Vicar Sayeedi's Blog, page 4
December 23, 2021
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Artificial Intelligence | New Year’s Resolutions & Societal Reformation
Vicar Sayeedi
December 24, 2021
During the waning days of December, it is customary amongst introspective members of society to reflect upon the year just passed. These thoughtful individuals often reflect not only upon their own journey in the concluding annum – their personal achievements, development and shortcomings – but also upon that of their society and perhaps even more broadly, that of civilization itself. Indeed, reflection on these three critical levels has never been more important than it is today since the world is evolving very rapidly and the pace of change is unprecedented in human history. In fact, it seems we have reached a point in human history such that if we do not commit to a near constant state of reflection with a corresponding resolve to pursue critical reformation at the individual, societal and civilizational levels, our collective future is likely to become untenable.
In the 20th century, Kodak, an iconic American company was comfortable in its expectation that the world would continue to buy its film for so many “Kodak Moments” and that it would do so for eternity. Kodak was tactically correct but strategically wrong. Kodak was keenly aware of the changes taking place in the digital domain – these revolutionary developments were occurring in plain sight – but the company was complacent and never really considered the developments in digital technology to be an existential threat. We could say Kodak was fat, dumb and happy. They continued to profit handsomely from the sale of film and related products but once the rapid industrial transition to digital commenced, they were wholly unprepared.
It has been a long time since anyone who came of age during the Kodak generation has heard or seen this once storied name mentioned in the news. Kodak’s inability to solemnly reflect on the changes taking place around them and then reform themselves so they could adapt to a new, emerging reality has confined them to the history books. There, they have joined so many other great industrial companies of the past who also remained tactically successful while woefully ignorant of the need for reflection, reformation and the importance of adaptability.
In the 15th century, the Ottomans dominated trade flows from China, India and the Spice Islands of Southeast Asia bound for the West. They controlled both land and maritime routes and collected taxes on all goods passing through their ports of authority. This created a powerful impetus for the Dutch, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish powers of the day to find ways to trade directly with the primary sources of the goods they desired. The European powers began exploring new sea routes to bypass Ottoman naval power in the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz and the Eastern Mediterranean and eventually began sailing around the Horn of Africa on their way to India and Southeast Asia. In fact, the desire to break free of Ottoman maritime control over critical sea routes was instrumental in the European’s discovery of the Americas.
The Ottomans were aware of the discoveries being made by European sailors. They even possessed a copy of the map Christopher Columbus used when he discovered the New World [modern Bahamas]. Today, Columbus’ map is lost but the Ottoman copy survives. The Ottomans interviewed sailors involved in the European explorations, so they knew well about the discoveries being made. Nevertheless, Ottoman rulers had succumbed to nothing less than pathological complacency. Despite comprehensive knowledge of what the Europeans were up to, the Ottomans were satisfied with their tactical success – they continued to control the land and maritime routes necessary for goods to cross from East to West and they continued to increase their wealth by taxing the transit of these goods. But by the time the Ottomans realized that the game was up, and the Europeans were now capable of bypassing Ottoman military and naval power arrayed along the traditional trading routes, it was too late. Ottoman satisfaction with the status quo, their inability to recognize the need for reflection and reform and the need to adapt to changing realities triggered the decline of a once extraordinary, pluralistic, tolerant and powerful civilization.
Perhaps the most important takeaway from Charles Darwin’s seminal work, “On the Origin of Species” was the notion that for a species to survive and thrive, it must continuously adapt to a constantly changing environment and reality. Both Kodak and the Ottomans’ inability and unwillingness to commit to regular reflection and the necessity of reformation led to their eventual demise and irrelevance. Today, many societies realize that the world is changing rapidly. But rather than reforming their culture and society with a commitment to pursue enlightened values, motivated by short-term political gain, they engage their society in the pursuit of irresponsible nostalgic fantasies.
In America we have seen the Republican Party’s efforts to convince gullible and poorly educated loyalists that they can successfully resurrect a long-past, post WW2 era when White America was solidly in control and at its best. In Britain, Brexit loyalists believe they can recreate the Age of Empire when Britannia ruled the high seas and controlled a quarter of the World’s land mass and population. In Russia, an Authoritarian Demagogue is trying to recreate the Soviet Union whilst in the Islamic World, militant groups are determined to recreate a Medieval Caliphate. The result is that the militants have created nothing short of chaos and misery for their people whilst also erecting two Narco States [Afghanistan and Syria]. Meanwhile, in Israel, Messianic Orthodox Jews have outdone everyone in the world with their nostalgic efforts to resurrect Second Temple Judaism from 2500 years ago!
But the reality is that all such nostalgic fantasies will fail. There were a multitude of interrelated factors that constituted the reality of these different eras, and no one understands the relationships between these factors let alone how to recreate such an environment. The future of any society that wastes precious resources and time and raises false hopes for the realization of these nostalgic fantasies amongst their citizenry will be bleak. They would do much better to rationally consider present realities and the emerging geopolitical, scientific and technological changes that will shape our future. It is only through such critical thinking and introspection that we can successfully reform any culture or society and embark on an enlightened path for a hopeful future. For those who reject such reflection, reformation and adaptation, the future will likely resemble that of Kodak and the Ottoman Empire.
We live in a time in which new information is being added to the Internet on an hourly basis. Artificial Intelligence enabled search algorithms can now parse through seemingly infinite volumes of information regarding any subject on the Internet and enlighten humankind in ways that have never been possible in the past. The broader society can now be made aware of historical realities that have remained hidden for generations, centuries and in some cases, millennia. Failings and misdeeds of societies that were previously known to only a few and carefully hidden in dusty volumes in dark corners of prestigious university and city libraries can now be uncovered by even the most unsophisticated person equipped with nothing more than a Smartphone. Soon, AI-enabled search engines from Google will be able to parse video and audio recordings for knowledge, as well. Natural language processing tools such as GPT-3 from Open AI in San Francisco will synthesize this knowledge across languages and disciplines unlike anything we have ever witnessed.
In the final analysis, the longer a group or society we care deeply for delays in confronting difficult chapters and truths from their history so they can begin to reflect, reform and adapt to this fast-changing world, the greater the risk that they will become irrelevant. Or extinct.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In December 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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, 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 -
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Vicar Sayeedi
December 24, 2021
During the waning days of December, it is customary amongst introspective members of society to reflect upon the year just passed. These thoughtful individuals often reflect not only upon their own journey in the concluding annum – their personal achievements, development and shortcomings – but also upon that of their society and perhaps even more broadly, that of civilization itself. Indeed, reflection on these three critical levels has never been more important than it is today since the world is evolving very rapidly and the pace of change is unprecedented in human history. In fact, it seems we have reached a point in human history such that if we do not commit to a near constant state of reflection with a corresponding resolve to pursue critical reformation at the individual, societal and civilizational levels, our collective future is likely to become untenable.
In the 20th century, Kodak, an iconic American company was comfortable in its expectation that the world would continue to buy its film for so many “Kodak Moments” and that it would do so for eternity. Kodak was tactically correct but strategically wrong. Kodak was keenly aware of the changes taking place in the digital domain – these revolutionary developments were occurring in plain sight – but the company was complacent and never really considered the developments in digital technology to be an existential threat. We could say Kodak was fat, dumb and happy. They continued to profit handsomely from the sale of film and related products but once the rapid industrial transition to digital commenced, they were wholly unprepared.
It has been a long time since anyone who came of age during the Kodak generation has heard or seen this once storied name mentioned in the news. Kodak’s inability to solemnly reflect on the changes taking place around them and then reform themselves so they could adapt to a new, emerging reality has confined them to the history books. There, they have joined so many other great industrial companies of the past who also remained tactically successful while woefully ignorant of the need for reflection, reformation and the importance of adaptability.
In the 15th century, the Ottomans dominated trade flows from China, India and the Spice Islands of Southeast Asia bound for the West. They controlled both land and maritime routes and collected taxes on all goods passing through their ports of authority. This created a powerful impetus for the Dutch, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish powers of the day to find ways to trade directly with the primary sources of the goods they desired. The European powers began exploring new sea routes to bypass Ottoman naval power in the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz and the Eastern Mediterranean and eventually began sailing around the Horn of Africa on their way to India and Southeast Asia. In fact, the desire to break free of Ottoman maritime control over critical sea routes was instrumental in the European’s discovery of the Americas.
The Ottomans were aware of the discoveries being made by European sailors. They even possessed a copy of the map Christopher Columbus used when he discovered the New World [modern Bahamas]. Today, Columbus’ map is lost but the Ottoman copy survives. The Ottomans interviewed sailors involved in the European explorations, so they knew well about the discoveries being made. Nevertheless, Ottoman rulers had succumbed to nothing less than pathological complacency. Despite comprehensive knowledge of what the Europeans were up to, the Ottomans were satisfied with their tactical success – they continued to control the land and maritime routes necessary for goods to cross from East to West and they continued to increase their wealth by taxing the transit of these goods. But by the time the Ottomans realized that the game was up, and the Europeans were now capable of bypassing Ottoman military and naval power arrayed along the traditional trading routes, it was too late. Ottoman satisfaction with the status quo, their inability to recognize the need for reflection and reform and the need to adapt to changing realities triggered the decline of a once extraordinary, pluralistic, tolerant and powerful civilization.
Perhaps the most important takeaway from Charles Darwin’s seminal work, “On the Origin of Species” was the notion that for a species to survive and thrive, it must continuously adapt to a constantly changing environment and reality. Both Kodak and the Ottomans’ inability and unwillingness to commit to regular reflection and the necessity of reformation led to their eventual demise and irrelevance. Today, many societies realize that the world is changing rapidly. But rather than reforming their culture and society with a commitment to pursue enlightened values, motivated by short-term political gain, they engage their society in the pursuit of irresponsible nostalgic fantasies.
In America we have seen the Republican Party’s efforts to convince gullible and poorly educated loyalists that they can successfully resurrect a long-past, post WW2 era when White America was solidly in control and at its best. In Britain, Brexit loyalists believe they can recreate the Age of Empire when Britannia ruled the high seas and controlled a quarter of the World’s land mass and population. In Russia, an Authoritarian Demagogue is trying to recreate the Soviet Union whilst in the Islamic World, militant groups are determined to recreate a Medieval Caliphate. The result is that the militants have created nothing short of chaos and misery for their people whilst also erecting two Narco States [Afghanistan and Syria]. Meanwhile, in Israel, Messianic Orthodox Jews have outdone everyone in the world with their nostalgic efforts to resurrect Second Temple Judaism from 2500 years ago!
But the reality is that all such nostalgic fantasies will fail. There were a multitude of interrelated factors that constituted the reality of these different eras, and no one understands the relationships between these factors let alone how to recreate such an environment. The future of any society that wastes precious resources and time and raises false hopes for the realization of these nostalgic fantasies amongst their citizenry will be bleak. They would do much better to rationally consider present realities and the emerging geopolitical, scientific and technological changes that will shape our future. It is only through such critical thinking and introspection that we can successfully reform any culture or society and embark on an enlightened path for a hopeful future. For those who reject such reflection, reformation and adaptation, the future will likely resemble that of Kodak and the Ottoman Empire.
We live in a time in which new information is being added to the Internet on an hourly basis. Artificial Intelligence enabled search algorithms can now parse through seemingly infinite volumes of information regarding any subject on the Internet and enlighten humankind in ways that have never been possible in the past. The broader society can now be made aware of historical realities that have remained hidden for generations, centuries and in some cases, millennia. Failings and misdeeds of societies that were previously known to only a few and carefully hidden in dusty volumes in dark corners of prestigious university and city libraries can now be uncovered by even the most unsophisticated person equipped with nothing more than a Smartphone. Soon, AI-enabled search engines from Google will be able to parse video and audio recordings for knowledge, as well. Natural language processing tools such as GPT-3 from Open AI in San Francisco will synthesize this knowledge across languages and disciplines unlike anything we have ever witnessed.
In the final analysis, the longer a group or society we care deeply for delays in confronting difficult chapters and truths from their history so they can begin to reflect, reform and adapt to this fast-changing world, the greater the risk that they will become irrelevant. Or extinct.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In December 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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, 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 -
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
December 12, 2021
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
AI, Climate Change & Pandemics | A Case for Global Governance?
Vicar Sayeedi
December 13, 2021
With each passing day, it is becoming increasingly clear that humankind’s intelligentsia must reimagine how to structure a new form of collective governance for the remainder of the 21st century. We must architect a fit for purpose polity for our world if we are to successfully respond to the challenges we are currently facing and can expect to face in the coming decades. The current world order developed in the wake of WW2 is no longer fit for this purpose.
With the increase in globalization and the resulting challenges we collectively face – economic, environmental, political and public health crises that are increasingly existential in nature – it is apparent to the plurality of political scientists, public intellectuals and scholars that our 20th century institutional status quo for governance – African Union, American hegemony, European Union, Association of South East Asian Nations [ASEAN], sovereign nation states and the United Nations – is simply not the right set of bodies or the right framework for governance if we are to effectively confront the series of challenges we currently face and can expect to face as developments continue to unfold before us at an unprecedented rate. The sooner we convene our brightest minds to reimagine governance and a corresponding set of multilateral institutions for this rapidly unfolding reality, the better – at present our future looks extremely alarming.
A case in point for this argument is the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. To date, perhaps ten million people have died as a result of the rapid spread of the primary variant and subsequent variants, most notably the Delta variant. It will take some time before we fully understand the risk we face from the Omicron variant – and others that may follow in its wake – particularly as we continue to struggle with vaccinating large segments of the population in the Developing World. But we must consider ourselves fortunate: the Spanish Flu [originated in Kansas and carried across the Atlantic by American GI’s bound for the European theatre of war] that took hold in the waning years of WW1 killed three times more people [50 million] than that dreadful Great War [16 million]. We have received a warning from nature: next time, a pandemic may be orders of magnitude more infectious and deadly.
Another important case becomes evident when we evaluate humankind’s collective response to the most profound existential threat we have ever faced: Climate Change. Following the recent COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, academics and public intellectuals across both the Developed and Developing World were alarmed and disheveled by the apathetic response from World Leaders [both economic and political] as demonstrated by their feeble commitments in the wake of incontrovertible evidence. It was deeply worrisome, and our plurality of multilateral institutions were all but powerless in redirecting them.
