chinese system and the nation? At least at this point, the evidence seems to show that Liberal Democracies are far preferable to the State enforced model for tolerance now on display in China. But time will tell. Liberal Democracies are not free from fault or flaws, either.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
Episode 93 – https://youtu.be/r1oc9uU8Ct4
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Episode 94 – https://youtu.be/OqUfXNwqtDU
Artificial Intelligence & Authoritarianism | What’s the Attraction?
June 13, 2022
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Vicar Sayeedi
June 13, 2022
Approximately 66 million years ago, in a major existential episode for most of our planet’s lifeforms, an event known as the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) Extinction Event visited havoc upon the Earth. An asteroid about the size of Mount Everest struck our planet with unprecedented force. The asteroid collided with Earth in the vicinity of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico and scientists estimate that the impact of the collision released energy equivalent to the simultaneous detonation of hundreds of millions or perhaps even billions of nuclear fission bombs.
Within a few days, or more likely a few hours, the temperature within the Earth’s atmosphere rose to such a level that super predator dinosaurs which had dominated the planet for the past 150 million years were suddenly gasping for breath. As with all other terrestrial megafauna, Dinosaurs were biologically ill-equipped to cope with the soaring temperatures and soon they began to succumb to the suffocating heat and rain of fire as they helplessly watched their familiar ecosystems implode. After a 150-million-year reign of unchallenged domination in which these enormous beasts consumed virtually everything in sight, they were suddenly rendered extinct. It would be 66 million years before their existence and presence on Earth would be rediscovered by a Mammalian species that did not exist during their reign.
In the centuries and millennia following this K-Pg Extinction Event, the Earth’s temperatures and thus its ecosystems gradually returned to normal and once again became habitable. With the super predator dinosaurs [excluding Avian dinosaurs] now condemned to the fossil record, life gradually returned, and Mammalian evolution began in earnest. Mammalian evolution had been drastically curtailed by the hyper-predatory behavior of the dinosaurs.
About 7 million years ago, archaic humans – hominins – began to evolve in central Africa, and 2 million years ago these hominins began to use fire for cooking. Cooking food changes its biochemistry; it enables it to be digested much more rapidly and so hominins gradually evolved to have much shorter and more efficient gastrointestinal tracts. The rapid digestion of food now required significantly fewer calories, and this left hominins with considerably more energy. As a result, our brains grew larger, more sophisticated and they began to consume more of the now available energy.
About 250,000 years ago, Homo Sapiens 1.0 evolved in East Africa. Sapiens 1.0 was squarely in the middle of the food chain and remained there until about 70,000 years ago when we observe an incontrovertible shift in the archaeological record. Quite suddenly, Sapiens found themselves at the very top of the food chain. This Cognitive Revolution may have been triggered by a genetic mutation but from this point forward the archaeological record confirms that wherever Sapiens arrive, the extinction of terrestrial megafauna begins in earnest - Sapiens were killing all the large land animals and many of these species were soon heading for extinction.
The hallmark of this Cognitive Revolution which evolved into Sapiens 2.0 was a clear ability to form Networks of Cooperation – we were now able to cooperate flexibly with one another and we were able to do so in very large numbers. We could now use these Networks of Cooperation to solve an increasingly wide array of complex problems. We were able to align ourselves in such a way that we could bring down enormous beasts such as Wooly Mammoths that were far larger than us simply through cooperation. Some tens of thousands of years later, we were also able to align 20,000 American corporations with 400,000 employees to send a man to the moon, land him on its surface and bring him back to Earth safely. These Networks of Cooperation are humankind’s superpower and are responsible for the vast majority of our achievements since the birth of civilization. We do observe flexible cooperation amongst other species but only in very small numbers [chimpanzees]. We also observe large scale cooperation, but it is inflexible [bees or migrating swarms of birds].
But now, for the first time in 70,000 years we are on the cusp of a major change as we transition from Sapiens 2.0 to Sapiens 3.0, and beyond. This time though, the transition is occurring without the environmental pressures which triggered past evolutionary responses and natural selection. This time, we are using intelligent design to create Sapiens variants.
With the simultaneous confluence and maturity of an evolving suite of 4th Industrial Revolution Sciences and Technologies – an ecosystem of knowledge including Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing [Quantum and Super], Data Science, Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Psychology, Finance, Genomics [Gene & Germ-line Editing vis a vis CRISPR-Cas9] – the potential for augmenting Sapiens 2.0, or for creating cybernetic organisms [organic-inorganic hybrids], or even transhumanism in which we transfer human neural networks from their organic host to inorganic silicon hosts, is increasingly probable and evermore realistic.
These 4th Industrial Revolution Sciences and Technologies and the socioeconomic ecosystems they enable are at various stages of development but are progressing rapidly and there is very little being done by governments to regulate their more nefarious applications. Regulating these sciences and technologies properly and then enforcing the regulations requires global cooperation underpinned by knowledge and understanding of their capabilities and threats. But as demonstrated by humankind’s inability to cooperate on Climate Change and Ecological Collapse, global cooperation is generally an area of governance that we are acutely poor at.
It is thus likely that humankind will make many dangerous mistakes, and some may be highly destructive [many Thought Leaders today consider 4th Industrial Revolution Scientific and Technological ecosystems to be an existential threat] but at the same time we may innovate so rapidly that our secular moral philosophy and our traditional religious values – philosophy and values which have always provided us with our moral compass and helped frame our choices and pathways – will find it difficult if not impossible to respond along a meaningful timeline such that these value systems can keep pace with and thus guide our innovations.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
Episode 93 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI https://youtu.be/r1oc9uU8Ct4
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
Vicar Sayeedi
June 13, 2022
Approximately 66 million years ago, in a major existential episode for most of our planet’s lifeforms, an event known as the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) Extinction Event visited havoc upon the Earth. An asteroid about the size of Mount Everest struck our planet with unprecedented force. The asteroid collided with Earth in the vicinity of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico and scientists estimate that the impact of the collision released energy equivalent to the simultaneous detonation of hundreds of millions or perhaps even billions of nuclear fission bombs.
Within a few days, or more likely a few hours, the temperature within the Earth’s atmosphere rose to such a level that super predator dinosaurs which had dominated the planet for the past 150 million years were suddenly gasping for breath. As with all other terrestrial megafauna, Dinosaurs were biologically ill-equipped to cope with the soaring temperatures and soon they began to succumb to the suffocating heat and rain of fire as they helplessly watched their familiar ecosystems implode. After a 150-million-year reign of unchallenged domination in which these enormous beasts consumed virtually everything in sight, they were suddenly rendered extinct. It would be 66 million years before their existence and presence on Earth would be rediscovered by a Mammalian species that did not exist during their reign.
In the centuries and millennia following this K-Pg Extinction Event, the Earth’s temperatures and thus its ecosystems gradually returned to normal and once again became habitable. With the super predator dinosaurs [excluding Avian dinosaurs] now condemned to the fossil record, life gradually returned, and Mammalian evolution began in earnest. Mammalian evolution had been drastically curtailed by the hyper-predatory behavior of the dinosaurs.
About 7 million years ago, archaic humans – hominins – began to evolve in central Africa, and 2 million years ago these hominins began to use fire for cooking. Cooking food changes its biochemistry; it enables it to be digested much more rapidly and so hominins gradually evolved to have much shorter and more efficient gastrointestinal tracts. The rapid digestion of food now required significantly fewer calories, and this left hominins with considerably more energy. As a result, our brains grew larger, more sophisticated and they began to consume more of the now available energy.
About 250,000 years ago, Homo Sapiens 1.0 evolved in East Africa. Sapiens 1.0 was squarely in the middle of the food chain and remained there until about 70,000 years ago when we observe an incontrovertible shift in the archaeological record. Quite suddenly, Sapiens found themselves at the very top of the food chain. This Cognitive Revolution may have been triggered by a genetic mutation but from this point forward the archaeological record confirms that wherever Sapiens arrive, the extinction of terrestrial megafauna begins in earnest - Sapiens were killing all the large land animals and many of these species were soon heading for extinction.
The hallmark of this Cognitive Revolution which evolved into Sapiens 2.0 was a clear ability to form Networks of Cooperation – we were now able to cooperate flexibly with one another and we were able to do so in very large numbers. We could now use these Networks of Cooperation to solve an increasingly wide array of complex problems. We were able to align ourselves in such a way that we could bring down enormous beasts such as Wooly Mammoths that were far larger than us simply through cooperation. Some tens of thousands of years later, we were also able to align 20,000 American corporations with 400,000 employees to send a man to the moon, land him on its surface and bring him back to Earth safely. These Networks of Cooperation are humankind’s superpower and are responsible for the vast majority of our achievements since the birth of civilization. We do observe flexible cooperation amongst other species but only in very small numbers [chimpanzees]. We also observe large scale cooperation, but it is inflexible [bees or migrating swarms of birds].
But now, for the first time in 70,000 years we are on the cusp of a major change as we transition from Sapiens 2.0 to Sapiens 3.0, and beyond. This time though, the transition is occurring without the environmental pressures which triggered past evolutionary responses and natural selection. This time, we are using intelligent design to create Sapiens variants.
With the simultaneous confluence and maturity of an evolving suite of 4th Industrial Revolution Sciences and Technologies – an ecosystem of knowledge including Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing [Quantum and Super], Data Science, Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Psychology, Finance, Genomics [Gene & Germ-line Editing vis a vis CRISPR-Cas9] – the potential for augmenting Sapiens 2.0, or for creating cybernetic organisms [organic-inorganic hybrids], or even transhumanism in which we transfer human neural networks from their organic host to inorganic silicon hosts, is increasingly probable and evermore realistic.
These 4th Industrial Revolution Sciences and Technologies and the socioeconomic ecosystems they enable are at various stages of development but are progressing rapidly and there is very little being done by governments to regulate their more nefarious applications. Regulating these sciences and technologies properly and then enforcing the regulations requires global cooperation underpinned by knowledge and understanding of their capabilities and threats. But as demonstrated by humankind’s inability to cooperate on Climate Change and Ecological Collapse, global cooperation is generally an area of governance that we are acutely poor at.
It is thus likely that humankind will make many dangerous mistakes, and some may be highly destructive [many Thought Leaders today consider 4th Industrial Revolution Scientific and Technological ecosystems to be an existential threat] but at the same time we may innovate so rapidly that our secular moral philosophy and our traditional religious values – philosophy and values which have always provided us with our moral compass and helped frame our choices and pathways – will find it difficult if not impossible to respond along a meaningful timeline such that these value systems can keep pace with and thus guide our innovations.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
Episode 93 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI https://youtu.be/r1oc9uU8Ct4
Artificial Intelligence & Sapiens 3.0 | Are We Ready?
April 24, 2022
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
April 24, 2022
On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a famous speech in Houston, Texas that has come to be known as the “Address at Rice University”. On that day, Kennedy roused the American nation with an unprecedented challenge: land a man on the surface of the moon before the end of the decade and bring him back to Earth safely. In the early 1960’s, America was in the grip of a Cold War with the Soviet Union, an ideological battle that the Americans were losing as a result of recent Soviet advancements in the Space Race. It was a race that all non-aligned nations were watching carefully since the knowledge, mastery and subjugation of space had emerged as a critical indicator of ideological supremacy between Communism and Liberal Democracy. Whoever won this race would be seen as ideologically supreme in the eyes of so many non-aligned nations.
News of what would soon become the pièce de resistance of the Kennedy Administration rattled many in the scientific community, particularly those at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]. NASA complained to the President and other Administration officials that they had no idea how to address most every major scientific and technological hurdle, whether large or small, that would need to be overcome to fulfill this ambitious vision. Upon hearing NASA’s response, Kennedy threatened to fire its Leadership Team. Of course, the threat of being dismissed by the President of the United States tends to force people to sit up straight in their chairs and to urgently seek clarity of thought. In this brief window, NASA’s Leadership Team asked for a second chance to put together a plan.
President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963 whilst on a visit to Dallas and his Vice President, Lyndon Johnson was promptly sworn in on the same Air Force One flight used to return Kennedy’s body to Washington. In contrast to President Kennedy’s purely ideological vision and his passion for resoundingly defeating Communism, President Johnson was genuinely interested in the lunar mission for its own sake – he felt deeply about the importance of scientific and technological advancement to America’s standing in the postwar world. So, with President Johnson’s continuing support, Kennedy’s grand challenge to the nation progressed unabated throughout the decade.
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the surface of the moon, thus fulfilling Kennedy’s extraordinary vision. Throughout that decade and for all eleven Apollo missions, twenty thousand American corporations with more than 400,000 employees worked together in a mind-bending symphony – it was perhaps the most remarkable achievement humankind had ever witnessed. And even though it has now been nearly fifty-three years since that mission, Apollo remains a critical case study and an important opportunity for introspection and reflection for all humankind. Specifically, from the perspective of how we can best enable human achievement, the Apollo mission was an extraordinary demonstration of humankind’s superpower – the ability to establish and nurture flexible, large Networks of Cooperation. [Interestingly, when asked to identify humankind’s superpower, most people will point to our cognitive ability – they will emphatically state that our cognition is incomparable to that of any other species. Although intelligence has always been the most important asset humankind has, labeling human intelligence as our superpower would not be correct.]
We know from the Apollo case that if we engage our minds in flexible and large Networks of Cooperation, we can amplify and magnify human intelligence by many orders of magnitude. To borrow a term from the lexicon and philology of Computer Science, these Networks of Cooperation can offer us massively parallel processing capability. In other words, an array of human minds in such Networks of Cooperation have been shown to achieve the truly extraordinary, whereas, when simply acting on our own, the evidence shows that humans will generally be far more limited in our capacity to achieve. In fact, most of humankind’s greatest achievements have required this coordinated, symphonic approach in varying degrees.
Although conceptually easy to understand, strangely enough, such large Networks of Cooperation are in fact surprisingly rare in history and across geographies and societies. They do not seem to ubiquitously manifest themselves. Rather, they tend to emerge within only a few select companies or within a few subcultures or communities within societies. Upon closer examination, we find that company or societal cultures which are open, free and tolerant to challenges of virtually any nature and from any perspective often provide the environment where bright, creative and inquisitive minds from across society and from across geographies are drawn. There, these individuals feel uninhibited in their native desire to critically and rationally challenge views or ideological premises with others; views or ideological premises which may have been long held but which may, nevertheless, rest on weak rational bases. In other words, cultures in which the Networks of Cooperation – which enable continuous company or societal advancement and achievement – blossom and thrive are the antithesis of doctrinal or dogmatic in their nature. Any surviving doctrines and dogmas in the culture are not considered sacred and can therefore always be challenged and dispensed with if they cannot be defended with rational arguments.
To this day, more than fifty years since the Apollo 11 mission to land a man on the moon, very few countries on Earth have been capable of replicating such a feat. It is not due to cost – NASA had forecast that the Apollo 11 mission would cost between $20 and $40 billion, whilst the actual cost was ~$19.5B [Americans spent more on cigarettes in any year of the 1960’s]. Rather, the real inhibitor of success for most of the world has been the Authoritarian culture so prominent and pervasive amongst the overwhelming majority of companies and societies. This culture is so inextricably embedded in their psychology that it becomes virtually impossible to change. As Artificial Intelligence and other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies are introduced into and then integrated within these Networks of Cooperation, the achievements, contributions and the intellectual divide between the Authoritarian societies that reject the open, free culture of the most advanced societies and themselves will only grow until it reaches a permanent, unbreachable chasm.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
April 24, 2022
On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a famous speech in Houston, Texas that has come to be known as the “Address at Rice University”. On that day, Kennedy roused the American nation with an unprecedented challenge: land a man on the surface of the moon before the end of the decade and bring him back to Earth safely. In the early 1960’s, America was in the grip of a Cold War with the Soviet Union, an ideological battle that the Americans were losing as a result of recent Soviet advancements in the Space Race. It was a race that all non-aligned nations were watching carefully since the knowledge, mastery and subjugation of space had emerged as a critical indicator of ideological supremacy between Communism and Liberal Democracy. Whoever won this race would be seen as ideologically supreme in the eyes of so many non-aligned nations.
News of what would soon become the pièce de resistance of the Kennedy Administration rattled many in the scientific community, particularly those at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]. NASA complained to the President and other Administration officials that they had no idea how to address most every major scientific and technological hurdle, whether large or small, that would need to be overcome to fulfill this ambitious vision. Upon hearing NASA’s response, Kennedy threatened to fire its Leadership Team. Of course, the threat of being dismissed by the President of the United States tends to force people to sit up straight in their chairs and to urgently seek clarity of thought. In this brief window, NASA’s Leadership Team asked for a second chance to put together a plan.
President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963 whilst on a visit to Dallas and his Vice President, Lyndon Johnson was promptly sworn in on the same Air Force One flight used to return Kennedy’s body to Washington. In contrast to President Kennedy’s purely ideological vision and his passion for resoundingly defeating Communism, President Johnson was genuinely interested in the lunar mission for its own sake – he felt deeply about the importance of scientific and technological advancement to America’s standing in the postwar world. So, with President Johnson’s continuing support, Kennedy’s grand challenge to the nation progressed unabated throughout the decade.
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the surface of the moon, thus fulfilling Kennedy’s extraordinary vision. Throughout that decade and for all eleven Apollo missions, twenty thousand American corporations with more than 400,000 employees worked together in a mind-bending symphony – it was perhaps the most remarkable achievement humankind had ever witnessed. And even though it has now been nearly fifty-three years since that mission, Apollo remains a critical case study and an important opportunity for introspection and reflection for all humankind. Specifically, from the perspective of how we can best enable human achievement, the Apollo mission was an extraordinary demonstration of humankind’s superpower – the ability to establish and nurture flexible, large Networks of Cooperation. [Interestingly, when asked to identify humankind’s superpower, most people will point to our cognitive ability – they will emphatically state that our cognition is incomparable to that of any other species. Although intelligence has always been the most important asset humankind has, labeling human intelligence as our superpower would not be correct.]
We know from the Apollo case that if we engage our minds in flexible and large Networks of Cooperation, we can amplify and magnify human intelligence by many orders of magnitude. To borrow a term from the lexicon and philology of Computer Science, these Networks of Cooperation can offer us massively parallel processing capability. In other words, an array of human minds in such Networks of Cooperation have been shown to achieve the truly extraordinary, whereas, when simply acting on our own, the evidence shows that humans will generally be far more limited in our capacity to achieve. In fact, most of humankind’s greatest achievements have required this coordinated, symphonic approach in varying degrees.
Although conceptually easy to understand, strangely enough, such large Networks of Cooperation are in fact surprisingly rare in history and across geographies and societies. They do not seem to ubiquitously manifest themselves. Rather, they tend to emerge within only a few select companies or within a few subcultures or communities within societies. Upon closer examination, we find that company or societal cultures which are open, free and tolerant to challenges of virtually any nature and from any perspective often provide the environment where bright, creative and inquisitive minds from across society and from across geographies are drawn. There, these individuals feel uninhibited in their native desire to critically and rationally challenge views or ideological premises with others; views or ideological premises which may have been long held but which may, nevertheless, rest on weak rational bases. In other words, cultures in which the Networks of Cooperation – which enable continuous company or societal advancement and achievement – blossom and thrive are the antithesis of doctrinal or dogmatic in their nature. Any surviving doctrines and dogmas in the culture are not considered sacred and can therefore always be challenged and dispensed with if they cannot be defended with rational arguments.
To this day, more than fifty years since the Apollo 11 mission to land a man on the moon, very few countries on Earth have been capable of replicating such a feat. It is not due to cost – NASA had forecast that the Apollo 11 mission would cost between $20 and $40 billion, whilst the actual cost was ~$19.5B [Americans spent more on cigarettes in any year of the 1960’s]. Rather, the real inhibitor of success for most of the world has been the Authoritarian culture so prominent and pervasive amongst the overwhelming majority of companies and societies. This culture is so inextricably embedded in their psychology that it becomes virtually impossible to change. As Artificial Intelligence and other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies are introduced into and then integrated within these Networks of Cooperation, the achievements, contributions and the intellectual divide between the Authoritarian societies that reject the open, free culture of the most advanced societies and themselves will only grow until it reaches a permanent, unbreachable chasm.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Episode 92 – https://youtu.be/q1ybdNC5MiI
The Apollo Moon Landing | Lessons for Civilization in the Age of AI
April 13, 2022
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Vicar Sayeedi
April 13, 2022
This past weekend, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote in the nation’s legislative assembly and as a result he was summarily dismissed from office. No Pakistani Prime Minister has ever completed their term in office, but Khan was the first official to have been forced from his post in this unfortunate manner. In the days and weeks preceding the vote, Khan and his supporters accused the United States of conspiring with Pakistan’s opposition parties to engineer his ouster. Khan had been following an agenda that was widely viewed as being against the interests of the World Order established and upheld by the United States, the European Union and a few democracies in Asia [Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea] and this reality underpinned his claim of America’s hand in his ouster.