With regards to the threat posed to humankind from 4th Industrial Revolution Technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology [gene and germline editing], humankind’s response has been largely muted. German labor economists forecast that 800 million jobs will be directly or indirectly affected by AI as it displaces human workers, and this is equal to the disruption from Climate Change by the end of this decade. Undoubtedly, both AI and Climate Change will cause upheaval on a scale perhaps a hundred times greater than the current Coronavirus Pandemic, yet our leaders [both economic and political] are largely silent and unwilling to change course. Once again, our existing systems of governance are inept in redirecting the parties involved or those most responsible for carbon emissions.
Today, America is the closest thing the world has to a global government. With a military budget three times that of China [we only realize how remarkable this is when we consider that China’s military spending is greater than that of the next four largest economies - France, Germany, Italy and the UK – combined]. America also has fifty-nine Treaty Alliances and eight hundred permanent military installations around the world. If the US President decides, there is little anyone in the world can do to fend off the wrath of American military power.
Although the deployment of American power can be disheartening or even infuriating for many, the consensus opinion amongst political scientists, public intellectuals and scholars of International Relations and Political Science is that American hegemony in the Post WW2 era has been, on balance, a positive for the world. Statistically, the Earth is a much safer place as a result of the security provided by the deployment of American power. No doubt, many mistakes have been made in the post WW2 era [some still remain secret] and the financial and political damage has been severe. Thus, in the wake of a pressing need for a new polity for the 21st century, perhaps American power can be better contained via AI-enabled intelligence and security monitoring that has the potential to be far more error free. However, this is far from guaranteed.
The European Union is also a remarkably effective microcosm of a model for global government – although only twenty-seven nations in Europe are members and although there is considerable disquiet as of late, the overall project to unite so many disparate cultures, histories, languages and religious sects with profound differences amongst them has been a role model for the African Union and for ASEAN in terms of what is possible, economically as well as politically.
No doubt the Arab League and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation have observed the success of the European Union but their general intolerance and lack of value for pluralism has precluded their ability to replicate the EU model. This is generally the case in the African Union as well as in ASEAN and the cultures of the Far East – although developed and economically successful [ASEAN], tolerance and pluralism remain absent but critical biomarkers for a society’s ability to adapt to change. Adaptability, many readers will remember, was the critical didact from Charles Darwin’s seminal work, “On the Origin of Species”. It is from Darwin we have learned that all species must continuously adapt to a changing environment if they are to avoid extinction.
The third extraordinary model of successful global governance is the United Nations, the successor to the League of Nations that was founded in the wake of WW1, the Great War. Today’s UN is the only world body encompassing 196 member states, a group of nations that participate of their own accord. Although the UN faces numerous challenges to its leadership and is often undermined by powerful donor members who control seats on the Security Council, it does offer humankind’s intelligentsia a glimpse of what is possible and what we might be able to achieve if we can find a point of confluence between the UN and the other multilateral institutions referenced in this essay.
In summary, we do need to act soon. The longer we wait, the more damage we will do and the more the existential risks will multiply, eventually to a point where our descent into the abyss is rendered irreversible. We must remember Darwin’s critical adaptability didact, vis a vis “The Origin of Species”, if we are to avoid the fate of so many other species of hominins who are no longer with us.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In December 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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, 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 -
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Vicar Sayeedi
December 13, 2021
With each passing day, it is becoming increasingly clear that humankind’s intelligentsia must reimagine how to structure a new form of collective governance for the remainder of the 21st century. We must architect a fit for purpose polity for our world if we are to successfully respond to the challenges we are currently facing and can expect to face in the coming decades. The current world order developed in the wake of WW2 is no longer fit for this purpose.
With the increase in globalization and the resulting challenges we collectively face – economic, environmental, political and public health crises that are increasingly existential in nature – it is apparent to the plurality of political scientists, public intellectuals and scholars that our 20th century institutional status quo for governance – African Union, American hegemony, European Union, Association of South East Asian Nations [ASEAN], sovereign nation states and the United Nations – is simply not the right set of bodies or the right framework for governance if we are to effectively confront the series of challenges we currently face and can expect to face as developments continue to unfold before us at an unprecedented rate. The sooner we convene our brightest minds to reimagine governance and a corresponding set of multilateral institutions for this rapidly unfolding reality, the better – at present our future looks extremely alarming.
A case in point for this argument is the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. To date, perhaps ten million people have died as a result of the rapid spread of the primary variant and subsequent variants, most notably the Delta variant. It will take some time before we fully understand the risk we face from the Omicron variant – and others that may follow in its wake – particularly as we continue to struggle with vaccinating large segments of the population in the Developing World. But we must consider ourselves fortunate: the Spanish Flu [originated in Kansas and carried across the Atlantic by American GI’s bound for the European theatre of war] that took hold in the waning years of WW1 killed three times more people [50 million] than that dreadful Great War [16 million]. We have received a warning from nature: next time, a pandemic may be orders of magnitude more infectious and deadly.
Another important case becomes evident when we evaluate humankind’s collective response to the most profound existential threat we have ever faced: Climate Change. Following the recent COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, academics and public intellectuals across both the Developed and Developing World were alarmed and disheveled by the apathetic response from World Leaders [both economic and political] as demonstrated by their feeble commitments in the wake of incontrovertible evidence. It was deeply worrisome, and our plurality of multilateral institutions were all but powerless in redirecting them.
With regards to the threat posed to humankind from 4th Industrial Revolution Technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology [gene and germline editing], humankind’s response has been largely muted. German labor economists forecast that 800 million jobs will be directly or indirectly affected by AI as it displaces human workers, and this is equal to the disruption from Climate Change by the end of this decade. Undoubtedly, both AI and Climate Change will cause upheaval on a scale perhaps a hundred times greater than the current Coronavirus Pandemic, yet our leaders [both economic and political] are largely silent and unwilling to change course. Once again, our existing systems of governance are inept in redirecting the parties involved or those most responsible for carbon emissions.
Today, America is the closest thing the world has to a global government. With a military budget three times that of China [we only realize how remarkable this is when we consider that China’s military spending is greater than that of the next four largest economies - France, Germany, Italy and the UK – combined]. America also has fifty-nine Treaty Alliances and eight hundred permanent military installations around the world. If the US President decides, there is little anyone in the world can do to fend off the wrath of American military power.
Although the deployment of American power can be disheartening or even infuriating for many, the consensus opinion amongst political scientists, public intellectuals and scholars of International Relations and Political Science is that American hegemony in the Post WW2 era has been, on balance, a positive for the world. Statistically, the Earth is a much safer place as a result of the security provided by the deployment of American power. No doubt, many mistakes have been made in the post WW2 era [some still remain secret] and the financial and political damage has been severe. Thus, in the wake of a pressing need for a new polity for the 21st century, perhaps American power can be better contained via AI-enabled intelligence and security monitoring that has the potential to be far more error free. However, this is far from guaranteed.
The European Union is also a remarkably effective microcosm of a model for global government – although only twenty-seven nations in Europe are members and although there is considerable disquiet as of late, the overall project to unite so many disparate cultures, histories, languages and religious sects with profound differences amongst them has been a role model for the African Union and for ASEAN in terms of what is possible, economically as well as politically.
No doubt the Arab League and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation have observed the success of the European Union but their general intolerance and lack of value for pluralism has precluded their ability to replicate the EU model. This is generally the case in the African Union as well as in ASEAN and the cultures of the Far East – although developed and economically successful [ASEAN], tolerance and pluralism remain absent but critical biomarkers for a society’s ability to adapt to change. Adaptability, many readers will remember, was the critical didact from Charles Darwin’s seminal work, “On the Origin of Species”. It is from Darwin we have learned that all species must continuously adapt to a changing environment if they are to avoid extinction.
The third extraordinary model of successful global governance is the United Nations, the successor to the League of Nations that was founded in the wake of WW1, the Great War. Today’s UN is the only world body encompassing 196 member states, a group of nations that participate of their own accord. Although the UN faces numerous challenges to its leadership and is often undermined by powerful donor members who control seats on the Security Council, it does offer humankind’s intelligentsia a glimpse of what is possible and what we might be able to achieve if we can find a point of confluence between the UN and the other multilateral institutions referenced in this essay.
In summary, we do need to act soon. The longer we wait, the more damage we will do and the more the existential risks will multiply, eventually to a point where our descent into the abyss is rendered irreversible. We must remember Darwin’s critical adaptability didact, vis a vis “The Origin of Species”, if we are to avoid the fate of so many other species of hominins who are no longer with us.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In December 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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, 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 -
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
November 10, 2021
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
AI, Authoritarianism & Democracy | What Does the Future Hold?
Vicar Sayeedi
Updated November 12, 2021
The world today is made up of ~196 United Nations member states. These sovereign nations are governed primarily by two major ideologies: Authoritarianism and Democracy.
Until very recently, the countries governed by liberal democratic regimes with capitalist economies were scientifically and technologically more advanced, industrialized and prosperous while the opposite was true for states governed by Authoritarianism, or some variant of it. This is clear when we examine the makeup of the G20, a fraternity of the twenty largest economies in the world.
The countries in the G20 account for approximately 60% of the world’s population, 80% of global GDP and 75% of global trade. The liberal democratic nation states in the G20 fraternity include America, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the UK. China, Russia and Saudi Arabia are the three Authoritarian states included in the G20, but China is the only one with a diversified economy. The economies of Russia and Saudi Arabia are essentially dependent on the export of natural gas and oil.
Let’s take a moment to define some of the terminology that’s been introduced. A liberal democracy is characterized by two distinct but powerful ideas: democracy and liberalism. Democracy comes from the Greek: Demos, or people, and Kratos, or rule. Hence, democracy is the rule of the people or majority rule. The word liberal comes from liberty or freedom.
America’s liberal democracy then is a system in which the majority rule, but they do so within a framework of principles that is designed to guarantee certain liberties enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. These principles identify what the government cannot restrict even though they have a majority. Freedom of assembly, speech, religion, the right to bear arms, pluralism and the separation of Church and State are some of these key principles and rights. The separation of powers within government and the work of civil society work to ensure this remains the case.
This is not the reality for societies governed by Authoritarian regimes. Authoritarian governments unilaterally decide the laws, principles and rules that the people must live by. The ruling party maintains control over all branches of government, media and news outlets as well as over any vestiges of civil society. Thus, the citizens of such a state have no say in their governing.
Historically, Authoritarian regimes have centralized the levers of power to consolidate control over a polity’s economy and people, but this has been extraordinarily expensive, inefficient and unproductive. In the Soviet Union, it was impossible to monitor everyone in the population as they sought to catch individuals or groups who might foment unrest or dissent against the state, so the Soviet regime systematically used terror to keep the society in check. Josef Stalin’s “Reign of Terror” was just such a regime. Stalin would randomly and regularly select individuals from towns across the Soviet Union and send them to Siberian prison labor camps known as the Gulag.
But with the arrival of the 4th Industrial Revolution, technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing [Quantum] and Data Science, monitoring every individual within a society has become both highly efficient and plausible. With AI’s ability to surveille every single member of a population, track their every keystroke online and monitor their physical movements throughout the day, Totalitarianism in the 21st century has become a dystopian reality.
With advancements in Biotechnology, it won’t be very long before Authoritarian regimes with Totalitarian ambitions will be capable of knowing not just the population’s moment to moment keystrokes and physical movements but also their biological data. This will give such regimes unprecedented knowledge of how each individual actually feels about what is happening to them, to their family, community and within their country. This new form of Totalitarian control – Datocracy – ruling through data – is a dystopian scenario unlike anything we’ve seen in history and is enabled by humankind’s greatest and most profound invention: Artificial Intelligence.
Furthermore, by using AI enabled Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, such Totalitarian regimes can extend their Datocratic rule as far beyond their border as their weapons systems will allow. In fact, with sufficient incriminating personal data about the leaders of any distant society, subjugating them to a regime’s Datocratic authority may not even require the use of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems.
Regarding the G20, there is some grey area that deserves to be clarified before we move forward: many would argue that countries such as Brazil, India and Turkey are no longer liberal democracies but illiberal ones. Although they have elections, their citizens’ rights to free speech, civil society organizations and institutions, pluralism and protections of minority groups, press freedoms and the separation of powers between the branches of government – each an indelible hallmark of a liberal democracy – are glaringly absent or have been severely curtailed in these countries.
Now given that China is the largest economy in the G20 governed by an Authoritarian ideology [with Totalitarianism rapidly creeping across the society via AI-enabled surveillance] and given that the United States is the largest nation state governed by the liberal democratic ideology, it seems valuable to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each with a goal of understanding which one might be best positioned for the future. We’ll examine each country’s recent past and present, while also considering the role that 4th Industrial Revolution technologies are likely to play in strengthening or impeding governance under each of these ideologies. It’s important to state that as science and technology advances to a point where they can be leveraged by those in power, it’s not yet clear whether the Authoritarian order or the Liberal Democratic one will win out and dominate the world for the remainder of the 21st century and beyond.
Despite so much widespread pessimism about the outlook for the future of a liberal democratic and free market America and West, there are quite a few extraordinarily positive attributes to highlight, even today. In fact, if we were to write down all of America’s positive attributes, we could stay busy for quite some time. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that there are also several attributes – principally related to America’s economic and political system – that raise legitimate concerns about its viability for the long term, particularly in the context of the rise of China, vis a vis its Authoritarian ideology.
So, let’s begin by highlighting the key positive and negative attributes about America and compare this to a rising, Authoritarian/Totalitarian China and see where this analysis takes us, particularly in light of the emerging 4th Industrial Revolution technologies of AI, Biotechnology, Computing and Data Science.
It’s difficult to deny that America has some incredibly positive attributes. Consider, for example, that despite the industrialization, modernization and rising prosperity seen in many parts of the world during the past few decades, America remains home to most of the world’s leading universities [Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford]. America is also home to most of the world’s leading medical institutions [Cleveland Clinic, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic, and so many other academic medical research institutes]. America is home to many of the world’s leading biotech, pharmaceutical and scientific institutions [Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, etc.] as well as most of the world’s leading technological institutions [Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, etc.]
America also remains home to the world’s leading scientific and technological ecosystems [Boston-Cambridge, NYC & Silicon Valley] as well as to many of the world’s leading industrial organizations [SpaceX, Tesla, etc.] America is home to an extraordinary, exemplary and perhaps the world’s largest and most sophisticated civil society – artists, academics and scholars, documentary and pop culture film makers, journalists, public intellectuals, NGO’s and writers – that together constitute a world class “Culture of Conscience”. This milieu serves as an ever present and powerful check on those in positions of influence and power across the spectrum of government and industry. America is also home to numerous Nobel Science Laureates.
Finally, pluralism is enshrined in the American Constitution. Despite the divisive and fascist rhetoric of the Trump Administration, America remains a genuinely multicultural, multiethnic, multireligious and multilingual society where people are free to practice and openly advocate on behalf of their faith tradition and culture. More on the importance of this later.
With these positive attributes in mind, let’s now examine some of the more worrisome of America’s attributes and aspects of its recent history. By design, America is a democracy with a free market economic system. However, in practice both its democratic institutions and economy have for decades been and continue to be seriously undermined by financial, industrial and political elites. The erosion of market competition through incessant corporate consolidation has – despite significant antitrust legislation – eliminated consumer choice, decreased investment in product research and development and caused price increases in countless industries. Consolidation has also led to tremendous insecurity in the lives of countless working people as they become increasingly dependent upon fewer and fewer potential employers.
Institutionalized corruption is now endemic. On K Street in Washington DC, some thirteen thousand lobbyists representing virtually every industry and special interest group spend all day, every day calling upon Administration officials and Members of Congress as they seek to influence legislation and policy in favor of those for whom they advocate. This dangerous and systemic problem has been allowed to persist for decades and has had a predictable and understandably corrosive effect on trust within large sections of the nation’s electorate. Too many Americans now believe that America’s democracy and capitalist system primarily serves the interests of the elites in government and industry while their own interests are scarcely an afterthought. It’s hard to disagree with them.
In fact, the evidence clearly supports their conclusion. In late 2001, as the impact of the Dot.com recession spread across the country, US GDP had achieved an unprecedented level of $10T. Government officials insisted the way out from the nation’s socioeconomic quagmire was to return to growth in market activity as soon as possible. By 2019, US GDP had reached $20T. Yet most of the insecurity and social problems afflicting the society twenty years earlier were in many cases worse even though the nation’s GDP had now doubled. Data from academia and government statistics confirm that income and wealth inequality have also now reached levels not seen since the French Revolution.
At this point, it’s important to note that data and evidence also demonstrate that the combination of democracy and free market economics have served to continuously raise the standard of living of large populations, particularly in North America and across Western Europe, where the joint ideology has worked together inseparably, to provide social cohesion and a relatively high standard of living for decades. Never in history has the broader society achieved such a standard of living as that enabled by democracy and capitalism.
Nevertheless, corrupt, illegal, immoral and unethical behavior by those who control the levers of power in government and industry have done tremendous harm to America, the world’s largest, oldest and preeminent democracy, and as such, a beacon of hope and aspiration for the rest of the world. But now the reputation of the democratic free market economic system that has done so much to uplift people around the world has been sullied. However, we must recognize that the failure lies not within the liberal democratic and capitalist system, rather it lies with those who control its levers. This is confirmed by observing the performance of other democratic free market economies, particularly those of Northern Europe and Scandinavia.
Let’s now turn to China and examine its characteristics and recent history more closely. Today’s China is an economic miracle. It is undeniable and very difficult to rationally argue to the contrary. In 2001, the PRC’s GDP was ~1% of global GDP. Today, it has risen to ~15% of global GDP [current US GDP is ~23% of global GDP]. The Chinese Communist Party has lifted nearly 500 million Chinese peasants out of poverty with their economic model of “workshop of the world”.
But the Communist Party has not stopped there. Although China has only one world class university, Tsinghua in the capital, Beijing, they are advancing rapidly in many areas of science and technology [often by stealing intellectual property from Western corporations and universities]. With a population of ~1.4 billion and an unaccountable one-party, Communist system that tolerates little dissent, they can collect human behavioral data without any restriction or resistance. This data is critical for various Machine Learning modalities used to train Artificial Intelligence systems. As a result, China today is a close second, just behind America, in their proficiency in AI. It’s a shocking achievement when we consider that as late as 2015, China was barely a nascent player in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
Of the ~500 supercomputers in the world today, China has ~225 while the US has ~125. The remainder are spread across Canada, Japan, South Korea, the UK and a few other developed economies. The Chinese are also advancing rapidly in other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including Biotechnology and Quantum Computing and they’re developing advanced AI systems for the continuous and intimate surveillance of their population. It is impossible to move forward without acknowledging what China has achieved in such a short period of time, albeit some of their key technological achievements do not bode well for ordinary Chinese people.
China today remains a one-party Authoritarian system first founded in 1911 following the fall of Imperial China. By 1949, the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong had defeated the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek in the Civil War and the Nationalists had retreated to Taiwan. In 1958, in a desperate attempt to match the level of industrialization on display in America and Britain, Chairman Mao instituted a policy known as the “Great Leap Forward”. This policy required local Communist Party officials across China to drive peasants in the agricultural heartland to produce more agricultural commodities for export, thus raising foreign currency for the burgeoning state. Mao desperately wanted to increase foreign currency reserves to industrialize and militarize China.
But Mao did not provide any science, technology or farm machinery to help Chinese peasants in their quest to increase their agricultural output. So local Party officials, fearful of missing quotas established by regional Party bosses, pushed the peasants to work harder and to eat less. Mao was informed by his defense minister that the “Great Leap Forward” policy was causing widespread famine as agricultural commodities required to feed the populace were being extracted from communities to meet Communist Party export quotas. But Mao ignored the intelligence. By 1961, Mao decided to cancel the “Great Leap Forward” policy but not before nearly forty million Chinese peasants across the Empire had starved to death.
In 1966, Mao instituted a second brutal policy known as the “Cultural Revolution” which had the explicit goal of purging all signs of Western bourgeois from Chinese society. Ironically, in the evenings, Mao, his actress wife, Jiang Qing and other leading party officials would frequently watch Hollywood films in their luxurious private apartments while in the day the Party Chairman would endlessly rage against the decadence of Western societies. Mao’s Red Army systematically persecuted some 40 million Chinese over the next ten years during the infamous “Cultural Revolution”. The precise number of Chinese who perished during this period remains a matter of debate, but it is estimated that by the time of Mao’s death in 1976, tens of millions of Chinese citizens had lost their lives. This is the extraordinary and very recent history of the Communist Party that leads China today and that is answerable to no one.
As China’s President Xi Jinping prepares the Communist Party to support him in a bid to overturn a rule preventing Chinese rulers from holding power for more than ten years, Xi is rewriting China’s history to make a place for himself in the narrative. In Xi’s version of history, Chairman Mao put China back on its feet, Deng Xiaoping made China rich and Xi is making China strong. Any historical details that interfere with this narrative are to be erased from the historical record.
At this point, it might be helpful to take a brief detour to evaluate ancient history and see what it tells us about societies that reject pluralism versus those that embrace it. We know from the historical record that the three great coexisting Empires of Greece, Rome and Persia took different approaches with regards to pluralism.
The Athenians in the Aegean World had an origin myth – they believed that true Athenians emerged from the soil of Athens. In practice, this belief was embedded in Athenian culture and meant that Athenians could tolerate others from around the Hellenist world in the Aegean, but these foreigners could never be true Athenians. An important example of the Athenian attitude towards pluralism was on display in Plato’s Academy in Athens where the star pupil, Aristotle, was a visiting student from Macedonia. When Plato died, Aristotle was the best candidate to be appointed as the new Director of the Academy but instead, Plato’s nephew was selected to lead. There may have been other circumstances affecting Aristotle’s decision, but shortly after he was passed over as the new Director, he departed Athens and Plato’s Academy and moved to Lesbos where he convened his study of Biology using a nearby lagoon to begin learning about the multitude of species in which he took an interest. Although the Athenians were the earliest civilization to institute democratic principles and establish a limited electorate, the uniformity of Athenian society and their attitude towards pluralism did not serve them well. They were eventually absorbed into the burgeoning but far less sophisticated and intellectually limited Roman Empire.
The Romans also had an origin myth. They believed that the twin brothers, Remus and Romulus were raised in the wild before establishing Rome. The mythical brothers believed Rome should be a place that welcomed migrants and refugees who could one day become Roman citizens and could rise to the highest level in Roman government and society. In the origin myth, Remus murdered Romulus and thus Rome was destined for internal conflict which played out in countless murders as various elites sought power, first over the Republic [Julius Caesar and the Ides of March] and later over the Empire. Thus, Rome was certainly much more tolerant and open that the Hellenes in the Aegean world but not to the extent of the Persians. Hence, Rome lasted considerably longer than the Hellenes but not nearly as long as the Persians.
As just mentioned, the Persian Empire was the most tolerant and pluralistic amongst these three coexisting empires. Conquered people in the Empire retained their own distinct identity. Unlike the Romans who left their cultural markers such as baths, columns, forums and language on all their provinces, the Persians allowed essentially unlimited autonomy and pluralism.
The first Persian Emperor, Cyrus emerged from the ranks of the Tish Pish Kings of Persia to establish the Achaemenid Dynasty. In 550 BCE, he merged the nomadic Persians of Fars or Pars in Southwest Iran with the Medes of the North [the modern-day Kurds]. Cyrus and his Achaemenid Persian tribes then pushed over the Zagros Mountains into Elam in Eastern Mesopotamia and then across the Tigris and Euphrates to conquer the neo-Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar. Later, under the subsequent rule of Darius and Xerxes, the Achaemenids pushed further West into the Eastern Mediterranean in the first clash of civilizations of East versus West in the Aegean World. The famous conflict between the Greeks and the Persians was chronicled by the Athenian historian, Herodotus and we learn that the Persians left no mark of their culture upon any of their conquests, either in the Aegean, in Egypt or in Bactria to the East.
With this ancient historical context in mind, if we look at China today, it most closely resembles the Athenian model – the Communist Party is completely against pluralism. We do not find any foreign students choosing to go to China to study if they have an opportunity to study in the West. We also do not find economic migrants and refugees attempting to make their way to China or to other similar Authoritarian societies. They are unmistakably bound for North America or Western Europe. The CCP is intolerant of any dissent – as we’ve seen in Xinjiang, it does not accept religious communities, languages or identity other than that of the Han and the ideology of “Xi Jinping Thought” published in a small red book resembling that of Chairman Mao from a half century ago.
The American model best resembles that of Rome. With its statue of Lady Liberty on Ellis Island in New York, America has accommodated and welcomed millions of migrants and refugees over the centuries despite current racist and xenophobic challenges and the fascist tendencies of the Trump Administration. America and the West remain genuinely pluralistic societies and the economic and social outcomes demonstrate that, from the perspective of the citizenry, this is the more desirable of the two ideologies.
Considering this historical record and narrative, most citizens of the world would prefer to live in a democratic free market society. This is certainly clear when we observe the direction taken by most migrants and refugees. When speaking to most American university professors, we learn that the most important issue that Chinese foreign students raise during office hours is an appeal for help to remain in the United States. Even the most affluent Chinese families who have accumulated their wealth in China by operating businesses under the Chinese economic system invariably acquire foreign passports, bank accounts and residences in the West. They know if they fall out of favor with the Chinese authorities they will need to flee on very short notice and will have to forfeit the vast majority of their wealth. Yet, they are still prepared to go.
As China increasingly clamps down on internal dissent using Artificial Intelligence enabled surveillance technology under Xi Jinping’s rising Totalitarianism, the citizenry is likely to feel painful suppression. But these tools of surveillance will undoubtedly be available in the West, as well. We can expect that pressure from Civil Society will influence their use through policy and regulation, but in the hands of a more fascist Administration such as the one recently in power in America, things can become very dystopian here, too. Only time will tell.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. Vicar 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?
Vicar Sayeedi
Updated November 12, 2021
The world today is made up of ~196 United Nations member states. These sovereign nations are governed primarily by two major ideologies: Authoritarianism and Democracy.
Until very recently, the countries governed by liberal democratic regimes with capitalist economies were scientifically and technologically more advanced, industrialized and prosperous while the opposite was true for states governed by Authoritarianism, or some variant of it. This is clear when we examine the makeup of the G20, a fraternity of the twenty largest economies in the world.
The countries in the G20 account for approximately 60% of the world’s population, 80% of global GDP and 75% of global trade. The liberal democratic nation states in the G20 fraternity include America, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the UK. China, Russia and Saudi Arabia are the three Authoritarian states included in the G20, but China is the only one with a diversified economy. The economies of Russia and Saudi Arabia are essentially dependent on the export of natural gas and oil.
Let’s take a moment to define some of the terminology that’s been introduced. A liberal democracy is characterized by two distinct but powerful ideas: democracy and liberalism. Democracy comes from the Greek: Demos, or people, and Kratos, or rule. Hence, democracy is the rule of the people or majority rule. The word liberal comes from liberty or freedom.
America’s liberal democracy then is a system in which the majority rule, but they do so within a framework of principles that is designed to guarantee certain liberties enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. These principles identify what the government cannot restrict even though they have a majority. Freedom of assembly, speech, religion, the right to bear arms, pluralism and the separation of Church and State are some of these key principles and rights. The separation of powers within government and the work of civil society work to ensure this remains the case.
This is not the reality for societies governed by Authoritarian regimes. Authoritarian governments unilaterally decide the laws, principles and rules that the people must live by. The ruling party maintains control over all branches of government, media and news outlets as well as over any vestiges of civil society. Thus, the citizens of such a state have no say in their governing.
Historically, Authoritarian regimes have centralized the levers of power to consolidate control over a polity’s economy and people, but this has been extraordinarily expensive, inefficient and unproductive. In the Soviet Union, it was impossible to monitor everyone in the population as they sought to catch individuals or groups who might foment unrest or dissent against the state, so the Soviet regime systematically used terror to keep the society in check. Josef Stalin’s “Reign of Terror” was just such a regime. Stalin would randomly and regularly select individuals from towns across the Soviet Union and send them to Siberian prison labor camps known as the Gulag.
But with the arrival of the 4th Industrial Revolution, technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing [Quantum] and Data Science, monitoring every individual within a society has become both highly efficient and plausible. With AI’s ability to surveille every single member of a population, track their every keystroke online and monitor their physical movements throughout the day, Totalitarianism in the 21st century has become a dystopian reality.
With advancements in Biotechnology, it won’t be very long before Authoritarian regimes with Totalitarian ambitions will be capable of knowing not just the population’s moment to moment keystrokes and physical movements but also their biological data. This will give such regimes unprecedented knowledge of how each individual actually feels about what is happening to them, to their family, community and within their country. This new form of Totalitarian control – Datocracy – ruling through data – is a dystopian scenario unlike anything we’ve seen in history and is enabled by humankind’s greatest and most profound invention: Artificial Intelligence.