Although no evidence has been presented to substantiate Khan’s claim of subterfuge by America or other Western powers, if it did happen, we must implicitly accept it. Unfortunately, the time when all nations of the world can have complete agency, autonomy and sovereignty to conduct their affairs as they see fit has now passed. We live in a Unipolar World Order with the United States at the helm and all of humankind has been and continues to be a substantial beneficiary of this Order. As such, we must do everything we can to preserve and uphold it.
For some who are now reading or listening to this thesis it may be quite a shocking moment. Nevertheless, a convincing rational argument can be made to support the merits of this contrarian and non-obvious perspective so let’s try and do just that and see where it takes us. Then, we can finish with a discussion on how we can work together to ensure that such a Unipolar World Order is strengthened to protect against the insidious designs of nefarious actors who might seek to commandeer its reins and abuse its unprecedented power. Given the extraordinary capabilities of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence now resident at the helm of a Unipolar World Order and the very unfortunate abuses we have witnessed in the past two decades, this is becoming increasingly critical.
In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the world was left with only one functioning ideology of governance: the Liberal Democracy. This Unipolar World Order was paired with an economic system underpinned by free markets. The Bipolar World Order – or what is more commonly recognized as the West’s Cold War with the Soviet Union – that precedes today’s Order had officially been in place from March of 1947 when American President Harry Truman appeared before a joint session of the United States Congress and delivered an address which has come to be known as the Truman Doctrine. In this Doctrine, Truman stated that the United States would provide economic, military and political support to all Democratic nations that were under threat from Authoritarian actors, both domestic and international.
As such, the Truman Doctrine signaled a tectonic shift in U.S. foreign policy – America’s historical approach had always been to withdraw from conflicts which did not directly involve it, and this was now replaced by the possibility of intervening in conflicts underway at great distance from its shores. This formal declaration of Cold War – or Bipolar World Order – had remained in place from 1947 until 1991 when the fifteen-member Soviet Union and the eight-member Warsaw Pact finally collapsed. At this point, it’s critical to note that the US was forced into its role as head of this Liberal Democratic Order – America did not actively seek this role. During the first half of the 20th century, following its reluctant engagement in WW1 and WW2, America was forced to sacrifice millions of lives and tens of trillions of dollars to establish and maintain this Order. So given this unprecedented investment of human life and national wealth, we begin to understand why officials charged with upholding today’s Unipolar system are unwilling to allow rogue actors anywhere in the world to remain unchallenged if they actively work to undermine or unsettle it.
Thus, it’s quite alarming to see that this Order is now actively being threatened by the collaborative efforts of China and its vassal states [Russia] and this is unacceptable. These efforts must be made to fail because the historical record clearly confirms that any alternative World Order would be collectively far worse for humankind. Bipolar worlds like the Cold War or Multipolar World Orders similar to what humankind has experienced in the 19th or early 20th centuries were very bloody and violent. Today’s world under American unipolarity is far safer for everyone everywhere despite the periodic and wholly intolerable lapses that need to be rigorously checked and contained.
The evidence of the superiority of a Unipolar World Order though, is incontrovertible – the data clearly shows that the world is far safer and better off under this system than under any other we have experienced in the past 12,000 years since the birth of civilization. Today, most citizens of the world are far more likely to die from exposure to sugar, salt and fat than from exposure to gunpowder or sharp objects. Furthermore, the regulation of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies and the existential challenges facing humankind today – for example, Climate Change and subsequent ecological collapse – cannot be credibly managed if the world is subsumed by Bipolar or Multipolar Orders.
This regression is already on display as nations actively work to secure alternative sources of fossil fuels in the wake of the hostilities perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine. As we observe this awful conflict unfold on our social media and tv’s, we are reminded of the 18th century when global power was distributed between England, France, Portugal, Spain and a few others and this multipolarity resulted in incessant conflict and war on the European continent and in the many colonies governed by these Imperialists. Global violence was endemic and wholly untenable if humankind was to solve the multitude of problems it was facing.
Contrasting the violent reality of the 18th century with today’s Unipolar world, the European Union now spends only ~2% of GDP on military expenditures whereas in the 18th century, when Europe was ruled by Emperors and Monarchs, they would typically spend as much as 70% of the revenue of the State on militarism – defending their own borders or conquering the lands of others. Now though, all the money previously expended on militarism and conquest is spent on health, education and social welfare as well as on cutting edge research in industry, medicine, science, technology and the Arts. All of humankind has and continues to benefit from these European investments and similar ones in America.
Consider, for example, that under this Unipolar Order the Liberal Democratic West produced six Coronavirus vaccines within nine months of initially sequencing the genome of COVID-19 and subsequently entered these vaccines into clinical trials. Then consider that by February of 2022, the Biden Administration had given 470 million vaccines to poor and middle-income countries with a commitment to contribute a total of 1.2B vaccines. The European Union also planned to contribute hundreds of millions more vaccines through the CEPI, COVAX and GAVI vaccine alliances established by the US, EU and other global health agencies. As a result, hundreds of millions or even billions of lives around the world have been saved from the ravages of this awful pandemic.
Consider also that since the birth of this Unipolar World Order in 1991, perhaps one billion people around the world, primarily in Africa and Asia, have been lifted out of poverty. This is an achievement of Unipolarity that has never been matched or even approached under any other global order. It is unprecedented.
To continue, the rise of China was also made possible under this Unipolar system. Consider that the aggregate GDP of the Liberal Democracies at the helm of this Unipolar World Order is ~$60T and that China was only able to rise to its current standing as the second largest economy in the world by trading in the market economy established by the US and the EU. China would not have been able to achieve its rise from 1% of global GDP in 2000 to 15% in 2020 by trading with Authoritarian states such as North Korea or Russia.
But now, if China forces a new Bipolar Order with Russia amongst its vassal states, the world will be far less safe for all of us. This means that military budgets will be forced to rise amongst these Liberal Democratic States that uphold the Unipolar World Order and thus there will be far less money for the needs of humankind. Investment in health, education and social welfare and in industry, medicine, science, technology and the Arts will all wane. It is also likely that many of those one billion who rose from poverty under American-led Unipolarity will now return to that same poverty. This is already underway as a result of the conflict in Ukraine – Africa and the Middle East depend upon grain and other agricultural exports from Russia and Ukraine that are shipped via the Black Sea ports of Crimea and Odessa. These exports make their way through the Bosphorus and into the Mediterranean Sea where they serve the needs of millions of vulnerable people, but those shipments have now stopped. Ukraine is also unable to sow seeds for the next autumn harvest and this will further exacerbate food insecurity and political instability in these places. In fact, the Arab Spring some years ago was triggered by similar rapidly rising food prices and insecurity.
Thus, we can see that the case for upholding an America-led Unipolar World Order supported by investments made by the Liberal Democracies of America and the EU is a very strong one. But as individuals, we must actively and tirelessly engage and do our very best to ensure that nefarious characters that have hijacked the reins of power in America – as we’ve witnessed in our recent past – are prevented from doing so in the future. We know they hurt innocent people everywhere and so as Americans we owe this debt to all of humankind. If we fail in this solemn duty, then the negative outcomes will be our responsibility.
Finally, with the rise of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including Artificial Intelligence, we have the ability to ensure very precise checks and balances on centers of power within this Unipolar Order to prevent abuses of the kind we have seen in the past. Where humans can be aware and vigilant within certain limits, AI can monitor activities and plans during every second of the day. It’s ability to ensure transparency is unlimited and can serve an important purpose in building confidence in this Order. If we can incorporate such an AI Agent into our system of checks and balances in a manner similar to the way we have constitutionally protected freedom of the press, we may have a model for global governance that can earn the trust of people everywhere. It has the potential to be the most just form of government imaginable within human societies.
In summary, as beneficiaries of a deep understanding of human history, international affairs and political science we must never work or wish for the demise of this Unipolar America-led World Order – it would, in effect, be a wish for our own destruction, those whom we care deeply for and for all of humankind. Instead, recognizing the extraordinary achievements of a Unipolar World Order, we should all work to strengthen and improve it for the benefit of all humankind.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
Vicar Sayeedi
April 13, 2022
This past weekend, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote in the nation’s legislative assembly and as a result he was summarily dismissed from office. No Pakistani Prime Minister has ever completed their term in office, but Khan was the first official to have been forced from his post in this unfortunate manner. In the days and weeks preceding the vote, Khan and his supporters accused the United States of conspiring with Pakistan’s opposition parties to engineer his ouster. Khan had been following an agenda that was widely viewed as being against the interests of the World Order established and upheld by the United States, the European Union and a few democracies in Asia [Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea] and this reality underpinned his claim of America’s hand in his ouster.
Although no evidence has been presented to substantiate Khan’s claim of subterfuge by America or other Western powers, if it did happen, we must implicitly accept it. Unfortunately, the time when all nations of the world can have complete agency, autonomy and sovereignty to conduct their affairs as they see fit has now passed. We live in a Unipolar World Order with the United States at the helm and all of humankind has been and continues to be a substantial beneficiary of this Order. As such, we must do everything we can to preserve and uphold it.
For some who are now reading or listening to this thesis it may be quite a shocking moment. Nevertheless, a convincing rational argument can be made to support the merits of this contrarian and non-obvious perspective so let’s try and do just that and see where it takes us. Then, we can finish with a discussion on how we can work together to ensure that such a Unipolar World Order is strengthened to protect against the insidious designs of nefarious actors who might seek to commandeer its reins and abuse its unprecedented power. Given the extraordinary capabilities of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence now resident at the helm of a Unipolar World Order and the very unfortunate abuses we have witnessed in the past two decades, this is becoming increasingly critical.
In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the world was left with only one functioning ideology of governance: the Liberal Democracy. This Unipolar World Order was paired with an economic system underpinned by free markets. The Bipolar World Order – or what is more commonly recognized as the West’s Cold War with the Soviet Union – that precedes today’s Order had officially been in place from March of 1947 when American President Harry Truman appeared before a joint session of the United States Congress and delivered an address which has come to be known as the Truman Doctrine. In this Doctrine, Truman stated that the United States would provide economic, military and political support to all Democratic nations that were under threat from Authoritarian actors, both domestic and international.