Furthermore, by using AI enabled Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, such Totalitarian regimes can extend their Datocratic rule as far beyond their border as their weapons systems will allow. In fact, with sufficient incriminating personal data about the leaders of any distant society, subjugating them to a regime’s Datocratic authority may not even require the use of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems.
Regarding the G20, there is some grey area that deserves to be clarified before we move forward: many would argue that countries such as Brazil, India and Turkey are no longer liberal democracies but illiberal ones. Although they have elections, their citizens’ rights to free speech, civil society organizations and institutions, pluralism and protections of minority groups, press freedoms and the separation of powers between the branches of government – each an indelible hallmark of a liberal democracy – are glaringly absent or have been severely curtailed in these countries.
Now given that China is the largest economy in the G20 governed by an Authoritarian ideology [with Totalitarianism rapidly creeping across the society via AI-enabled surveillance] and given that the United States is the largest nation state governed by the liberal democratic ideology, it seems valuable to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each with a goal of understanding which one might be best positioned for the future. We’ll examine each country’s recent past and present, while also considering the role that 4th Industrial Revolution technologies are likely to play in strengthening or impeding governance under each of these ideologies. It’s important to state that as science and technology advances to a point where they can be leveraged by those in power, it’s not yet clear whether the Authoritarian order or the Liberal Democratic one will win out and dominate the world for the remainder of the 21st century and beyond.
Despite so much widespread pessimism about the outlook for the future of a liberal democratic and free market America and West, there are quite a few extraordinarily positive attributes to highlight, even today. In fact, if we were to write down all of America’s positive attributes, we could stay busy for quite some time. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that there are also several attributes – principally related to America’s economic and political system – that raise legitimate concerns about its viability for the long term, particularly in the context of the rise of China, vis a vis its Authoritarian ideology.
So, let’s begin by highlighting the key positive and negative attributes about America and compare this to a rising, Authoritarian/Totalitarian China and see where this analysis takes us, particularly in light of the emerging 4th Industrial Revolution technologies of AI, Biotechnology, Computing and Data Science.
It’s difficult to deny that America has some incredibly positive attributes. Consider, for example, that despite the industrialization, modernization and rising prosperity seen in many parts of the world during the past few decades, America remains home to most of the world’s leading universities [Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford]. America is also home to most of the world’s leading medical institutions [Cleveland Clinic, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic, and so many other academic medical research institutes]. America is home to many of the world’s leading biotech, pharmaceutical and scientific institutions [Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, etc.] as well as most of the world’s leading technological institutions [Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, etc.]
America also remains home to the world’s leading scientific and technological ecosystems [Boston-Cambridge, NYC & Silicon Valley] as well as to many of the world’s leading industrial organizations [SpaceX, Tesla, etc.] America is home to an extraordinary, exemplary and perhaps the world’s largest and most sophisticated civil society – artists, academics and scholars, documentary and pop culture film makers, journalists, public intellectuals, NGO’s and writers – that together constitute a world class “Culture of Conscience”. This milieu serves as an ever present and powerful check on those in positions of influence and power across the spectrum of government and industry. America is also home to numerous Nobel Science Laureates.
Finally, pluralism is enshrined in the American Constitution. Despite the divisive and fascist rhetoric of the Trump Administration, America remains a genuinely multicultural, multiethnic, multireligious and multilingual society where people are free to practice and openly advocate on behalf of their faith tradition and culture. More on the importance of this later.
With these positive attributes in mind, let’s now examine some of the more worrisome of America’s attributes and aspects of its recent history. By design, America is a democracy with a free market economic system. However, in practice both its democratic institutions and economy have for decades been and continue to be seriously undermined by financial, industrial and political elites. The erosion of market competition through incessant corporate consolidation has – despite significant antitrust legislation – eliminated consumer choice, decreased investment in product research and development and caused price increases in countless industries. Consolidation has also led to tremendous insecurity in the lives of countless working people as they become increasingly dependent upon fewer and fewer potential employers.
Institutionalized corruption is now endemic. On K Street in Washington DC, some thirteen thousand lobbyists representing virtually every industry and special interest group spend all day, every day calling upon Administration officials and Members of Congress as they seek to influence legislation and policy in favor of those for whom they advocate. This dangerous and systemic problem has been allowed to persist for decades and has had a predictable and understandably corrosive effect on trust within large sections of the nation’s electorate. Too many Americans now believe that America’s democracy and capitalist system primarily serves the interests of the elites in government and industry while their own interests are scarcely an afterthought. It’s hard to disagree with them.
In fact, the evidence clearly supports their conclusion. In late 2001, as the impact of the Dot.com recession spread across the country, US GDP had achieved an unprecedented level of $10T. Government officials insisted the way out from the nation’s socioeconomic quagmire was to return to growth in market activity as soon as possible. By 2019, US GDP had reached $20T. Yet most of the insecurity and social problems afflicting the society twenty years earlier were in many cases worse even though the nation’s GDP had now doubled. Data from academia and government statistics confirm that income and wealth inequality have also now reached levels not seen since the French Revolution.
At this point, it’s important to note that data and evidence also demonstrate that the combination of democracy and free market economics have served to continuously raise the standard of living of large populations, particularly in North America and across Western Europe, where the joint ideology has worked together inseparably, to provide social cohesion and a relatively high standard of living for decades. Never in history has the broader society achieved such a standard of living as that enabled by democracy and capitalism.
Nevertheless, corrupt, illegal, immoral and unethical behavior by those who control the levers of power in government and industry have done tremendous harm to America, the world’s largest, oldest and preeminent democracy, and as such, a beacon of hope and aspiration for the rest of the world. But now the reputation of the democratic free market economic system that has done so much to uplift people around the world has been sullied. However, we must recognize that the failure lies not within the liberal democratic and capitalist system, rather it lies with those who control its levers. This is confirmed by observing the performance of other democratic free market economies, particularly those of Northern Europe and Scandinavia.
Let’s now turn to China and examine its characteristics and recent history more closely. Today’s China is an economic miracle. It is undeniable and very difficult to rationally argue to the contrary. In 2001, the PRC’s GDP was ~1% of global GDP. Today, it has risen to ~15% of global GDP [current US GDP is ~23% of global GDP]. The Chinese Communist Party has lifted nearly 500 million Chinese peasants out of poverty with their economic model of “workshop of the world”.
But the Communist Party has not stopped there. Although China has only one world class university, Tsinghua in the capital, Beijing, they are advancing rapidly in many areas of science and technology [often by stealing intellectual property from Western corporations and universities]. With a population of ~1.4 billion and an unaccountable one-party, Communist system that tolerates little dissent, they can collect human behavioral data without any restriction or resistance. This data is critical for various Machine Learning modalities used to train Artificial Intelligence systems. As a result, China today is a close second, just behind America, in their proficiency in AI. It’s a shocking achievement when we consider that as late as 2015, China was barely a nascent player in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
Of the ~500 supercomputers in the world today, China has ~225 while the US has ~125. The remainder are spread across Canada, Japan, South Korea, the UK and a few other developed economies. The Chinese are also advancing rapidly in other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including Biotechnology and Quantum Computing and they’re developing advanced AI systems for the continuous and intimate surveillance of their population. It is impossible to move forward without acknowledging what China has achieved in such a short period of time, albeit some of their key technological achievements do not bode well for ordinary Chinese people.
China today remains a one-party Authoritarian system first founded in 1911 following the fall of Imperial China. By 1949, the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong had defeated the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek in the Civil War and the Nationalists had retreated to Taiwan. In 1958, in a desperate attempt to match the level of industrialization on display in America and Britain, Chairman Mao instituted a policy known as the “Great Leap Forward”. This policy required local Communist Party officials across China to drive peasants in the agricultural heartland to produce more agricultural commodities for export, thus raising foreign currency for the burgeoning state. Mao desperately wanted to increase foreign currency reserves to industrialize and militarize China.
But Mao did not provide any science, technology or farm machinery to help Chinese peasants in their quest to increase their agricultural output. So local Party officials, fearful of missing quotas established by regional Party bosses, pushed the peasants to work harder and to eat less. Mao was informed by his defense minister that the “Great Leap Forward” policy was causing widespread famine as agricultural commodities required to feed the populace were being extracted from communities to meet Communist Party export quotas. But Mao ignored the intelligence. By 1961, Mao decided to cancel the “Great Leap Forward” policy but not before nearly forty million Chinese peasants across the Empire had starved to death.
In 1966, Mao instituted a second brutal policy known as the “Cultural Revolution” which had the explicit goal of purging all signs of Western bourgeois from Chinese society. Ironically, in the evenings, Mao, his actress wife, Jiang Qing and other leading party officials would frequently watch Hollywood films in their luxurious private apartments while in the day the Party Chairman would endlessly rage against the decadence of Western societies. Mao’s Red Army systematically persecuted some 40 million Chinese over the next ten years during the infamous “Cultural Revolution”. The precise number of Chinese who perished during this period remains a matter of debate, but it is estimated that by the time of Mao’s death in 1976, tens of millions of Chinese citizens had lost their lives. This is the extraordinary and very recent history of the Communist Party that leads China today and that is answerable to no one.
As China’s President Xi Jinping prepares the Communist Party to support him in a bid to overturn a rule preventing Chinese rulers from holding power for more than ten years, Xi is rewriting China’s history to make a place for himself in the narrative. In Xi’s version of history, Chairman Mao put China back on its feet, Deng Xiaoping made China rich and Xi is making China strong. Any historical details that interfere with this narrative are to be erased from the historical record.
At this point, it might be helpful to take a brief detour to evaluate ancient history and see what it tells us about societies that reject pluralism versus those that embrace it. We know from the historical record that the three great coexisting Empires of Greece, Rome and Persia took different approaches with regards to pluralism.
The Athenians in the Aegean World had an origin myth – they believed that true Athenians emerged from the soil of Athens. In practice, this belief was embedded in Athenian culture and meant that Athenians could tolerate others from around the Hellenist world in the Aegean, but these foreigners could never be true Athenians. An important example of the Athenian attitude towards pluralism was on display in Plato’s Academy in Athens where the star pupil, Aristotle, was a visiting student from Macedonia. When Plato died, Aristotle was the best candidate to be appointed as the new Director of the Academy but instead, Plato’s nephew was selected to lead. There may have been other circumstances affecting Aristotle’s decision, but shortly after he was passed over as the new Director, he departed Athens and Plato’s Academy and moved to Lesbos where he convened his study of Biology using a nearby lagoon to begin learning about the multitude of species in which he took an interest. Although the Athenians were the earliest civilization to institute democratic principles and establish a limited electorate, the uniformity of Athenian society and their attitude towards pluralism did not serve them well. They were eventually absorbed into the burgeoning but far less sophisticated and intellectually limited Roman Empire.
The Romans also had an origin myth. They believed that the twin brothers, Remus and Romulus were raised in the wild before establishing Rome. The mythical brothers believed Rome should be a place that welcomed migrants and refugees who could one day become Roman citizens and could rise to the highest level in Roman government and society. In the origin myth, Remus murdered Romulus and thus Rome was destined for internal conflict which played out in countless murders as various elites sought power, first over the Republic [Julius Caesar and the Ides of March] and later over the Empire. Thus, Rome was certainly much more tolerant and open that the Hellenes in the Aegean world but not to the extent of the Persians. Hence, Rome lasted considerably longer than the Hellenes but not nearly as long as the Persians.
As just mentioned, the Persian Empire was the most tolerant and pluralistic amongst these three coexisting empires. Conquered people in the Empire retained their own distinct identity. Unlike the Romans who left their cultural markers such as baths, columns, forums and language on all their provinces, the Persians allowed essentially unlimited autonomy and pluralism.
The first Persian Emperor, Cyrus emerged from the ranks of the Tish Pish Kings of Persia to establish the Achaemenid Dynasty. In 550 BCE, he merged the nomadic Persians of Fars or Pars in Southwest Iran with the Medes of the North [the modern-day Kurds]. Cyrus and his Achaemenid Persian tribes then pushed over the Zagros Mountains into Elam in Eastern Mesopotamia and then across the Tigris and Euphrates to conquer the neo-Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar. Later, under the subsequent rule of Darius and Xerxes, the Achaemenids pushed further West into the Eastern Mediterranean in the first clash of civilizations of East versus West in the Aegean World. The famous conflict between the Greeks and the Persians was chronicled by the Athenian historian, Herodotus and we learn that the Persians left no mark of their culture upon any of their conquests, either in the Aegean, in Egypt or in Bactria to the East.
With this ancient historical context in mind, if we look at China today, it most closely resembles the Athenian model – the Communist Party is completely against pluralism. We do not find any foreign students choosing to go to China to study if they have an opportunity to study in the West. We also do not find economic migrants and refugees attempting to make their way to China or to other similar Authoritarian societies. They are unmistakably bound for North America or Western Europe. The CCP is intolerant of any dissent – as we’ve seen in Xinjiang, it does not accept religious communities, languages or identity other than that of the Han and the ideology of “Xi Jinping Thought” published in a small red book resembling that of Chairman Mao from a half century ago.
The American model best resembles that of Rome. With its statue of Lady Liberty on Ellis Island in New York, America has accommodated and welcomed millions of migrants and refugees over the centuries despite current racist and xenophobic challenges and the fascist tendencies of the Trump Administration. America and the West remain genuinely pluralistic societies and the economic and social outcomes demonstrate that, from the perspective of the citizenry, this is the more desirable of the two ideologies.
Considering this historical record and narrative, most citizens of the world would prefer to live in a democratic free market society. This is certainly clear when we observe the direction taken by most migrants and refugees. When speaking to most American university professors, we learn that the most important issue that Chinese foreign students raise during office hours is an appeal for help to remain in the United States. Even the most affluent Chinese families who have accumulated their wealth in China by operating businesses under the Chinese economic system invariably acquire foreign passports, bank accounts and residences in the West. They know if they fall out of favor with the Chinese authorities they will need to flee on very short notice and will have to forfeit the vast majority of their wealth. Yet, they are still prepared to go.