As such, the Truman Doctrine signaled a tectonic shift in U.S. foreign policy – America’s historical approach had always been to withdraw from conflicts which did not directly involve it, and this was now replaced by the possibility of intervening in conflicts underway at great distance from its shores. This formal declaration of Cold War – or Bipolar World Order – had remained in place from 1947 until 1991 when the fifteen-member Soviet Union and the eight-member Warsaw Pact finally collapsed. At this point, it’s critical to note that the US was forced into its role as head of this Liberal Democratic Order – America did not actively seek this role. During the first half of the 20th century, following its reluctant engagement in WW1 and WW2, America was forced to sacrifice millions of lives and tens of trillions of dollars to establish and maintain this Order. So given this unprecedented investment of human life and national wealth, we begin to understand why officials charged with upholding today’s Unipolar system are unwilling to allow rogue actors anywhere in the world to remain unchallenged if they actively work to undermine or unsettle it.
Thus, it’s quite alarming to see that this Order is now actively being threatened by the collaborative efforts of China and its vassal states [Russia] and this is unacceptable. These efforts must be made to fail because the historical record clearly confirms that any alternative World Order would be collectively far worse for humankind. Bipolar worlds like the Cold War or Multipolar World Orders similar to what humankind has experienced in the 19th or early 20th centuries were very bloody and violent. Today’s world under American unipolarity is far safer for everyone everywhere despite the periodic and wholly intolerable lapses that need to be rigorously checked and contained.
The evidence of the superiority of a Unipolar World Order though, is incontrovertible – the data clearly shows that the world is far safer and better off under this system than under any other we have experienced in the past 12,000 years since the birth of civilization. Today, most citizens of the world are far more likely to die from exposure to sugar, salt and fat than from exposure to gunpowder or sharp objects. Furthermore, the regulation of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies and the existential challenges facing humankind today – for example, Climate Change and subsequent ecological collapse – cannot be credibly managed if the world is subsumed by Bipolar or Multipolar Orders.
This regression is already on display as nations actively work to secure alternative sources of fossil fuels in the wake of the hostilities perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine. As we observe this awful conflict unfold on our social media and tv’s, we are reminded of the 18th century when global power was distributed between England, France, Portugal, Spain and a few others and this multipolarity resulted in incessant conflict and war on the European continent and in the many colonies governed by these Imperialists. Global violence was endemic and wholly untenable if humankind was to solve the multitude of problems it was facing.
Contrasting the violent reality of the 18th century with today’s Unipolar world, the European Union now spends only ~2% of GDP on military expenditures whereas in the 18th century, when Europe was ruled by Emperors and Monarchs, they would typically spend as much as 70% of the revenue of the State on militarism – defending their own borders or conquering the lands of others. Now though, all the money previously expended on militarism and conquest is spent on health, education and social welfare as well as on cutting edge research in industry, medicine, science, technology and the Arts. All of humankind has and continues to benefit from these European investments and similar ones in America.
Consider, for example, that under this Unipolar Order the Liberal Democratic West produced six Coronavirus vaccines within nine months of initially sequencing the genome of COVID-19 and subsequently entered these vaccines into clinical trials. Then consider that by February of 2022, the Biden Administration had given 470 million vaccines to poor and middle-income countries with a commitment to contribute a total of 1.2B vaccines. The European Union also planned to contribute hundreds of millions more vaccines through the CEPI, COVAX and GAVI vaccine alliances established by the US, EU and other global health agencies. As a result, hundreds of millions or even billions of lives around the world have been saved from the ravages of this awful pandemic.
Consider also that since the birth of this Unipolar World Order in 1991, perhaps one billion people around the world, primarily in Africa and Asia, have been lifted out of poverty. This is an achievement of Unipolarity that has never been matched or even approached under any other global order. It is unprecedented.
To continue, the rise of China was also made possible under this Unipolar system. Consider that the aggregate GDP of the Liberal Democracies at the helm of this Unipolar World Order is ~$60T and that China was only able to rise to its current standing as the second largest economy in the world by trading in the market economy established by the US and the EU. China would not have been able to achieve its rise from 1% of global GDP in 2000 to 15% in 2020 by trading with Authoritarian states such as North Korea or Russia.
But now, if China forces a new Bipolar Order with Russia amongst its vassal states, the world will be far less safe for all of us. This means that military budgets will be forced to rise amongst these Liberal Democratic States that uphold the Unipolar World Order and thus there will be far less money for the needs of humankind. Investment in health, education and social welfare and in industry, medicine, science, technology and the Arts will all wane. It is also likely that many of those one billion who rose from poverty under American-led Unipolarity will now return to that same poverty. This is already underway as a result of the conflict in Ukraine – Africa and the Middle East depend upon grain and other agricultural exports from Russia and Ukraine that are shipped via the Black Sea ports of Crimea and Odessa. These exports make their way through the Bosphorus and into the Mediterranean Sea where they serve the needs of millions of vulnerable people, but those shipments have now stopped. Ukraine is also unable to sow seeds for the next autumn harvest and this will further exacerbate food insecurity and political instability in these places. In fact, the Arab Spring some years ago was triggered by similar rapidly rising food prices and insecurity.
Thus, we can see that the case for upholding an America-led Unipolar World Order supported by investments made by the Liberal Democracies of America and the EU is a very strong one. But as individuals, we must actively and tirelessly engage and do our very best to ensure that nefarious characters that have hijacked the reins of power in America – as we’ve witnessed in our recent past – are prevented from doing so in the future. We know they hurt innocent people everywhere and so as Americans we owe this debt to all of humankind. If we fail in this solemn duty, then the negative outcomes will be our responsibility.
Finally, with the rise of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including Artificial Intelligence, we have the ability to ensure very precise checks and balances on centers of power within this Unipolar Order to prevent abuses of the kind we have seen in the past. Where humans can be aware and vigilant within certain limits, AI can monitor activities and plans during every second of the day. It’s ability to ensure transparency is unlimited and can serve an important purpose in building confidence in this Order. If we can incorporate such an AI Agent into our system of checks and balances in a manner similar to the way we have constitutionally protected freedom of the press, we may have a model for global governance that can earn the trust of people everywhere. It has the potential to be the most just form of government imaginable within human societies.
In summary, as beneficiaries of a deep understanding of human history, international affairs and political science we must never work or wish for the demise of this Unipolar America-led World Order – it would, in effect, be a wish for our own destruction, those whom we care deeply for and for all of humankind. Instead, recognizing the extraordinary achievements of a Unipolar World Order, we should all work to strengthen and improve it for the benefit of all humankind.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Episode 91 – https://youtu.be/RfEIbPNAALo
AI & the Truman Doctrine | The Merits of Preserving the New World Order
March 23, 2022
AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Vicar Sayeedi
March 23, 2022
During the past two years, the volume of data humankind has accumulated has doubled when compared to the complete volume of data previously in existence. As this decade unfolds, we can expect the rate of data accumulation to increase further as more people around the world spend more time online. Such increased engagement on the Internet will invariably enable a society’s activities to be tracked and subsequently, insights and predictions regarding their behavior will be extracted.
The centers where this data is being stored are already a major concern from the perspective of Climate Change – facilities operated by Amazon, Google, Microsoft and a few others consume more energy than the annual energy requirements of some countries. Fortunately, Artificial Intelligence Agents are being developed and deployed to optimize energy consumption in these data centers. They do so by monitoring and dynamically adjusting the vast networks of pumps, sensors, valves and an array of cooling and ventilation equipment in the environmental and temperature control systems of these massive data facilities. As a result, these AI Agents can now successfully reduce data center energy consumption by as much as 30%.
But as humankind continues to generate so much data and naïvely turn it over to a few powerful technology companies in return for free access to the many Internet sites we have all grown so accustomed to, there is another significant and emerging danger with which we ought to be acutely concerned. The unprecedented volume of personal and sensitive data accumulating in these networks and systems – essentially all are in America and China – are being mined and queried by Artificial Intelligence Agents. These Agents can extract insights about our most personal and sensitive characteristics, and they can predict our behavior from this data with such accuracy that most of us would find the situation deeply unsettling.
In fact, as we increasingly understand how these data can be used, most of us would probably wish to keep them and the insights they reveal, highly confidential. Things we may have done during periods of adolescent indiscretion, our sexual orientation and preferences, our political views, our health history, medical issues and status, the state of our personal finances and the numerous problems in our personal lives, our relationships and virtually everything we have done throughout our lives up to the present moment can now be extracted and then live on in perpetuity in these databases. Furthermore, and perhaps most distressing, the American and Chinese firms who have harvested these vast troves of data from nearly everyone on the planet – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft in the US and Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent in China – can potentially use this information to wield immense power across society and the world.
As the leading tech giants harvest and interrogate our data in an unrelenting quest to ascertain or predict our consumer behavior and preferences which can then be used to further refine the adverts shown to us, we have already entered a new reality of near constant surveillance capitalism. In the past, we may have received targeted advertising based upon our demographic characteristics or cohort, the communities we live in or perhaps the newspapers and magazines we choose to read. But now we receive advertising specifically targeted towards our individual preferences as determined by our online interactions – the things we search for, the sites we visit, our emotive responses to posts on social media and the comments we leave behind – and these are all being collected and analyzed by Artificial Intelligence Agents for commercial targeting purposes.
Perhaps most alarming though, is the realization that those who own these vast stores of data are increasingly poised to use them to colonize societies and nations and to subjugate them unlike any previous time in history. The word Democracy comes from the Greek – “Demos” means people and “Kratos” means to rule. Thus, Democracy is the rule of the people. But the Age of Datocracy is now dawning upon humankind – it is a system of government that allows those who harvest and own our data to rule us through the embarrassing, frightening or intimidating threat of disclosure of the very same.
Imagine a scenario in which the complete and most incriminating and personal data of every public official and prominent citizen of some unnamed country – their academics, administrators, financial and industrial executives, journalists, judges, lawyers, members of parliament, public intellectuals, senators and even their Prime Minister – are now in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. This would give the Chinese State extraordinary influence over the unnamed country’s government, their civil society, their domestic and foreign policy, their values as a society and virtually every other attribute of this nation. This country would then have lost its sovereignty and would be reduced to nothing more than an obedient Chinese colony. They would no longer be an independent state but would now be a Datocracy – a vassal state under the comprehensive and permanent influence of data held by the Chinese State. This country’s era as a Liberal Democracy would be over, and the age of Neocolonialism and the Surveillance State would be upon them.