As China increasingly clamps down on internal dissent using Artificial Intelligence enabled surveillance technology under Xi Jinping’s rising Totalitarianism, the citizenry is likely to feel painful suppression. But these tools of surveillance will undoubtedly be available in the West, as well. We can expect that pressure from Civil Society will influence their use through policy and regulation, but in the hands of a more fascist Administration such as the one recently in power in America, things can become very dystopian here, too. Only time will tell.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. Vicar 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?
October 15, 2021
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
AI & Disinformation | Implications for Democracy & Geopolitics
Vicar Sayeedi
October 15, 2021
For most citizens in countries around our world, Facebook and Google have emerged as the primary distribution points for news and information. In fact, in some nations as much as 98% of the population now obtain their news from these social media platforms. But at the same time, it’s distressing to note that Facebook and Google are not bound by any of the ethical guidelines or rules covered in the code of conduct which normally governs those working in the journalism and publishing industry.
Alarmingly, Facebook and Google have no incentive or obligation to populate our news and video streams with content and information that has been checked and certified as true. Instead, the decision regarding which articles, posts and videos are presented to us is primarily driven by Facebook and Google’s desire to keep us engaged on their platforms – they want to maximize the probability that we will click on articles and videos and stay with them for as long as possible. The overriding objective then is to collect data about us which can then be used to develop and continuously refine our personality profile; a technique within Surveillance Capitalism known as Predictive Analytics. This process enables social media companies to continuously present us with targeted advertisements that encourage us to make purchases of products and services promoted by their advertising customers.
Researchers inform us that emotionally charged disinformation on Facebook and Google’s platforms spreads at a much greater velocity than objective, rational truths. These well-coordinated disinformation campaigns are leading to serious and widespread social problems such as vaccine hesitancy or rejection by intellectually vulnerable segments of society. Governments are also using disinformation campaigns to internally discredit or vilify their political opponents. Additionally, governments often seek to disseminate disinformation within other societies around the world in a blatant attempt to destabilize them by creating public confusion and unrest around candidate platforms during elections. Such disinformation campaigns typically originate in China and Russia, but recently they are increasingly coming from India, as warned by researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK. In the future though, AI based disinformation strategies, tools and techniques are likely to spread to a host of nefarious actors and states around the globe as they increase their efforts to influence foreign policy and unsettle societies.
In a recent poll by GZERO Media, 72% of respondents said they believed social media is harming democracy. If disinformation campaigns propagated across the society via these platforms are methodical, sophisticated and structured and are carefully targeted – as only Artificial Intelligence Agents can do – these campaigns soon become indistinguishable from the truth. Given that facts lead to truths which in turn lead to a shared reality upon which any democracy rests and given that democracy depends upon citizens debating within such a shared reality, the security of liberal democratic systems of government is increasingly under existential threat. The respondents are right.
In mid-October 2021, the Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to two journalists, one Philippine and one Russian. The Prize highlights the dangers faced by journalists and news organizations around the world, particularly those in Authoritarian states. Societies around the world have been alarmed by the recent, coordinated efforts by Authoritarian leaders to harass, imprison and kill reporters working to expose government corruption and other misdeeds. Just two years ago, we were horrified by the shocking murder and dismemberment of a journalist in the Saudi embassy in Turkey. More recently, we witnessed the forced landing of a commercial passenger airliner in order to arrest another journalist. With these developments in mind, it is incredibly distressing to acknowledge that companies based in democratic nations are responsible for developing sophisticated AI-enabled tools of disinformation and spying. Artificial Intelligence Agents are at the very heart of these disinformation campaigns and spying tools. They confuse citizens about what is really true and thus undermine the shared reality that underpins the very heart of democracy itself.
A potential solution for Facebook and Google may be to abandon the current business model that monetizes user data and transition to a subscription model used by news organizations or movie and television streaming services. Until such time, we must urgently enact legislation and policy that enables government to impose severe fines and criminal liability for the executives of these and similar companies if they continue to host and propagate disinformation campaigns and other false information. Without severe, punitive measures we are unlikely to see any change in behavior – this is abundantly clear from recent Facebook - Cambridge Analytica scandals following which no executives were held to account. The future of democracy itself is now hanging in the balance. If we are unable to act, Artificial Intelligence Agents will only continue to strengthen the hand of Authoritarian regimes at the expense of liberal democracies.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In October 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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 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, 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 Fear 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
Vicar Sayeedi
October 15, 2021
For most citizens in countries around our world, Facebook and Google have emerged as the primary distribution points for news and information. In fact, in some nations as much as 98% of the population now obtain their news from these social media platforms. But at the same time, it’s distressing to note that Facebook and Google are not bound by any of the ethical guidelines or rules covered in the code of conduct which normally governs those working in the journalism and publishing industry.
Alarmingly, Facebook and Google have no incentive or obligation to populate our news and video streams with content and information that has been checked and certified as true. Instead, the decision regarding which articles, posts and videos are presented to us is primarily driven by Facebook and Google’s desire to keep us engaged on their platforms – they want to maximize the probability that we will click on articles and videos and stay with them for as long as possible. The overriding objective then is to collect data about us which can then be used to develop and continuously refine our personality profile; a technique within Surveillance Capitalism known as Predictive Analytics. This process enables social media companies to continuously present us with targeted advertisements that encourage us to make purchases of products and services promoted by their advertising customers.
Researchers inform us that emotionally charged disinformation on Facebook and Google’s platforms spreads at a much greater velocity than objective, rational truths. These well-coordinated disinformation campaigns are leading to serious and widespread social problems such as vaccine hesitancy or rejection by intellectually vulnerable segments of society. Governments are also using disinformation campaigns to internally discredit or vilify their political opponents. Additionally, governments often seek to disseminate disinformation within other societies around the world in a blatant attempt to destabilize them by creating public confusion and unrest around candidate platforms during elections. Such disinformation campaigns typically originate in China and Russia, but recently they are increasingly coming from India, as warned by researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK. In the future though, AI based disinformation strategies, tools and techniques are likely to spread to a host of nefarious actors and states around the globe as they increase their efforts to influence foreign policy and unsettle societies.
In a recent poll by GZERO Media, 72% of respondents said they believed social media is harming democracy. If disinformation campaigns propagated across the society via these platforms are methodical, sophisticated and structured and are carefully targeted – as only Artificial Intelligence Agents can do – these campaigns soon become indistinguishable from the truth. Given that facts lead to truths which in turn lead to a shared reality upon which any democracy rests and given that democracy depends upon citizens debating within such a shared reality, the security of liberal democratic systems of government is increasingly under existential threat. The respondents are right.
In mid-October 2021, the Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to two journalists, one Philippine and one Russian. The Prize highlights the dangers faced by journalists and news organizations around the world, particularly those in Authoritarian states. Societies around the world have been alarmed by the recent, coordinated efforts by Authoritarian leaders to harass, imprison and kill reporters working to expose government corruption and other misdeeds. Just two years ago, we were horrified by the shocking murder and dismemberment of a journalist in the Saudi embassy in Turkey. More recently, we witnessed the forced landing of a commercial passenger airliner in order to arrest another journalist. With these developments in mind, it is incredibly distressing to acknowledge that companies based in democratic nations are responsible for developing sophisticated AI-enabled tools of disinformation and spying. Artificial Intelligence Agents are at the very heart of these disinformation campaigns and spying tools. They confuse citizens about what is really true and thus undermine the shared reality that underpins the very heart of democracy itself.
A potential solution for Facebook and Google may be to abandon the current business model that monetizes user data and transition to a subscription model used by news organizations or movie and television streaming services. Until such time, we must urgently enact legislation and policy that enables government to impose severe fines and criminal liability for the executives of these and similar companies if they continue to host and propagate disinformation campaigns and other false information. Without severe, punitive measures we are unlikely to see any change in behavior – this is abundantly clear from recent Facebook - Cambridge Analytica scandals following which no executives were held to account. The future of democracy itself is now hanging in the balance. If we are unable to act, Artificial Intelligence Agents will only continue to strengthen the hand of Authoritarian regimes at the expense of liberal democracies.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In October 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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 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, 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 Fear 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
September 20, 2021
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Artificial Intelligence | Working in the 21st Century
Vicar Sayeedi
September 20, 2021
Amongst the most unsettling attributes of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies and their implications for life in the 21st century has been the potential of Artificial Intelligence to displace humans in an ever-increasing number of occupations. Following the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia about 12,000 years ago, humankind began to compete in their local communities for jobs based primarily upon their skills and largely in roles related to agriculture and food production. With the passage of time and the increase in and diversity of trade with adjacent societies, humans began to compete with disparate villages, towns, cities and provinces. Thousands of years later, following the emergence and proliferation of multinational corporations in the late 20th century, the competition expanded to neighboring nations and even continents. But with the arrival of the 21st century and the 4th Industrial Revolution, humankind has begun to realize that they must now compete not only with vast and competitive labor markets located around the globe but increasingly with Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Robotics.
Along with other factors, this new and unsettling reality has significantly contributed to society’s dramatic decline in faith in democracy as a viable system of governance for the future, and of capitalism and free markets as a fair and sustainable economic model. Naturally, when people find their daily lives consumed by fear and uncertainty, they will question the prevalent economic and political systems under which this fear and uncertainty has emerged. Such disquiet regarding governance, markets and society’s growing insecurity is not confined to the world’s leading economies in North America and Western Europe, either. In fact, it is also present in China, a highly Authoritarian state with a market economy similar to that of the West.
Both the Chinese and Western models of governance and markets are producing a few enormously successful and extremely wealthy individuals, particularly those who now assert control over humankinds’ data, whilst the rest of the society struggles with frightening increases in economic, food, health, housing and overall insecurity. This climate of fear and uncertainty in the lives of such large segments of society is likely to result in overall domestic insecurity with significant potential of spreading across geographies to other nations, as well. This insecurity can result in benign, periodic flashpoints of social unrest to more endemic and violent confrontation between various groups in the streets, broadly aligned according to social strata as well as along ethnic and racial lines. These acute feelings of insecurity have the very real potential of fomenting revolution and we know from the historical record that revolutionary outcomes are notoriously deadly, destructive, long lasting, unpredictable and violent.
The rate of advancement and improvement in technology today requires workers to constantly train and retrain if they have any chance of remaining relevant and this is understandably very challenging for most workers, particularly older ones. Interdisciplinary skills and versatility are now an unmistakable requirement for anyone wanting the chance to survive in today’s global labor markets but transitioning from a job as a dock worker whose job has been replaced by automation to a role as a data scientist is a highly improbable outcome and thus an unrealistic expectation. With regards to versatility, companies are increasingly cross training their workers to minimize their staffing needs but this is also very difficult and demanding for many workers, once again, particularly amongst the older ones. Further exacerbating the challenge for 21st century workers in the United States are America’s tax policies – for businesses and their shareholders, fiscal policy favors investment in capital equipment over labor, so selecting AI, Automation and Robotics over human labor is the more financially desirable path.
The situation in today’s labor markets remains very fluid – it’s currently not possible to articulate a clear set of behaviors or rules to the society that they will need to follow if they are to ensure a secure future for themselves and their families. There is no longer any basis upon which to offer any economic guarantees or certainties, and there is no secure retirement that people can look forward to with any confidence. Given the current environment and the unmistakable trajectory of the labor markets, we can also expect to see a net loss of jobs during this decade as AI, Automation and Robotics increasingly replace humans in many roles that are either repetitive in nature or do not require strategic thinking.
In fact, last year, labor economists in Germany projected that 800 million jobs will be either directly or indirectly affected by the adoption of Artificial Intelligence over the course of the current decade and these developments are likely to result in an overall reduction in the availability of new jobs that can be done by human workers versus AI, Automation and Robotics. With 9 million graduates expected in 2021, Chinese companies receive hundreds of thousands of applicants and are thus increasingly turning to Artificial Intelligence Agents just to screen these applicants efficiently using facial expressions, voice intonation and the content of their answers. Thus, we see that Artificial Intelligence is asserting itself in virtually every aspect of the labor market’s ecosystem.
The overall direction of the developments in labor markets as Artificial Intelligence increasingly emerges as a superior alternative to human labor must not be ignored by elected leaders in national Administrations or Legislatures. Failure to act at a national and international or United Nations level to contain this growing challenge that affects so much of humankind will put us in a position where we no longer have any way to contain the crisis and the events and their consequences will be both devastating and irreversible.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In October 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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 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. 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 Fear 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
Vicar Sayeedi
September 20, 2021
Amongst the most unsettling attributes of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies and their implications for life in the 21st century has been the potential of Artificial Intelligence to displace humans in an ever-increasing number of occupations. Following the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia about 12,000 years ago, humankind began to compete in their local communities for jobs based primarily upon their skills and largely in roles related to agriculture and food production. With the passage of time and the increase in and diversity of trade with adjacent societies, humans began to compete with disparate villages, towns, cities and provinces. Thousands of years later, following the emergence and proliferation of multinational corporations in the late 20th century, the competition expanded to neighboring nations and even continents. But with the arrival of the 21st century and the 4th Industrial Revolution, humankind has begun to realize that they must now compete not only with vast and competitive labor markets located around the globe but increasingly with Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Robotics.
Along with other factors, this new and unsettling reality has significantly contributed to society’s dramatic decline in faith in democracy as a viable system of governance for the future, and of capitalism and free markets as a fair and sustainable economic model. Naturally, when people find their daily lives consumed by fear and uncertainty, they will question the prevalent economic and political systems under which this fear and uncertainty has emerged. Such disquiet regarding governance, markets and society’s growing insecurity is not confined to the world’s leading economies in North America and Western Europe, either. In fact, it is also present in China, a highly Authoritarian state with a market economy similar to that of the West.
Both the Chinese and Western models of governance and markets are producing a few enormously successful and extremely wealthy individuals, particularly those who now assert control over humankinds’ data, whilst the rest of the society struggles with frightening increases in economic, food, health, housing and overall insecurity. This climate of fear and uncertainty in the lives of such large segments of society is likely to result in overall domestic insecurity with significant potential of spreading across geographies to other nations, as well. This insecurity can result in benign, periodic flashpoints of social unrest to more endemic and violent confrontation between various groups in the streets, broadly aligned according to social strata as well as along ethnic and racial lines. These acute feelings of insecurity have the very real potential of fomenting revolution and we know from the historical record that revolutionary outcomes are notoriously deadly, destructive, long lasting, unpredictable and violent.
The rate of advancement and improvement in technology today requires workers to constantly train and retrain if they have any chance of remaining relevant and this is understandably very challenging for most workers, particularly older ones. Interdisciplinary skills and versatility are now an unmistakable requirement for anyone wanting the chance to survive in today’s global labor markets but transitioning from a job as a dock worker whose job has been replaced by automation to a role as a data scientist is a highly improbable outcome and thus an unrealistic expectation. With regards to versatility, companies are increasingly cross training their workers to minimize their staffing needs but this is also very difficult and demanding for many workers, once again, particularly amongst the older ones. Further exacerbating the challenge for 21st century workers in the United States are America’s tax policies – for businesses and their shareholders, fiscal policy favors investment in capital equipment over labor, so selecting AI, Automation and Robotics over human labor is the more financially desirable path.
The situation in today’s labor markets remains very fluid – it’s currently not possible to articulate a clear set of behaviors or rules to the society that they will need to follow if they are to ensure a secure future for themselves and their families. There is no longer any basis upon which to offer any economic guarantees or certainties, and there is no secure retirement that people can look forward to with any confidence. Given the current environment and the unmistakable trajectory of the labor markets, we can also expect to see a net loss of jobs during this decade as AI, Automation and Robotics increasingly replace humans in many roles that are either repetitive in nature or do not require strategic thinking.
In fact, last year, labor economists in Germany projected that 800 million jobs will be either directly or indirectly affected by the adoption of Artificial Intelligence over the course of the current decade and these developments are likely to result in an overall reduction in the availability of new jobs that can be done by human workers versus AI, Automation and Robotics. With 9 million graduates expected in 2021, Chinese companies receive hundreds of thousands of applicants and are thus increasingly turning to Artificial Intelligence Agents just to screen these applicants efficiently using facial expressions, voice intonation and the content of their answers. Thus, we see that Artificial Intelligence is asserting itself in virtually every aspect of the labor market’s ecosystem.
The overall direction of the developments in labor markets as Artificial Intelligence increasingly emerges as a superior alternative to human labor must not be ignored by elected leaders in national Administrations or Legislatures. Failure to act at a national and international or United Nations level to contain this growing challenge that affects so much of humankind will put us in a position where we no longer have any way to contain the crisis and the events and their consequences will be both devastating and irreversible.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In October 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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 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. 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 Fear 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
September 14, 2021
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Artificial Intelligence | Deep Fakes & Pornography
Vicar Sayeedi
September 14, 2021
During my lectures on Artificial Intelligence these past few years, I’ve tried to emphasize to audiences around the world that AI can and is being used for good in innumerable applications. We see this in Health Care & Medicine where AI can identify pathologies earlier than our best trained Radiologists as well as in Public Health where AI has helped trace people with whom an infected patient may have been in transmissible contact with. We’ve also seen it in use to locate missing persons or to apprehend criminal suspects in large urban centers via AI enabled surveillance systems.
Invariably though, given how powerful AI technology already is and the high likelihood that it will eclipse humankind’s own intelligence limitations within a few decades, we can’t help but wonder whether Artificial Intelligence will become an existential threat for our species. After all, every invention humankind has ever developed has been used for harm, as well. The answer to this worrisome question depends on humankind’s willingness to work together to regulate AI for our collective benefit.
Over the past two years, the Coronavirus has been an important litmus test as to whether humankind is capable and willing to work together to solve a problem requiring collective cooperation of societies across both Developed and Developing Nations and it’s quite clear that we are failing. Despite immense effort, many people spread fake news about the vaccines and the Public Health authorities that administer them, and many right-wing politicians exacerbate divisions and fan the flames of controversy, thus further politicizing and dividing the society to the point where large segments of many communities remain unvaccinated in areas with abundantly available supplies of vaccines.
This reality does not portend well for our ability to contain Climate Change or even Artificial Intelligence. The Coronavirus and Climate Change are both issues that have very visible and visceral outward signs with much death, destruction and misery to be found in their wake, but this is much less the case with AI. With the exception of AI’s application in military weapons systems, Artificial Intelligence tends to behave more like an invisible and odorless toxic gas that envelops society without any apparent sign and by the time we realize what has happened we are submerged and it’s too late to take any remedial action.
Consider, for example the development of Deep Fake video enabled by Artificial Intelligence. For some time now, we have been concerned about privacy and how AI might be used to abuse and exploit people across all social strata and particularly those who live in the public eye. Initially, we saw people’s photos being convincingly photoshopped into places and situations where they’d never been. We then saw the rise of Deep Fake videos which appeared to show people – politicians, for example – saying things they’d never said to people they’d never met in places they’d never been.
And now we are witnessing the rise of sophisticated AI technology that can take a few photos of a person’s face and then insert them into a pornographic video of choice. Although in early stages, this new development is particularly alarming given that such Deep Fakes have the potential to destroy careers, friendships and social networks, marriages, relationships, reputations and they can even result in devastating emotional and physical trauma amongst those in vulnerable demographics. In fact, today, 90% of these AI enabled Deep Fake videos target women, with 95% being nonconsensual.
The websites where photos for Deep Fakes can be uploaded are not named in published articles but are known and accessible to those with malicious intent. They’re also quite simple to use – a large button on the offender’s screen prompts them to upload an image of someone’s face and the AI Agent then generates several sample images. This is essentially all that is required. If the offender is satisfied, one more click will insert the supplied image into a pornographic video and then society will have crossed a new ethical line for the first time.
These Apps are disconcerting at best and more likely incredibly destabilizing to society. As quickly as these Apps are being taken down, new ones emerge as variations on the same theme. One of these AI enabled Apps currently allows offenders to remove the clothing from an uploaded image of a woman. This App received nearly seven million visits during August 2021.
Such face-swapping apps that can place a person’s image into a scene from a popular movie or music video have been available for some time. But the new AI enabled Apps that focus specifically on inserting unsuspecting people’s images into porn videos is revolutionary; they are explicitly designed to create pornographic films of people without consent. In these Apps, once an image a person is uploaded, the user is presented with a vast library of pornographic films, mostly featuring women. A user can then generate a preview using the new face, review for their approval and then pay a fee to download the full version of the film.
The results today are still somewhat amateurish: people’s faces are often distorted as they twist and turn to different angles and many viewers can quickly realize these videos as fake. But some viewers do find them convincing and more importantly, with time, the sophistication of the technology will improve to a point where these Deep Fakes will be completely undetectable from the originals. Further, even though some of the videos today are easily recognizable as fake, the psychological toll on victims can still be extraordinarily humiliating and harmful and since a large percentage of society is unaware of AI, let alone AI enabled Deep Fake technologies, even low-quality face exchanges can be capable of deceiving people. Finding a way to remove these images once discovered by a victim is virtually impossible and the repercussions can stay with a victim for life.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In October 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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 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. 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 Fear 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
Vicar Sayeedi
September 14, 2021
During my lectures on Artificial Intelligence these past few years, I’ve tried to emphasize to audiences around the world that AI can and is being used for good in innumerable applications. We see this in Health Care & Medicine where AI can identify pathologies earlier than our best trained Radiologists as well as in Public Health where AI has helped trace people with whom an infected patient may have been in transmissible contact with. We’ve also seen it in use to locate missing persons or to apprehend criminal suspects in large urban centers via AI enabled surveillance systems.
Invariably though, given how powerful AI technology already is and the high likelihood that it will eclipse humankind’s own intelligence limitations within a few decades, we can’t help but wonder whether Artificial Intelligence will become an existential threat for our species. After all, every invention humankind has ever developed has been used for harm, as well. The answer to this worrisome question depends on humankind’s willingness to work together to regulate AI for our collective benefit.
Over the past two years, the Coronavirus has been an important litmus test as to whether humankind is capable and willing to work together to solve a problem requiring collective cooperation of societies across both Developed and Developing Nations and it’s quite clear that we are failing. Despite immense effort, many people spread fake news about the vaccines and the Public Health authorities that administer them, and many right-wing politicians exacerbate divisions and fan the flames of controversy, thus further politicizing and dividing the society to the point where large segments of many communities remain unvaccinated in areas with abundantly available supplies of vaccines.
This reality does not portend well for our ability to contain Climate Change or even Artificial Intelligence. The Coronavirus and Climate Change are both issues that have very visible and visceral outward signs with much death, destruction and misery to be found in their wake, but this is much less the case with AI. With the exception of AI’s application in military weapons systems, Artificial Intelligence tends to behave more like an invisible and odorless toxic gas that envelops society without any apparent sign and by the time we realize what has happened we are submerged and it’s too late to take any remedial action.
Consider, for example the development of Deep Fake video enabled by Artificial Intelligence. For some time now, we have been concerned about privacy and how AI might be used to abuse and exploit people across all social strata and particularly those who live in the public eye. Initially, we saw people’s photos being convincingly photoshopped into places and situations where they’d never been. We then saw the rise of Deep Fake videos which appeared to show people – politicians, for example – saying things they’d never said to people they’d never met in places they’d never been.
And now we are witnessing the rise of sophisticated AI technology that can take a few photos of a person’s face and then insert them into a pornographic video of choice. Although in early stages, this new development is particularly alarming given that such Deep Fakes have the potential to destroy careers, friendships and social networks, marriages, relationships, reputations and they can even result in devastating emotional and physical trauma amongst those in vulnerable demographics. In fact, today, 90% of these AI enabled Deep Fake videos target women, with 95% being nonconsensual.
The websites where photos for Deep Fakes can be uploaded are not named in published articles but are known and accessible to those with malicious intent. They’re also quite simple to use – a large button on the offender’s screen prompts them to upload an image of someone’s face and the AI Agent then generates several sample images. This is essentially all that is required. If the offender is satisfied, one more click will insert the supplied image into a pornographic video and then society will have crossed a new ethical line for the first time.
These Apps are disconcerting at best and more likely incredibly destabilizing to society. As quickly as these Apps are being taken down, new ones emerge as variations on the same theme. One of these AI enabled Apps currently allows offenders to remove the clothing from an uploaded image of a woman. This App received nearly seven million visits during August 2021.
Such face-swapping apps that can place a person’s image into a scene from a popular movie or music video have been available for some time. But the new AI enabled Apps that focus specifically on inserting unsuspecting people’s images into porn videos is revolutionary; they are explicitly designed to create pornographic films of people without consent. In these Apps, once an image a person is uploaded, the user is presented with a vast library of pornographic films, mostly featuring women. A user can then generate a preview using the new face, review for their approval and then pay a fee to download the full version of the film.
The results today are still somewhat amateurish: people’s faces are often distorted as they twist and turn to different angles and many viewers can quickly realize these videos as fake. But some viewers do find them convincing and more importantly, with time, the sophistication of the technology will improve to a point where these Deep Fakes will be completely undetectable from the originals. Further, even though some of the videos today are easily recognizable as fake, the psychological toll on victims can still be extraordinarily humiliating and harmful and since a large percentage of society is unaware of AI, let alone AI enabled Deep Fake technologies, even low-quality face exchanges can be capable of deceiving people. Finding a way to remove these images once discovered by a victim is virtually impossible and the repercussions can stay with a victim for life.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, 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. In October 2021, Vicar will lecture in the Embassy of France – Office of Science & Technology, Washington DC. Vicar 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 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. 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 Fear 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
August 17, 2021
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Vicar Sayeedi
August 17, 2021
As the world watched the horrific series of events unfold in Afghanistan these past few weeks – scenes of terrified men, women and children fleeing the threat of what they have previously experienced to be a brutal medieval regime – a twenty-year experiment to germinate liberal democracy in a Central Asian nation has collapsed before our very eyes. It’s an extraordinary episode of failure and recriminations which will continue for some time, but it is not an unexpected outcome given that democracy, unlike authoritarianism, requires certain conditions to be met before it has even a remote chance of success, let alone of blossoming into a sustainable polity.
In fact, democracy is unlikely to take root in any society which lacks these basic preconditions. Most critically, these conditions include a high level of literacy across society [thus enabling the ability to think critically] as well as an awareness of issues. Virtually all societies today have access to information and ideas due to the ubiquity of the Internet, thus awareness is not a serious problem for those who wish to be well-informed [although in some authoritarian societies including China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, it can still be quite difficult to obtain objective information], but critical thinking remains a serious impediment, primarily as a result of low levels of education and literacy rates across large portions of the population in the Developing World. As a result, the citizens of these communities remain indoctrinated in ancient dogma and such cultures are simply unfit to nurture a sustainable democracy. Perhaps this is the most important lesson of the West’s failed experiment in the ‘Graveyard of Empires’ that is Afghanistan.
Surprisingly, education levels in Developed Economies seem to have plateaued, as well. In the United States today, only one in three Americans holds a university degree. We might be quick to conclude that the problem is due to the prohibitively high cost of both public and private education in America, but the penetration of university degrees in Western Europe is about the same as that in America despite policies prevalent in most advanced European states that cover the education expenses for students right through very advanced levels. Thus, we must conclude that there is a natural level to which we can expect education to penetrate a society, and this will inevitably limit that society’s ability to think critically.
As society, and the issues facing it, increase in complexity with each passing year [consider, for example, Climate Change and Ecological Collapse, the rise of sophisticated 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Biotechnology, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies, Computing (Quantum/Super), Data Science, and the many issues these malignant technologies enable (Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, State Surveillance of the society, Surveillance Capitalism and Human-Machine Interfaces)] this natural limit of education and of critical thinking is proving highly problematic.
In the 20th century, a university degree probably prepared most in society for not only a decent standard of living in the modern economy, but it also enabled them to reasonably grasp the issues of the day. The university degree prepared them to effectively engage in a participatory democracy. This is no longer the case, and it may be an important reason why citizens in many Western democracies are increasingly expressing ambivalence towards democracy and its economic sibling, free market capitalism. Today, 70% of Americans – with similar percentages in other leading Western democracies – believe that democracy and capitalism no longer serve society’s interests. This is a very dangerous development, perhaps even an existential threat to America’s stability, particularly as the levels of income and wealth inequality in the United States are at unprecedented levels for modern times. These are disparities not seen since the dawn of the French Revolution.
Having extensively examined the evidence of governance amongst Homo Sapiens bands whilst still nomadic hunter-gatherer communities during the Ice Age, archaeologists and historians agree that Homo Sapiens lived according to an informal democratic [Demos – people, Kratos – rule; from the ancient Greek] system. They did have leaders for their band of 30-50 members [sometimes a little larger], but their leaders could not afford to be autocratic or authoritarian or to stratify their band into classes [this was the case for most of humankind’s 250,000-year history with the exception of the last 12,000 years, the period following the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution. At that point, humankind was gradually domesticated by wheat and barley in the Euphrates and Tigris River valleys of Mesopotamia.]