In order to prevent such a metastatic and then endemic scenario from becoming humankind’s ultimate dystopian reality from which it would be virtually impossible to ever break free, we would need cooperation across the globe and with the full participation of the United Nations Member States. We would need all the nations of the world to work together to implement the regulatory measures necessary to prevent such an unsettling reality. But as we transition from a unipolar world and bifurcate into a bipolar world, or perhaps even transition to a multipolar world, such global cooperation becomes increasingly difficult.
So many of the problems facing the world today that require global cooperation – the dangers of militarized or unregulated Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology & the abuse of Genetic Engineering techniques, the containment of Climate Change, etc. – become increasingly tenuous in bipolar or multipolar worlds. In fact, the current conflict in Ukraine will likely further exacerbate the desire to gather data about others that can then be used as leverage for the rise of Neocolonialism and the Surveillance State. Thus, it is increasingly clear that our best path forward will be to try to maintain unipolarity and the status quo and then work together in this environment to solve our problems in our mutual best interest. As the risks of bipolarity or multipolarity increase, the probability that we will be able to contain and resolve our enormous, shared challenges – including Datocracy – declines precipitously.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
Vicar Sayeedi
March 23, 2022
During the past two years, the volume of data humankind has accumulated has doubled when compared to the complete volume of data previously in existence. As this decade unfolds, we can expect the rate of data accumulation to increase further as more people around the world spend more time online. Such increased engagement on the Internet will invariably enable a society’s activities to be tracked and subsequently, insights and predictions regarding their behavior will be extracted.
The centers where this data is being stored are already a major concern from the perspective of Climate Change – facilities operated by Amazon, Google, Microsoft and a few others consume more energy than the annual energy requirements of some countries. Fortunately, Artificial Intelligence Agents are being developed and deployed to optimize energy consumption in these data centers. They do so by monitoring and dynamically adjusting the vast networks of pumps, sensors, valves and an array of cooling and ventilation equipment in the environmental and temperature control systems of these massive data facilities. As a result, these AI Agents can now successfully reduce data center energy consumption by as much as 30%.
But as humankind continues to generate so much data and naïvely turn it over to a few powerful technology companies in return for free access to the many Internet sites we have all grown so accustomed to, there is another significant and emerging danger with which we ought to be acutely concerned. The unprecedented volume of personal and sensitive data accumulating in these networks and systems – essentially all are in America and China – are being mined and queried by Artificial Intelligence Agents. These Agents can extract insights about our most personal and sensitive characteristics, and they can predict our behavior from this data with such accuracy that most of us would find the situation deeply unsettling.
In fact, as we increasingly understand how these data can be used, most of us would probably wish to keep them and the insights they reveal, highly confidential. Things we may have done during periods of adolescent indiscretion, our sexual orientation and preferences, our political views, our health history, medical issues and status, the state of our personal finances and the numerous problems in our personal lives, our relationships and virtually everything we have done throughout our lives up to the present moment can now be extracted and then live on in perpetuity in these databases. Furthermore, and perhaps most distressing, the American and Chinese firms who have harvested these vast troves of data from nearly everyone on the planet – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft in the US and Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent in China – can potentially use this information to wield immense power across society and the world.
As the leading tech giants harvest and interrogate our data in an unrelenting quest to ascertain or predict our consumer behavior and preferences which can then be used to further refine the adverts shown to us, we have already entered a new reality of near constant surveillance capitalism. In the past, we may have received targeted advertising based upon our demographic characteristics or cohort, the communities we live in or perhaps the newspapers and magazines we choose to read. But now we receive advertising specifically targeted towards our individual preferences as determined by our online interactions – the things we search for, the sites we visit, our emotive responses to posts on social media and the comments we leave behind – and these are all being collected and analyzed by Artificial Intelligence Agents for commercial targeting purposes.
Perhaps most alarming though, is the realization that those who own these vast stores of data are increasingly poised to use them to colonize societies and nations and to subjugate them unlike any previous time in history. The word Democracy comes from the Greek – “Demos” means people and “Kratos” means to rule. Thus, Democracy is the rule of the people. But the Age of Datocracy is now dawning upon humankind – it is a system of government that allows those who harvest and own our data to rule us through the embarrassing, frightening or intimidating threat of disclosure of the very same.
Imagine a scenario in which the complete and most incriminating and personal data of every public official and prominent citizen of some unnamed country – their academics, administrators, financial and industrial executives, journalists, judges, lawyers, members of parliament, public intellectuals, senators and even their Prime Minister – are now in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. This would give the Chinese State extraordinary influence over the unnamed country’s government, their civil society, their domestic and foreign policy, their values as a society and virtually every other attribute of this nation. This country would then have lost its sovereignty and would be reduced to nothing more than an obedient Chinese colony. They would no longer be an independent state but would now be a Datocracy – a vassal state under the comprehensive and permanent influence of data held by the Chinese State. This country’s era as a Liberal Democracy would be over, and the age of Neocolonialism and the Surveillance State would be upon them.
In order to prevent such a metastatic and then endemic scenario from becoming humankind’s ultimate dystopian reality from which it would be virtually impossible to ever break free, we would need cooperation across the globe and with the full participation of the United Nations Member States. We would need all the nations of the world to work together to implement the regulatory measures necessary to prevent such an unsettling reality. But as we transition from a unipolar world and bifurcate into a bipolar world, or perhaps even transition to a multipolar world, such global cooperation becomes increasingly difficult.
So many of the problems facing the world today that require global cooperation – the dangers of militarized or unregulated Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology & the abuse of Genetic Engineering techniques, the containment of Climate Change, etc. – become increasingly tenuous in bipolar or multipolar worlds. In fact, the current conflict in Ukraine will likely further exacerbate the desire to gather data about others that can then be used as leverage for the rise of Neocolonialism and the Surveillance State. Thus, it is increasingly clear that our best path forward will be to try to maintain unipolarity and the status quo and then work together in this environment to solve our problems in our mutual best interest. As the risks of bipolarity or multipolarity increase, the probability that we will be able to contain and resolve our enormous, shared challenges – including Datocracy – declines precipitously.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Episode 90 – https://youtu.be/8S7SDcqKNZ0
AI & Neocolonialism | Datocracy & the Surveillance State
March 15, 2022
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar World Orders | Implications for Humankind
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar World Orders | Implications for Humankind
Vicar Sayeedi
March 15, 2022
In 1918, in the wake of World War I, three major ideologies dominated our world – Communism, Fascism and Liberal Democracy. We were living in a decidedly multipolar world and danger abounded in every direction. The Great War of 1914 – catalyzed by the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo at the hands of a Serbian assassin – had itself consumed more than 20 million lives. Sadly, the Great War was just one of numerous such violent episodes to erupt across the European continent over the preceding centuries.
Such multipolarity characterized by bloodshed and unspeakable violence had been our shared reality – our collective Realpolitik – for centuries and within a few decades following the Great War, the world was consumed, yet again. This time, perhaps six to eight times as many people lost their lives. Thus, the historical record has conclusively shown that multipolarity defined by many geopolitical centers of power leads to near constant conflict.
Fortunately, by 1991, only Liberal Democracy was left standing. Fascism collapsed in 1945 with the defeat of Nazi Germany and following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Communism had also imploded. Since that time, the world has taken on a decidedly unipolar world order and America has been the only superpower remaining to uphold this new reality. America enforced this order through an inclusive set of fifty-eight geopolitical alliances, numerous institutions and nearly eight hundred military installations in Asia, Europe and around the world. For most of the last thirty years, this unipolar world order has become the norm to which the world has, begrudgingly or willingly, acclimated. But most importantly, this unipolarity has resulted in an unprecedented peace – a Pax Americana – a period of unprecedented security relative to any previous time in history.
Unequivocally, unipolar worlds have demonstrably distinct advantages. In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Liberal Democracy, free market capitalism and globalization have produced unprecedented prosperity around the globe. We have witnessed a dramatic rise in the global middle class as well as the alleviation of poverty for hundreds of millions, most notably on display in China and India.
In the wake of this extraordinary Pax Americana [George W. Bush’s military adventurism and that of a few others not withstanding], we have also witnessed a dramatic decline in military expenditures around the world. In Northern and Western Europe, EU Member States have been investing just 2% of GDP in their defense during this Pax Americana. This is extraordinary when we consider that the level of violence and warfare in Europe over the past two thousand years required emperors and monarchs to spend as much as seventy percent of the revenue of the State on militarism.
With the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] as a collective defense, these wealthy Developed Economies have been able to invest heavily in education, healthcare and social welfare as well as in basic research and development in medicine, science and technology. There has also been an extraordinary flourishing of the arts and of cultural institutions throughout these past thirty years. Such a reorientation of government expenditure towards the collective good has produced dramatic benefits for society – citizens of these polities are living healthier, more fulfilling, prosperous and relatively much safer lives than at any time in history. Most people today are more likely to die from exposure to sugar, salt and fat than from exposure to gunpowder or sharp objects. Further supporting this thesis, survey after survey confirm society’s satisfaction for life under liberal democracy and free market economies within this unipolar world order.
During this period of Pax Americana, people in the Developing World have also benefited from the investments made in North America and Western Europe on research and development in medicine, science and technology – globalization has enabled the unencumbered flow of goods across borders underpinned by the West’s financial resources to facilitate the process. Consider, for example, the extraordinary achievement of the West in developing many new safe and effective vaccines and therapies for the COVID-19 Coronavirus within one year of the pandemic outbreak. Also consider the technology used for testing and tracing or the best practices in Public Health to contain the spread of the virus. Each of these benefits have been made available to the Developing World through commitment and coordination between civil society and governmental and non-governmental organizations [NGO’s] such as the medicinal and vaccine alliances – COVAX, CEPI and GAVI – they created.
Today, scientists are working to identify the top twenty pathogens most likely to result in future pandemics and are using Artificial Intelligence to predict the three-dimensional folding pattern of these proteins. Once this previously insurmountable problem of understanding the folding pattern of a protein is understood, pharmaceutical physicians and scientists can more quickly identify chemical compounds that can best modify the behavior of these protein nanomachines or disable them entirely. It’s an extraordinary achievement that benefits all of humankind – we are now in a position to develop safe and effective therapeutics and vaccines very quickly should another epidemic or pandemic erupt, thus preventing death and economic suffering across all geographies. But we must realize that so many of the incredible medical, scientific and technological achievements and their applications to humankind’s problems during these past thirty years – Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing, Data Science and Genomics – were only possible due to the relative stability and security made possible in a unipolar world order guaranteed by America.