Authoritarian rule was not possible in communities prior to the Agricultural Revolution since these bands [a band is the fundamental and original unit of human society] would simply abandon their leader if they were to behave in some unacceptable manner. Such an abandonment would be dangerous for the leader and existential in its outcome since the leader would now lose the protection of the band, as well as their collective and diversified skill set, which was so crucial for the survival of the band and each of its members. If a leader still refused to leave following an attempt to marginalize or ostracize them, then they would likely be murdered whilst in their sleep. Thus, the threat of such an existentially threatening outcome served as an effective mechanism to contain authoritarian, antisocial behavior by would-be dictators.
But following the end of the Ice Age and the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution, those with relatively higher levels of intelligence and strength – and thus the ability to rise above their peers and govern them – soon took advantage of their new stature and began to force their will. Soon, humankind fell under the authoritarian rule of kings, aristocrats and priests who told the society stories [religions] in which they claimed the king ruled by the divine right of a particular god or pantheon of gods. Before long, the society, the legal code and social rules they were forced to live by became stratified, and the collective misery of humankind had begun.
Since humankind had now become accustomed to living in settlements, villages, towns and cities, a return to a nomadic, independent life free of serfdom and other authoritarian constructs was no longer possible – all surrounding land was claimed by the king, the aristocracy and the priests – and so the people were trapped as peasants, serfs and slaves. Conflict and war raged as aristocrats and kings sought to expand their territories by conquering the territories of others in a quest to build or expand their empire. The subjugation of larger tracts of land and its inhabitants meant more crops to harvest and profit from and more subjects to work, tax and enslave. Peace was now defined as a brief pause that allowed warring societies to bury their dead, care for their wounded and forge new swords for the next fight in defense of their land or in the conquest of new land. It was an endless cycle of misery for the vast majority of humankind.
There were attempts in the ancient world to change this dystopian reality, at least to some degree. Aegean civilizations, most notably the Athenians in the fifth century BCE experimented with modalities of government that allowed representation from some segments of society such as the landed gentry, but slaves, women and most others were excluded from participation or representation in this new system they called democracy. But Athenian Democracy under Pericles collapsed following the conflict known as the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta [the charismatic Athenian leader, Pericles was struck down by the Plague]. The famous Athenian and father of Philosophy, Socrates was put on trial at the age of 70 in 399 BCE and was found guilty of being against the democratic ideals of the Athenian State. He was subsequently sentenced to death. Socrates was allowed to choose the method of his death – crucifixion or poison [hemlock] – and the 70-year-old father of moral philosophy settled for death by poison.
Socrates believed that Democracy would lead to the rise of demagogues. He and his young disciples, Plato and Xenophon [both wrote extensively about Socrates otherwise we would not know anything about him since this ancient Greek Father of Philosophy chose not to write his thoughts and ideas himself] also felt that Democracy was essentially mob rule. They argued that it wasn’t acceptable to make one decision one day and change it the next simply because this was the will of the people – it’s what the masses wanted to do. They argued that decisions in matters of state needed to be made according to the moral framework they had been developing and this framework didn’t change or evolve from day to day.
In Rome, Republican rule with broader representation began around the same time as that of the Athenians and lasted for about 500 years until Julius Caesar abused the emergency powers granted to him by the Roman Senate to declare himself dictator for a period of six months. Caesar refused to give up these emergency powers following the six-month window and subsequently declared himself dictator for life. Caesar was eventually assassinated in an incident known as the Ides of March and this was the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic. After Rome, the notion of democracy was essentially abandoned by subsequent civilizations for most of the next 2,000 years.
Xenophon, the disciple of Socrates referenced earlier, had written a biography of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenids, and this work, Cyropaedia, along with the works of great thinkers from the European Enlightenment resurrected democracy in the American colonies. The new American experiment was the first instance of some form of representative rule since the end of the Roman Republic.
Today, with the arrival of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies, specifically, Artificial Intelligence, we may now have a tool that can enable democracy or any other ideology of governance [benevolent or malevolent] unlike any previous time in history. AI has the capability to comprehend what to humankind is, for all intents and purposes, an infinite volume of information and knowledge which requires an infinite amount of time to digest and therefore out of the scope of possibility. But in doing so, AI’s adjudication in legal matters or advice in legislative, military, policy or any other matters of State, albeit incontrovertible, will then be impossible for humankind to comprehend, but nevertheless, we will need to defer to and trust this AI Agent’s judgement. This will be terribly unsettling.
We can now make the case that since AI is acting in a way that does not have a bias towards any one group versus another, representative democracy is no longer necessary and society can dispense with so much of the infrastructure of governance, perhaps leaving in place a much smaller, more efficient polity requiring minimal oversight. It’s a fascinating notion of what a future with such advanced forms of Artificial General or Super Intelligence based governance might offer humankind.
In summary though, this is of course just one possible outcome in the use of AI in the realm of governance amongst many. Dystopian outcomes that pose an existential threat to humankind are equally plausible and give us cause for considerable concern as this powerful technology quietly grows in its abilities [not unlike an invisible, odorless and toxic cloud slowly descending over society – by the time we recognize its potential, for good and evil, it will be too late].
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar 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 on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London, the National Library of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, California.
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. 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 Fear Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
Vicar Sayeedi
August 17, 2021
As the world watched the horrific series of events unfold in Afghanistan these past few weeks – scenes of terrified men, women and children fleeing the threat of what they have previously experienced to be a brutal medieval regime – a twenty-year experiment to germinate liberal democracy in a Central Asian nation has collapsed before our very eyes. It’s an extraordinary episode of failure and recriminations which will continue for some time, but it is not an unexpected outcome given that democracy, unlike authoritarianism, requires certain conditions to be met before it has even a remote chance of success, let alone of blossoming into a sustainable polity.
In fact, democracy is unlikely to take root in any society which lacks these basic preconditions. Most critically, these conditions include a high level of literacy across society [thus enabling the ability to think critically] as well as an awareness of issues. Virtually all societies today have access to information and ideas due to the ubiquity of the Internet, thus awareness is not a serious problem for those who wish to be well-informed [although in some authoritarian societies including China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, it can still be quite difficult to obtain objective information], but critical thinking remains a serious impediment, primarily as a result of low levels of education and literacy rates across large portions of the population in the Developing World. As a result, the citizens of these communities remain indoctrinated in ancient dogma and such cultures are simply unfit to nurture a sustainable democracy. Perhaps this is the most important lesson of the West’s failed experiment in the ‘Graveyard of Empires’ that is Afghanistan.
Surprisingly, education levels in Developed Economies seem to have plateaued, as well. In the United States today, only one in three Americans holds a university degree. We might be quick to conclude that the problem is due to the prohibitively high cost of both public and private education in America, but the penetration of university degrees in Western Europe is about the same as that in America despite policies prevalent in most advanced European states that cover the education expenses for students right through very advanced levels. Thus, we must conclude that there is a natural level to which we can expect education to penetrate a society, and this will inevitably limit that society’s ability to think critically.
As society, and the issues facing it, increase in complexity with each passing year [consider, for example, Climate Change and Ecological Collapse, the rise of sophisticated 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Biotechnology, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies, Computing (Quantum/Super), Data Science, and the many issues these malignant technologies enable (Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, State Surveillance of the society, Surveillance Capitalism and Human-Machine Interfaces)] this natural limit of education and of critical thinking is proving highly problematic.
In the 20th century, a university degree probably prepared most in society for not only a decent standard of living in the modern economy, but it also enabled them to reasonably grasp the issues of the day. The university degree prepared them to effectively engage in a participatory democracy. This is no longer the case, and it may be an important reason why citizens in many Western democracies are increasingly expressing ambivalence towards democracy and its economic sibling, free market capitalism. Today, 70% of Americans – with similar percentages in other leading Western democracies – believe that democracy and capitalism no longer serve society’s interests. This is a very dangerous development, perhaps even an existential threat to America’s stability, particularly as the levels of income and wealth inequality in the United States are at unprecedented levels for modern times. These are disparities not seen since the dawn of the French Revolution.
Having extensively examined the evidence of governance amongst Homo Sapiens bands whilst still nomadic hunter-gatherer communities during the Ice Age, archaeologists and historians agree that Homo Sapiens lived according to an informal democratic [Demos – people, Kratos – rule; from the ancient Greek] system. They did have leaders for their band of 30-50 members [sometimes a little larger], but their leaders could not afford to be autocratic or authoritarian or to stratify their band into classes [this was the case for most of humankind’s 250,000-year history with the exception of the last 12,000 years, the period following the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution. At that point, humankind was gradually domesticated by wheat and barley in the Euphrates and Tigris River valleys of Mesopotamia.]
Authoritarian rule was not possible in communities prior to the Agricultural Revolution since these bands [a band is the fundamental and original unit of human society] would simply abandon their leader if they were to behave in some unacceptable manner. Such an abandonment would be dangerous for the leader and existential in its outcome since the leader would now lose the protection of the band, as well as their collective and diversified skill set, which was so crucial for the survival of the band and each of its members. If a leader still refused to leave following an attempt to marginalize or ostracize them, then they would likely be murdered whilst in their sleep. Thus, the threat of such an existentially threatening outcome served as an effective mechanism to contain authoritarian, antisocial behavior by would-be dictators.
But following the end of the Ice Age and the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution, those with relatively higher levels of intelligence and strength – and thus the ability to rise above their peers and govern them – soon took advantage of their new stature and began to force their will. Soon, humankind fell under the authoritarian rule of kings, aristocrats and priests who told the society stories [religions] in which they claimed the king ruled by the divine right of a particular god or pantheon of gods. Before long, the society, the legal code and social rules they were forced to live by became stratified, and the collective misery of humankind had begun.
Since humankind had now become accustomed to living in settlements, villages, towns and cities, a return to a nomadic, independent life free of serfdom and other authoritarian constructs was no longer possible – all surrounding land was claimed by the king, the aristocracy and the priests – and so the people were trapped as peasants, serfs and slaves. Conflict and war raged as aristocrats and kings sought to expand their territories by conquering the territories of others in a quest to build or expand their empire. The subjugation of larger tracts of land and its inhabitants meant more crops to harvest and profit from and more subjects to work, tax and enslave. Peace was now defined as a brief pause that allowed warring societies to bury their dead, care for their wounded and forge new swords for the next fight in defense of their land or in the conquest of new land. It was an endless cycle of misery for the vast majority of humankind.
There were attempts in the ancient world to change this dystopian reality, at least to some degree. Aegean civilizations, most notably the Athenians in the fifth century BCE experimented with modalities of government that allowed representation from some segments of society such as the landed gentry, but slaves, women and most others were excluded from participation or representation in this new system they called democracy. But Athenian Democracy under Pericles collapsed following the conflict known as the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta [the charismatic Athenian leader, Pericles was struck down by the Plague]. The famous Athenian and father of Philosophy, Socrates was put on trial at the age of 70 in 399 BCE and was found guilty of being against the democratic ideals of the Athenian State. He was subsequently sentenced to death. Socrates was allowed to choose the method of his death – crucifixion or poison [hemlock] – and the 70-year-old father of moral philosophy settled for death by poison.
Socrates believed that Democracy would lead to the rise of demagogues. He and his young disciples, Plato and Xenophon [both wrote extensively about Socrates otherwise we would not know anything about him since this ancient Greek Father of Philosophy chose not to write his thoughts and ideas himself] also felt that Democracy was essentially mob rule. They argued that it wasn’t acceptable to make one decision one day and change it the next simply because this was the will of the people – it’s what the masses wanted to do. They argued that decisions in matters of state needed to be made according to the moral framework they had been developing and this framework didn’t change or evolve from day to day.
In Rome, Republican rule with broader representation began around the same time as that of the Athenians and lasted for about 500 years until Julius Caesar abused the emergency powers granted to him by the Roman Senate to declare himself dictator for a period of six months. Caesar refused to give up these emergency powers following the six-month window and subsequently declared himself dictator for life. Caesar was eventually assassinated in an incident known as the Ides of March and this was the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic. After Rome, the notion of democracy was essentially abandoned by subsequent civilizations for most of the next 2,000 years.
Xenophon, the disciple of Socrates referenced earlier, had written a biography of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenids, and this work, Cyropaedia, along with the works of great thinkers from the European Enlightenment resurrected democracy in the American colonies. The new American experiment was the first instance of some form of representative rule since the end of the Roman Republic.
Today, with the arrival of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies, specifically, Artificial Intelligence, we may now have a tool that can enable democracy or any other ideology of governance [benevolent or malevolent] unlike any previous time in history. AI has the capability to comprehend what to humankind is, for all intents and purposes, an infinite volume of information and knowledge which requires an infinite amount of time to digest and therefore out of the scope of possibility. But in doing so, AI’s adjudication in legal matters or advice in legislative, military, policy or any other matters of State, albeit incontrovertible, will then be impossible for humankind to comprehend, but nevertheless, we will need to defer to and trust this AI Agent’s judgement. This will be terribly unsettling.
We can now make the case that since AI is acting in a way that does not have a bias towards any one group versus another, representative democracy is no longer necessary and society can dispense with so much of the infrastructure of governance, perhaps leaving in place a much smaller, more efficient polity requiring minimal oversight. It’s a fascinating notion of what a future with such advanced forms of Artificial General or Super Intelligence based governance might offer humankind.
In summary though, this is of course just one possible outcome in the use of AI in the realm of governance amongst many. Dystopian outcomes that pose an existential threat to humankind are equally plausible and give us cause for considerable concern as this powerful technology quietly grows in its abilities [not unlike an invisible, odorless and toxic cloud slowly descending over society – by the time we recognize its potential, for good and evil, it will be too late].
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar 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 on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London, the National Library of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, California.
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. 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 Fear Factor
Episode 70 - https://youtu.be/nKhqVtQC_NI
Artificial Intelligence | Implications for the Future of Democracy
August 10, 2021
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Artificial Intelligence | The Trust Factor
Vicar Sayeedi
August 10, 2021
With so many alarming news reports discussing the rapid permeation of Artificial Intelligence within society, citizens are justifiably concerned about what a future shared with ubiquitous AI might be like. Contemporary reports detail horrific crashes involving autonomously navigated vehicles built by industry leading manufacturers. Others trigger trepidation around AI Agents used to predict our performance in a particular job, predictions that are later incorporated into an employer’s hiring decisions. Still more reports raise concerns about the use of AI Agents to make decisions about whether to give people loans or the terms under which any loans are given. These AI Agents are so sophisticated and use such large volumes of data in their analysis of job or loan candidates that no one really understands how they have reached their conclusions.