The rise of China in the past two decades has been a modern miracle. In 2000, China’s GDP was only one percent of global GDP but by 2020 the Chinese economy’s share of the global total had grown to 15%. This was only possible due to globalization underwritten by Pax Americana and the free flow of ideas, raw materials and the sharing of research across the globe between societies willing to immerse and invest in themselves and their societies for advancement and growth. But now, with Xi Jinping at the helm of the Chinese Communist Party, we seem to be trending towards a bipolar world. President Xi is fond of saying, “Chairman Mao made China stand up, Deng Xiaoping made China rich, and I am making China strong.” It is an effort to secure his third term as president despite Chinese Communist Party rules that require a Chinese president to step down after two terms.
Over the past five years, an Authoritarian President Xi has moved us towards a bipolar world in which a rising absolutist power is demanding a seat at the table. Xi is not willing to accept America’s singular authority over a unipolar world even though the very rise of China has been contextualized and enabled by American unipolarity. It’s an ideological challenge the world has not witnessed in thirty years, but it does have the benefit of pushing the West to sharpen its pencils and improve its own governance. In the United Kingdom and the United States, a great deal of dissatisfaction has been registered by the citizenry towards its democracy – large numbers now feel they have been left behind by Globalization, mismanagement of immigration policies and the rise of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies – and this has given rise to demagogues such as Donald Trump and to nostalgia fueled fantasies such as Brexit in the UK and the Gilets Jaunes [Yellow Vest] Movement in France.
Too many citizens in the West are losing faith in the promise of a liberal democracy and a free-market capitalist economy that has produced so much benefit across the globe for billions, perhaps because it has done so largely at their expense. Of late, the West seemed to be in the midst of a classic Thucydides Trap vis a vis the Peloponnesian War of circa 400 BCE when the established power of Sparta was confronted by the rising power of a democratic Athenian State. In eleven out of twelve such Thucydides Traps – or Great Power Rivalries – the confrontation results in war.
But now with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Russia seems to have the explicit backing of China. On its own, Russia is a vastly diminished economic power – its economy is overwhelmingly dependent upon the extraction of oil and gas to which the Europeans are now beholden, at least in the short term. But in the long term they will find alternatives thus breaking their dependency.
Food insecurity is also a major challenge we must now confront – a unipolar world order guaranteed by America has had a dramatically positive effect on mitigating food insecurity across the world. But as Russian and Ukrainian wheat is weaponized, agricultural commodity prices have been soaring. This will undoubtedly result in both political instability and starvation in many parts of the Developing World.
Advancements in medicine, science and technology will not cease in the Developed World due to a reorientation towards bipolar or multipolar world orders but the probability that the political and therefore intellectual focus will favor military applications first and foremost will be high and the application of intellectual capital for social benefit will be secondary. This reality of bipolar or multipolar world orders will of course significantly limit the benefits that flow through to the Developing World as global supply chains wither and military budgets are buttressed. Enlarged military budgets such as that announced in Germany will leave less for societal benefit and this will lead to declining standards of living, increasing hunger and general poverty across Africa, Asia and other Developing Economies.
With oil and gas serving as the fuel driving Russia’s renewed neo-Czarist Imperial ambitions, we may see strengthened commitments, focus and investments towards solar, wind and thermonuclear fusion as alternative energy sources in the West thus reducing the ability of the major extraction economies of the Middle East, Russia and other Authoritarian states to cause geopolitical chaos and mischief in the long term. But in the short term, we must prepare ourselves for an increasingly dangerous and insecure world order in which everyone will retrench to protect themselves and their nations. The numerous benefits of Globalization may have to be shelved for the foreseeable future whilst hunger and poverty reassert themselves.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
Vicar Sayeedi
March 15, 2022
In 1918, in the wake of World War I, three major ideologies dominated our world – Communism, Fascism and Liberal Democracy. We were living in a decidedly multipolar world and danger abounded in every direction. The Great War of 1914 – catalyzed by the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo at the hands of a Serbian assassin – had itself consumed more than 20 million lives. Sadly, the Great War was just one of numerous such violent episodes to erupt across the European continent over the preceding centuries.
Such multipolarity characterized by bloodshed and unspeakable violence had been our shared reality – our collective Realpolitik – for centuries and within a few decades following the Great War, the world was consumed, yet again. This time, perhaps six to eight times as many people lost their lives. Thus, the historical record has conclusively shown that multipolarity defined by many geopolitical centers of power leads to near constant conflict.
Fortunately, by 1991, only Liberal Democracy was left standing. Fascism collapsed in 1945 with the defeat of Nazi Germany and following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Communism had also imploded. Since that time, the world has taken on a decidedly unipolar world order and America has been the only superpower remaining to uphold this new reality. America enforced this order through an inclusive set of fifty-eight geopolitical alliances, numerous institutions and nearly eight hundred military installations in Asia, Europe and around the world. For most of the last thirty years, this unipolar world order has become the norm to which the world has, begrudgingly or willingly, acclimated. But most importantly, this unipolarity has resulted in an unprecedented peace – a Pax Americana – a period of unprecedented security relative to any previous time in history.
Unequivocally, unipolar worlds have demonstrably distinct advantages. In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Liberal Democracy, free market capitalism and globalization have produced unprecedented prosperity around the globe. We have witnessed a dramatic rise in the global middle class as well as the alleviation of poverty for hundreds of millions, most notably on display in China and India.
In the wake of this extraordinary Pax Americana [George W. Bush’s military adventurism and that of a few others not withstanding], we have also witnessed a dramatic decline in military expenditures around the world. In Northern and Western Europe, EU Member States have been investing just 2% of GDP in their defense during this Pax Americana. This is extraordinary when we consider that the level of violence and warfare in Europe over the past two thousand years required emperors and monarchs to spend as much as seventy percent of the revenue of the State on militarism.
With the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] as a collective defense, these wealthy Developed Economies have been able to invest heavily in education, healthcare and social welfare as well as in basic research and development in medicine, science and technology. There has also been an extraordinary flourishing of the arts and of cultural institutions throughout these past thirty years. Such a reorientation of government expenditure towards the collective good has produced dramatic benefits for society – citizens of these polities are living healthier, more fulfilling, prosperous and relatively much safer lives than at any time in history. Most people today are more likely to die from exposure to sugar, salt and fat than from exposure to gunpowder or sharp objects. Further supporting this thesis, survey after survey confirm society’s satisfaction for life under liberal democracy and free market economies within this unipolar world order.
During this period of Pax Americana, people in the Developing World have also benefited from the investments made in North America and Western Europe on research and development in medicine, science and technology – globalization has enabled the unencumbered flow of goods across borders underpinned by the West’s financial resources to facilitate the process. Consider, for example, the extraordinary achievement of the West in developing many new safe and effective vaccines and therapies for the COVID-19 Coronavirus within one year of the pandemic outbreak. Also consider the technology used for testing and tracing or the best practices in Public Health to contain the spread of the virus. Each of these benefits have been made available to the Developing World through commitment and coordination between civil society and governmental and non-governmental organizations [NGO’s] such as the medicinal and vaccine alliances – COVAX, CEPI and GAVI – they created.
Today, scientists are working to identify the top twenty pathogens most likely to result in future pandemics and are using Artificial Intelligence to predict the three-dimensional folding pattern of these proteins. Once this previously insurmountable problem of understanding the folding pattern of a protein is understood, pharmaceutical physicians and scientists can more quickly identify chemical compounds that can best modify the behavior of these protein nanomachines or disable them entirely. It’s an extraordinary achievement that benefits all of humankind – we are now in a position to develop safe and effective therapeutics and vaccines very quickly should another epidemic or pandemic erupt, thus preventing death and economic suffering across all geographies. But we must realize that so many of the incredible medical, scientific and technological achievements and their applications to humankind’s problems during these past thirty years – Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing, Data Science and Genomics – were only possible due to the relative stability and security made possible in a unipolar world order guaranteed by America.
The rise of China in the past two decades has been a modern miracle. In 2000, China’s GDP was only one percent of global GDP but by 2020 the Chinese economy’s share of the global total had grown to 15%. This was only possible due to globalization underwritten by Pax Americana and the free flow of ideas, raw materials and the sharing of research across the globe between societies willing to immerse and invest in themselves and their societies for advancement and growth. But now, with Xi Jinping at the helm of the Chinese Communist Party, we seem to be trending towards a bipolar world. President Xi is fond of saying, “Chairman Mao made China stand up, Deng Xiaoping made China rich, and I am making China strong.” It is an effort to secure his third term as president despite Chinese Communist Party rules that require a Chinese president to step down after two terms.
Over the past five years, an Authoritarian President Xi has moved us towards a bipolar world in which a rising absolutist power is demanding a seat at the table. Xi is not willing to accept America’s singular authority over a unipolar world even though the very rise of China has been contextualized and enabled by American unipolarity. It’s an ideological challenge the world has not witnessed in thirty years, but it does have the benefit of pushing the West to sharpen its pencils and improve its own governance. In the United Kingdom and the United States, a great deal of dissatisfaction has been registered by the citizenry towards its democracy – large numbers now feel they have been left behind by Globalization, mismanagement of immigration policies and the rise of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies – and this has given rise to demagogues such as Donald Trump and to nostalgia fueled fantasies such as Brexit in the UK and the Gilets Jaunes [Yellow Vest] Movement in France.
Too many citizens in the West are losing faith in the promise of a liberal democracy and a free-market capitalist economy that has produced so much benefit across the globe for billions, perhaps because it has done so largely at their expense. Of late, the West seemed to be in the midst of a classic Thucydides Trap vis a vis the Peloponnesian War of circa 400 BCE when the established power of Sparta was confronted by the rising power of a democratic Athenian State. In eleven out of twelve such Thucydides Traps – or Great Power Rivalries – the confrontation results in war.
But now with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Russia seems to have the explicit backing of China. On its own, Russia is a vastly diminished economic power – its economy is overwhelmingly dependent upon the extraction of oil and gas to which the Europeans are now beholden, at least in the short term. But in the long term they will find alternatives thus breaking their dependency.
Food insecurity is also a major challenge we must now confront – a unipolar world order guaranteed by America has had a dramatically positive effect on mitigating food insecurity across the world. But as Russian and Ukrainian wheat is weaponized, agricultural commodity prices have been soaring. This will undoubtedly result in both political instability and starvation in many parts of the Developing World.
Advancements in medicine, science and technology will not cease in the Developed World due to a reorientation towards bipolar or multipolar world orders but the probability that the political and therefore intellectual focus will favor military applications first and foremost will be high and the application of intellectual capital for social benefit will be secondary. This reality of bipolar or multipolar world orders will of course significantly limit the benefits that flow through to the Developing World as global supply chains wither and military budgets are buttressed. Enlarged military budgets such as that announced in Germany will leave less for societal benefit and this will lead to declining standards of living, increasing hunger and general poverty across Africa, Asia and other Developing Economies.
With oil and gas serving as the fuel driving Russia’s renewed neo-Czarist Imperial ambitions, we may see strengthened commitments, focus and investments towards solar, wind and thermonuclear fusion as alternative energy sources in the West thus reducing the ability of the major extraction economies of the Middle East, Russia and other Authoritarian states to cause geopolitical chaos and mischief in the long term. But in the short term, we must prepare ourselves for an increasingly dangerous and insecure world order in which everyone will retrench to protect themselves and their nations. The numerous benefits of Globalization may have to be shelved for the foreseeable future whilst hunger and poverty reassert themselves.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Episode 89 – https://youtu.be/_vgLJEoQFY4
Unipolar, Bipolar & Multipolar Worlds | Implications for Humankind
March 1, 2022
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Vicar Sayeedi
March 2, 2022
In 2020, Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley and Emmanuelle Charpentier of Max Planck in Berlin were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their pioneering work in gene editing. The two scientists and their teams developed what is essentially a molecular scissor known as CRISPR-Cas9 that can locate and edit genes within the human genome. It was a seminal achievement in human history.
The science and technology of gene editing is amongst the most powerful ever developed. It can be used to treat patients with genetic disorders and even to eliminate the disorder using a technique known as germ line editing. This will prevent the disease from propagating to the patient’s offspring. With a modest level of reflection, we soon realize there are a virtually unlimited number of applications of CRISPR-Cas9 that can be both beneficial for humankind as well as nefarious.
The genome is the complete genetic blueprint of an organism’s cells, organs and tissues. The Cas9 protein is an adaptive capability within the natural immune systems of bacteria that they employ to fight any viral infections they might encounter. RNA molecules provide the address of the target, thus guiding Cas9 to the viral DNA which can then be edited. Drs. Doudna and Charpentier’s research has now managed to harness this natural CRISPR-Cas9 molecular scissor mechanism for multipurpose gene and germ line editing within the human genome.
In 1990, scientists around the world initiated the Human Genome Project. For the first time in history, they’d started what was expected to be a fifteen yearlong international research effort to map the complete DNA sequence of a single anonymous human, their genetic blueprint or genome. By 2003, an accurate and complete human genome sequence was completed two years ahead of plan. It was an extraordinary achievement considering that the human genome contains 3 billion chemical base pairs of molecules [adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T)] that would require about twenty phonebook size volumes to fully document. Of these 3 billion base pairs, 2% yield about 20,000 genes. These 20,000 genotypes manifest as phenotypes or traits in humans.
The remaining 98% of the base pairs – what scientists call the non-coding region of the genome – are yet to be fully understood. We are learning that many of the base pairs perform a critical regulatory function – they determine whether and when “gene expression” takes place. But the question of which of these base pairs are involved in gene expression and in what combination, or whether some base pairs perform a yet unknown function within the genome remains a mystery – they may well control how a disease expresses and progresses at the cellular level.
Fortunately, scientists have begun to leverage advanced and emerging capabilities in Artificial Intelligence to help decipher the human genome. As an increasingly superior proxy for human intelligence, AI can be leveraged to solve what may otherwise be insurmountably complex scientific problems for humans. Due to AI’s speed and ability to evaluate and extract insights which from the human perspective would be, for all intents and purposes, an infinite volume of data, long standing problems in science are increasingly being solved.
Today, a modality of Machine Learning for Artificial Intelligence known as a Transformer can evaluate ever larger sets of ACTG [adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T)] sequences in the genes and non-coding DNA within an individual’s genome and then predict how these genes will manifest themselves in cells, organs and tissues. This data driven predictive capability offers a dramatic advance in human understanding of disease and in developing the ability to contain disease enabling gene expression.
Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington’s Disease, Muscular Dystrophy and Sickle Cell Disease are all well known for having a genetic basis and we may soon acquire the ability to manipulate genes to prevent or reverse these conditions. We know that some humans do not develop high levels of cholesterol even though they may consume a diet that normally results in an elevated cholesterol level in most others. Thus, we may be able to edit the regulatory gene using CRISP-Cas9 so that we can control cholesterol production rather than be subjected to traditional, chronic pharmaceutical therapies involving statins. This may also be more cost effective, have fewer side effects as well as provide superior clinical outcomes.
In summary, Artificial Intelligence can lead to a significantly better understanding of biology, and this can lead to a dramatic improvement in healthcare and medicine. We are evolving from simply trying to observe biology to leveraging it to prevent and manage disease. AI is increasingly enabling us to wrap our heads around what is otherwise an unmanageable level of complexity in genomics while advances in genetic research simultaneously improve our ability to predict how DNA sequences influence gene expression.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
Vicar Sayeedi
March 2, 2022
In 2020, Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley and Emmanuelle Charpentier of Max Planck in Berlin were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their pioneering work in gene editing. The two scientists and their teams developed what is essentially a molecular scissor known as CRISPR-Cas9 that can locate and edit genes within the human genome. It was a seminal achievement in human history.
The science and technology of gene editing is amongst the most powerful ever developed. It can be used to treat patients with genetic disorders and even to eliminate the disorder using a technique known as germ line editing. This will prevent the disease from propagating to the patient’s offspring. With a modest level of reflection, we soon realize there are a virtually unlimited number of applications of CRISPR-Cas9 that can be both beneficial for humankind as well as nefarious.
The genome is the complete genetic blueprint of an organism’s cells, organs and tissues. The Cas9 protein is an adaptive capability within the natural immune systems of bacteria that they employ to fight any viral infections they might encounter. RNA molecules provide the address of the target, thus guiding Cas9 to the viral DNA which can then be edited. Drs. Doudna and Charpentier’s research has now managed to harness this natural CRISPR-Cas9 molecular scissor mechanism for multipurpose gene and germ line editing within the human genome.
In 1990, scientists around the world initiated the Human Genome Project. For the first time in history, they’d started what was expected to be a fifteen yearlong international research effort to map the complete DNA sequence of a single anonymous human, their genetic blueprint or genome. By 2003, an accurate and complete human genome sequence was completed two years ahead of plan. It was an extraordinary achievement considering that the human genome contains 3 billion chemical base pairs of molecules [adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T)] that would require about twenty phonebook size volumes to fully document. Of these 3 billion base pairs, 2% yield about 20,000 genes. These 20,000 genotypes manifest as phenotypes or traits in humans.
The remaining 98% of the base pairs – what scientists call the non-coding region of the genome – are yet to be fully understood. We are learning that many of the base pairs perform a critical regulatory function – they determine whether and when “gene expression” takes place. But the question of which of these base pairs are involved in gene expression and in what combination, or whether some base pairs perform a yet unknown function within the genome remains a mystery – they may well control how a disease expresses and progresses at the cellular level.
Fortunately, scientists have begun to leverage advanced and emerging capabilities in Artificial Intelligence to help decipher the human genome. As an increasingly superior proxy for human intelligence, AI can be leveraged to solve what may otherwise be insurmountably complex scientific problems for humans. Due to AI’s speed and ability to evaluate and extract insights which from the human perspective would be, for all intents and purposes, an infinite volume of data, long standing problems in science are increasingly being solved.
Today, a modality of Machine Learning for Artificial Intelligence known as a Transformer can evaluate ever larger sets of ACTG [adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T)] sequences in the genes and non-coding DNA within an individual’s genome and then predict how these genes will manifest themselves in cells, organs and tissues. This data driven predictive capability offers a dramatic advance in human understanding of disease and in developing the ability to contain disease enabling gene expression.
Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington’s Disease, Muscular Dystrophy and Sickle Cell Disease are all well known for having a genetic basis and we may soon acquire the ability to manipulate genes to prevent or reverse these conditions. We know that some humans do not develop high levels of cholesterol even though they may consume a diet that normally results in an elevated cholesterol level in most others. Thus, we may be able to edit the regulatory gene using CRISP-Cas9 so that we can control cholesterol production rather than be subjected to traditional, chronic pharmaceutical therapies involving statins. This may also be more cost effective, have fewer side effects as well as provide superior clinical outcomes.
In summary, Artificial Intelligence can lead to a significantly better understanding of biology, and this can lead to a dramatic improvement in healthcare and medicine. We are evolving from simply trying to observe biology to leveraging it to prevent and manage disease. AI is increasingly enabling us to wrap our heads around what is otherwise an unmanageable level of complexity in genomics while advances in genetic research simultaneously improve our ability to predict how DNA sequences influence gene expression.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Episode 88 – https://youtu.be/6TP5AFtg-6g
AI & Genomics | Accelerating Gene Therapies
February 24, 2022
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Vicar Sayeedi
February 26, 2022
In November 1989, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin watched in utter disbelief as the Berlin Wall – a concrete demarcation that had divided Communist East Germany and Democratic West Germany since 1961 – was torn down before his very eyes. As a low-level KGB Agent with little authority, he tried desperately to contact his local superiors as well as those in the Moscow headquarters of the Russian intelligence agency but there was no answer. He and his KGB colleagues then set about furiously destroying as many Stasi and KGB secret files as they could. Two years later, in the wake of financial collapse and bankruptcy resulting from a poor economy and ill-considered military misadventures, the fifteen countries that comprised the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Soviet Union, as well as the eight member states of the Warsaw Pact defense alliance against NATO, disintegrated completely. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact and the crumbling Russian economy throughout the 1990’s delineated a series of events that would scar Putin for the rest of his life. It underpinned a deep sense of personal humiliation, inferiority and regret that he would never forget.
As Putin consolidated power in Russia – by going after the wealth of the eight oligarchs nurtured by Boris Yeltsin in return for political support – he gradually turned from a quiet introspective statesman into an increasingly confident leader. By 2008, his confidence had been replaced with a strong authoritarian demeanor as he launched an attack on the former Soviet Republic of Georgia to Russia’s south. By 2014, an increasingly megalomaniacal Putin – buttressed by stable cash flows from a Russian economy largely centered around the extraction and sale of crude oil and gas from the country’s eastern region – launched an attack on Ukraine and seized its southern Black Sea ports and territory, the Crimea. He also established a foothold along Ukraine’s eastern border region with Russia, the Donbas, and its community of ethnic Russians.
In the post WW2 era – particularly since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union – Putin has watched with envy, the rise of the Far East and the West and their increasing prosperity and sophistication. From China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan to Russia’s east and from Germany, the European Union and the United States to its West, the achievements in medicine, science, technology and industry have been staggering. The economy of the United States has doubled from $10 trillion in 2002 to $20 trillion in 2020 whilst the Chinese economy has grown from 1% of global GDP in 2000 to 15% in 2020. Yet during the same period, the Russian economy has remained relatively undeveloped – despite the size of the country, it remains comparable in scale to the Spanish economy. There is no Russian economic sector that can compare with the success of America, China or the European Union and so Putin’s focus is drawn to the one area he can leverage: the extraction of crude oil and natural gas. Meanwhile, the lifespan of Russia’s citizens has fallen dramatically lower than that found in Developed economies in Asia, Europe and North America and Russia is furthermore considered a nation in decline in corridors of power across most of the world.
Now in 2022, as a mounting sense of humiliation suffocates Putin’s conscience, he has moved militarily on the entirety of the Ukraine, but not before receiving a steady stream of diplomats and heads of state in his Kremlin offices where they implored him not to attack. Putin the pariah, the world’s most infamous persona non grata, has exacted revenge for years of isolation and now with a smirk on his lips, his war machine has been engaged.
During the early 2000’s, there were serious discussions within the European Union as well as within NATO regarding admitting Russia into the two prestigious institutions. Vladimir Putin was very keen to join – decades of economic, political and strategic failure within the Soviet Union both during and following the Cold War era had left Russia in deep despair. Admission to the EU and NATO would have provided an extraordinary opportunity to resuscitate its reputation. But following extensive deliberations, the consensus within the two institutions was that given Russia’s 20th century history and the experience of the Cold War, immediate inclusion would be premature. Although Russia was now a republic, it would need to move further down the road of a western style liberal democracy and build confidence with the West. Russia would need to establish and maintain demonstrable separation of powers between its administration, judiciary and legislature and it would need to have free and fair elections. It would also need to have a free press [Fourth Estate], an active civil society and demonstrable respect for human rights.
But unfortunately, Russia was unable to continue down the path of liberal democracy. By 2008, Putin had invaded Georgia, threatened opposition politicians, clamped down on independent journalists and had generally begun withdrawing its structural reforms in governance – Russia had reversed its path towards a liberal democracy. Targeted assassinations in Berlin and London made matters worse and the 2014 invasion of the Crimea left no illusions that the old Russia was reasserting its Cold War ways. The West was right to have rejected the inclusion of Russia in the EU and NATO.
Only time will tell how this frightening Ukraine episode will end, but one thing is certain: Putin’s desire to leverage his steady cash flows from the sale of crude oil and gas to reestablish a neo-Russian empire and sphere of influence beginning with former Soviet territories and Warsaw Pact states to the west – countries including Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Ukraine – is underway. With Putin’s failure and inability to compete with the world’s leading nations in medicine, science, industry and technology further cementing his personal failure in leadership and national humiliation, the only path forward now is to resurrect some form of a neo-Russian empire thereby making Russia’s presence felt geo-strategically and on the battlefield. With the latest weapons of war at hand – including those enabled by Artificial Intelligence – and a deep desire for vengeance in Putin’s heart, the world faces a very dangerous moment.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
Vicar Sayeedi
February 26, 2022
In November 1989, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin watched in utter disbelief as the Berlin Wall – a concrete demarcation that had divided Communist East Germany and Democratic West Germany since 1961 – was torn down before his very eyes. As a low-level KGB Agent with little authority, he tried desperately to contact his local superiors as well as those in the Moscow headquarters of the Russian intelligence agency but there was no answer. He and his KGB colleagues then set about furiously destroying as many Stasi and KGB secret files as they could. Two years later, in the wake of financial collapse and bankruptcy resulting from a poor economy and ill-considered military misadventures, the fifteen countries that comprised the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Soviet Union, as well as the eight member states of the Warsaw Pact defense alliance against NATO, disintegrated completely. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact and the crumbling Russian economy throughout the 1990’s delineated a series of events that would scar Putin for the rest of his life. It underpinned a deep sense of personal humiliation, inferiority and regret that he would never forget.
As Putin consolidated power in Russia – by going after the wealth of the eight oligarchs nurtured by Boris Yeltsin in return for political support – he gradually turned from a quiet introspective statesman into an increasingly confident leader. By 2008, his confidence had been replaced with a strong authoritarian demeanor as he launched an attack on the former Soviet Republic of Georgia to Russia’s south. By 2014, an increasingly megalomaniacal Putin – buttressed by stable cash flows from a Russian economy largely centered around the extraction and sale of crude oil and gas from the country’s eastern region – launched an attack on Ukraine and seized its southern Black Sea ports and territory, the Crimea. He also established a foothold along Ukraine’s eastern border region with Russia, the Donbas, and its community of ethnic Russians.
In the post WW2 era – particularly since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union – Putin has watched with envy, the rise of the Far East and the West and their increasing prosperity and sophistication. From China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan to Russia’s east and from Germany, the European Union and the United States to its West, the achievements in medicine, science, technology and industry have been staggering. The economy of the United States has doubled from $10 trillion in 2002 to $20 trillion in 2020 whilst the Chinese economy has grown from 1% of global GDP in 2000 to 15% in 2020. Yet during the same period, the Russian economy has remained relatively undeveloped – despite the size of the country, it remains comparable in scale to the Spanish economy. There is no Russian economic sector that can compare with the success of America, China or the European Union and so Putin’s focus is drawn to the one area he can leverage: the extraction of crude oil and natural gas. Meanwhile, the lifespan of Russia’s citizens has fallen dramatically lower than that found in Developed economies in Asia, Europe and North America and Russia is furthermore considered a nation in decline in corridors of power across most of the world.
Now in 2022, as a mounting sense of humiliation suffocates Putin’s conscience, he has moved militarily on the entirety of the Ukraine, but not before receiving a steady stream of diplomats and heads of state in his Kremlin offices where they implored him not to attack. Putin the pariah, the world’s most infamous persona non grata, has exacted revenge for years of isolation and now with a smirk on his lips, his war machine has been engaged.
During the early 2000’s, there were serious discussions within the European Union as well as within NATO regarding admitting Russia into the two prestigious institutions. Vladimir Putin was very keen to join – decades of economic, political and strategic failure within the Soviet Union both during and following the Cold War era had left Russia in deep despair. Admission to the EU and NATO would have provided an extraordinary opportunity to resuscitate its reputation. But following extensive deliberations, the consensus within the two institutions was that given Russia’s 20th century history and the experience of the Cold War, immediate inclusion would be premature. Although Russia was now a republic, it would need to move further down the road of a western style liberal democracy and build confidence with the West. Russia would need to establish and maintain demonstrable separation of powers between its administration, judiciary and legislature and it would need to have free and fair elections. It would also need to have a free press [Fourth Estate], an active civil society and demonstrable respect for human rights.
But unfortunately, Russia was unable to continue down the path of liberal democracy. By 2008, Putin had invaded Georgia, threatened opposition politicians, clamped down on independent journalists and had generally begun withdrawing its structural reforms in governance – Russia had reversed its path towards a liberal democracy. Targeted assassinations in Berlin and London made matters worse and the 2014 invasion of the Crimea left no illusions that the old Russia was reasserting its Cold War ways. The West was right to have rejected the inclusion of Russia in the EU and NATO.
Only time will tell how this frightening Ukraine episode will end, but one thing is certain: Putin’s desire to leverage his steady cash flows from the sale of crude oil and gas to reestablish a neo-Russian empire and sphere of influence beginning with former Soviet territories and Warsaw Pact states to the west – countries including Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Ukraine – is underway. With Putin’s failure and inability to compete with the world’s leading nations in medicine, science, industry and technology further cementing his personal failure in leadership and national humiliation, the only path forward now is to resurrect some form of a neo-Russian empire thereby making Russia’s presence felt geo-strategically and on the battlefield. With the latest weapons of war at hand – including those enabled by Artificial Intelligence – and a deep desire for vengeance in Putin’s heart, the world faces a very dangerous moment.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Bell Labs Alumnus, a Lecturer and a Consultant. He is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely about Artificial Intelligence. He has recently lectured in New York at the National Hemophilia Foundation about AI & the Life Sciences. He has also lectured in London in the Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, in Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, the National Library of Singapore as well as in Düsseldorf [with invitations extended to Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Rome, Stockholm & Vienna] on AI and its implications for individuals and societies. Vicar has lectured at leading companies, as well. In April 2022, Vicar will be lecturing at Cambridge Library adjacent to Harvard Square.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. For geopolitical technologists, the symbiosis at this intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go from Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Episode 68 - https://youtu.be/KzR8NkVdT0Q
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Episode 69 - https://youtu.be/BI0HqACc4Ek
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Episode 71 - https://youtu.be/GKD5hXmnpTU
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Episode 72 - https://youtu.be/KJdoBm5Kmw8
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Episode 73 - https://youtu.be/lLY6gF_eeas
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Episode 74 - https://youtu.be/URsauWURj5A
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Episode 75 - https://youtu.be/cu7xOHpNiO4
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Episode 76 - https://youtu.be/1-orEsKg5fM
Artificial Intelligence | Meritocracy and the Gathering Storm
Episode 77 - https://youtu.be/jYzyrxhxCJk
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 78 – https://youtu.be/G5dlaB8TZJQ
AI & Speciation | Symbiosis and the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 79 – https://youtu.be/8pq2ZAxRdcY
AI and Disinformation | Echo Chambers in an Age of Division
Episode 80 – https://youtu.be/bewLnveVpDI
AI & Human Conflict | Objectivism, Tribalism & the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Episode 81 – https://youtu.be/Z5ZvMYuNhLQ
AI, Climate Change & Migration | Sowing the Seeds of Intraplanetary Discord
Episode 82 – https://youtu.be/mP-r_0pS3P8
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Where are We Now and What Does the Future Hold?
Episode 83 – https://youtu.be/vYSW-pceOQE
Artificial Intelligence in 2022 | Is Protein Folding Our Most Important Achievement?
Episode 84 – https://youtu.be/IBgF_oyCvpE
Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Military Doctrine | Tora! Tora! Tora!
Episode 85 – https://youtu.be/sxGeIZSlYYo
Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare | A Revolution in the Making
Episode 86 – https://youtu.be/gARgH5rlCG8
AI & Thermonuclear Fusion | The Ultimate Solution for Climate Change
Episode 87 – https://youtu.be/baWRuYBKgu4
Putin’s Russia | A State of Humiliation