There is growing concern that significant bias inherent in demographic, gender and race metrics collected over long periods of time may have been introduced in these modern systems during the machine learning phase when the AI Agents were being trained for their task. Even in areas where AI seems to be serving in an indisputably noble capacity – such as in the diagnosis of cancer or other disease – both citizens and professionals are worried that current data sets do not adequately represent all patients’ ethnic or racial backgrounds.
The response from state and local government across the U.S. has been slow to come but it has begun. In early 2021, the Massachusetts State Legislature passed laws around the use of facial recognition software in criminal investigations. Other legislatures in the American Northwest have taken a more aggressive approach by completely prohibiting the use of facial recognition technology or requiring consent before this or any other biometric data can legally be collected. But given the rapid development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence across so many industries and facets of society, a more formal and well-coordinated national response will be required if we are to be successful in containing the growing list of threats posed to society by powerful but poorly understood and unregulated AI Agents.
America’s federal, state and local governments can learn a great deal from studying the European Union’s proposals for the regulation of AI. This past April, the European Union released a new set of carefully considered, coordinated and systematic regulatory statutes to oversee the use of Artificial Intelligence across the Continent. These proposed statutes are at the forefront when compared to AI legislation contemplated anywhere in the Developed World and there is hope that this framework of governance will soon be enacted. In so doing, it will successfully restrict some of the more nefarious uses of AI currently under development. It will result in a ban on some forms of advertising and on the use of indiscriminate facial recognition by public authorities for law enforcement purposes.
But many Thought Leaders and observers of current developments in Artificial Intelligence argue that the EU regulatory regime currently under consideration is not nearly adequate to effectively protect society. Dangerous applications including nonconsensual AI Agents used for emotion recognition, ethnicity determination, lie detection and mental health diagnoses currently fall outside the EU’s proposed regulatory regime. There is also considerable risk of discrimination in sensitive areas including education, employment, financial credit scores and public assistance programs. In these and similar cases, the EU will require companies to provide formal documentation to demonstrate and confirm that the AI Agents are fair and nondiscriminatory. Violators will face substantial fines from supervisory authorities in each EU member state for non-compliance. The regime’s critics continue to argue that a key underlying principle — that some uses of AI are simply too dangerous and harmful to be permitted — must be the guiding principle of the global debate underpinning AI regulation.
Although considerably behind the EU, the US Federal Government is also working towards establishing basic standards for the regulation of AI. But so far, the dangers of discriminatory or unsafe AI Agents and systems doesn’t seem to be a significant priority for the new US Administration. In fact, many concerned advocates from across the civil rights and technology policy spectrum have recently voiced their concerns about the lack of any formal agenda regarding the implications of AI on society. To the contrary, Executive orders and regulatory guidance instituted by the Trump Administration which constrain US Government Agencies in setting policy priorities remain in place.
On the state level, progress on the development of a meaningful regulatory regime is more encouraging. Credible proposals are now being debated in both California and Washington with the capacity to regulate public contracts involving AI based products and services. The California law in particular shares some DNA with the European approach as well as with the Canadian model which emphasizes “Algorithmic Impact Assessment”. The Canadian model is designed to mitigate bias and unfairness in AI Agents employed in public administration. The California law will require vendors supplying AI Agents to state agencies to provide a detailed data management plan that makes algorithms explainable even to a nonexpert audience and to prevent discriminatory biases.
Although the signs at the state level are encouraging, a significant stumbling block remains at the US federal level. Thus, it’s imperative that the Biden administration work with the European Union on a seamless AI policy and regulatory regime that requires all parties, as per the European Union declaration, “to provide high quality data, documentation and traceability, transparency, human oversight, accuracy and robustness for every high-risk AI system”.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar 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 on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London, the National Library of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, California.
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. 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 Fear Factor
Vicar Sayeedi
August 10, 2021
With so many alarming news reports discussing the rapid permeation of Artificial Intelligence within society, citizens are justifiably concerned about what a future shared with ubiquitous AI might be like. Contemporary reports detail horrific crashes involving autonomously navigated vehicles built by industry leading manufacturers. Others trigger trepidation around AI Agents used to predict our performance in a particular job, predictions that are later incorporated into an employer’s hiring decisions. Still more reports raise concerns about the use of AI Agents to make decisions about whether to give people loans or the terms under which any loans are given. These AI Agents are so sophisticated and use such large volumes of data in their analysis of job or loan candidates that no one really understands how they have reached their conclusions.
There is growing concern that significant bias inherent in demographic, gender and race metrics collected over long periods of time may have been introduced in these modern systems during the machine learning phase when the AI Agents were being trained for their task. Even in areas where AI seems to be serving in an indisputably noble capacity – such as in the diagnosis of cancer or other disease – both citizens and professionals are worried that current data sets do not adequately represent all patients’ ethnic or racial backgrounds.
The response from state and local government across the U.S. has been slow to come but it has begun. In early 2021, the Massachusetts State Legislature passed laws around the use of facial recognition software in criminal investigations. Other legislatures in the American Northwest have taken a more aggressive approach by completely prohibiting the use of facial recognition technology or requiring consent before this or any other biometric data can legally be collected. But given the rapid development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence across so many industries and facets of society, a more formal and well-coordinated national response will be required if we are to be successful in containing the growing list of threats posed to society by powerful but poorly understood and unregulated AI Agents.
America’s federal, state and local governments can learn a great deal from studying the European Union’s proposals for the regulation of AI. This past April, the European Union released a new set of carefully considered, coordinated and systematic regulatory statutes to oversee the use of Artificial Intelligence across the Continent. These proposed statutes are at the forefront when compared to AI legislation contemplated anywhere in the Developed World and there is hope that this framework of governance will soon be enacted. In so doing, it will successfully restrict some of the more nefarious uses of AI currently under development. It will result in a ban on some forms of advertising and on the use of indiscriminate facial recognition by public authorities for law enforcement purposes.
But many Thought Leaders and observers of current developments in Artificial Intelligence argue that the EU regulatory regime currently under consideration is not nearly adequate to effectively protect society. Dangerous applications including nonconsensual AI Agents used for emotion recognition, ethnicity determination, lie detection and mental health diagnoses currently fall outside the EU’s proposed regulatory regime. There is also considerable risk of discrimination in sensitive areas including education, employment, financial credit scores and public assistance programs. In these and similar cases, the EU will require companies to provide formal documentation to demonstrate and confirm that the AI Agents are fair and nondiscriminatory. Violators will face substantial fines from supervisory authorities in each EU member state for non-compliance. The regime’s critics continue to argue that a key underlying principle — that some uses of AI are simply too dangerous and harmful to be permitted — must be the guiding principle of the global debate underpinning AI regulation.
Although considerably behind the EU, the US Federal Government is also working towards establishing basic standards for the regulation of AI. But so far, the dangers of discriminatory or unsafe AI Agents and systems doesn’t seem to be a significant priority for the new US Administration. In fact, many concerned advocates from across the civil rights and technology policy spectrum have recently voiced their concerns about the lack of any formal agenda regarding the implications of AI on society. To the contrary, Executive orders and regulatory guidance instituted by the Trump Administration which constrain US Government Agencies in setting policy priorities remain in place.
On the state level, progress on the development of a meaningful regulatory regime is more encouraging. Credible proposals are now being debated in both California and Washington with the capacity to regulate public contracts involving AI based products and services. The California law in particular shares some DNA with the European approach as well as with the Canadian model which emphasizes “Algorithmic Impact Assessment”. The Canadian model is designed to mitigate bias and unfairness in AI Agents employed in public administration. The California law will require vendors supplying AI Agents to state agencies to provide a detailed data management plan that makes algorithms explainable even to a nonexpert audience and to prevent discriminatory biases.
Although the signs at the state level are encouraging, a significant stumbling block remains at the US federal level. Thus, it’s imperative that the Biden administration work with the European Union on a seamless AI policy and regulatory regime that requires all parties, as per the European Union declaration, “to provide high quality data, documentation and traceability, transparency, human oversight, accuracy and robustness for every high-risk AI system”.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar 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 on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London, the National Library of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, California.
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. 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 Fear Factor
July 22, 2021
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Artificial Intelligence | The Fear Factor
Vicar Sayeedi
July 22, 2021
When people hear about Artificial Intelligence, they often wonder whether the future of humankind will be as dystopian and frightening as is often portrayed in science fiction films and novels. It’s a reasonable question to ask – after all, human imagination can yield portrayals of the future that can be deeply alarming on so many levels. Although passionately debated amongst public intellectuals from all disciplines and quarters, the potential for a dystopian future involving AI capable of subjugating humankind is very real, but not deterministic. That is to say that what happens in the future depends upon the choices we make today. So, perhaps a more meaningful exercise is to examine the impacts AI is currently having on society and then extrapolating from here for insight on its future impact given that the constant in this approach is human intervention and decision making.
To begin, it’s important to note that all Artificial Intelligence Agents available today are of the Narrow or Specialized variety. This means that they are designed to perform across a very limited spectrum of intelligent tasks and they’re extremely good within this specialized domain. But even with such focused deployment, these Narrow AI Agents are proving to be quite pernicious in their ability to impact society, particularly when we consider the human feelings of safety and security.
Consider, for example, the AI Agents masquerading as social media sites on the Internet. Our Paleolithic minds have evolved over millions of years. They contain hardwired algorithms running in our Limbic system within brains that are physically limited in size, and therefore capacity, by the skull in which they reside. As a result of these biological and evolutionary limitations, human intelligence is simply no match for the intelligence of 21st century AI Agents. Through extensive analysis of data, these Agents have learned to attract teens and preteens to their platforms and to then keep them engaged for long periods of time.
Once on these platforms, children are shown images of young girls with perfect hair and makeup, perfect features, figures, smiles and teeth, beautiful clothes and homes, perfect boyfriends, families and so on. The psychological harm being done to these highly impressionable and vulnerable youngsters is unprecedented – once they recognize the gap between the idealized, manipulated images they see on these sites when compared to their own lived reality, they often begin to engage in self-harm, or worse, they attempt or contemplate suicide. The rates of such dangerous behavior being documented in hospital emergency rooms across the United States has set alarm bells ringing amongst health care providers and stakeholders and is a warning sign of the perniciousness of the application of Narrow AI in social media.
Over the last few years, AI has also been widely deployed as the backbone of State sponsored surveillance systems in both Authoritarian and Democratic societies. In Authoritarian countries, AI enabled surveillance systems can be used to demand that a society’s behavior conform to published guidelines and ideals envisioned by the State with strict mechanisms in place to quickly address any infractions. Although the case can be made that such systems are highly effective in improving law enforcement, it is not difficult to imagine how they can be abused when they eventually fall into the wrong hands. In Authoritarian China, the Communist Party’s surveillance systems are transforming the society into a previously unimaginable dystopian reality while simultaneously erasing any semblance of human agency. This reality has not been easy to suppress – despite so much turmoil in many parts of the world, even the most desperate of migrants and refugees and the traffickers that enable their journeys never contemplate emigrating there.
AI enabled surveillance technologies have also made their way into the workplace and these systems now offer managers unprecedented power to oversee labor on construction sites, in hospitals, offices, restaurants and warehouses. But there is no plan to provide reciprocal power enabling workers to transparently listen and observe the actions and decisions of management. Once again, it’s not difficult to imagine scenarios in which company management will abuse their newfound surveillance powers to maintain an authoritarian grip on labor.
Artificial Intelligence is also increasingly being deployed within the criminal justice system in the setting of bail and in sentencing. But evidence indicates that the algorithms used in these systems are inheriting and magnifying biases and inequities that already exist in the datasets used to train these AI Agents. This is very concerning and can result in the propagation of terrible injustices that will be difficult to remedy.
AI is also distorting the debate around political discourse during elections by presenting people with news stories that confirm their biases, thus keeping them engaged on various platforms for longer and longer periods of time. These distortions result in deep social chasms between various echo chambers as people feel adamant that they are the ones in possession of what is really true. In fact, social media platforms are now being flooded with so many stories that large segments of society struggle to identify truthful reports from outright fabrications and propaganda. This situation is doing tremendous harm to democracy as increasing numbers of people within society turn away from Democracy and towards Authoritarianism. In this environment, demagogues arrive on the scene promising to relieve the people of the burden of understanding the complexity of 21st century life. Instead, they spin simplistic tales blaming ethnic and religious minorities. This in effect, further foments division and violence in society.
In summary, this ability to manipulate the understanding and hence behavior of wide swaths of society is fundamentally inconsistent with democracy and may lead us down a very dark path long before the age of Artificial General Intelligence or Artificial Super Intelligence, as portrayed in the frightening tales spun by our great storytellers.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar 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 on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London, the National Library of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, California.
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. 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
Vicar Sayeedi
July 22, 2021
When people hear about Artificial Intelligence, they often wonder whether the future of humankind will be as dystopian and frightening as is often portrayed in science fiction films and novels. It’s a reasonable question to ask – after all, human imagination can yield portrayals of the future that can be deeply alarming on so many levels. Although passionately debated amongst public intellectuals from all disciplines and quarters, the potential for a dystopian future involving AI capable of subjugating humankind is very real, but not deterministic. That is to say that what happens in the future depends upon the choices we make today. So, perhaps a more meaningful exercise is to examine the impacts AI is currently having on society and then extrapolating from here for insight on its future impact given that the constant in this approach is human intervention and decision making.
To begin, it’s important to note that all Artificial Intelligence Agents available today are of the Narrow or Specialized variety. This means that they are designed to perform across a very limited spectrum of intelligent tasks and they’re extremely good within this specialized domain. But even with such focused deployment, these Narrow AI Agents are proving to be quite pernicious in their ability to impact society, particularly when we consider the human feelings of safety and security.
Consider, for example, the AI Agents masquerading as social media sites on the Internet. Our Paleolithic minds have evolved over millions of years. They contain hardwired algorithms running in our Limbic system within brains that are physically limited in size, and therefore capacity, by the skull in which they reside. As a result of these biological and evolutionary limitations, human intelligence is simply no match for the intelligence of 21st century AI Agents. Through extensive analysis of data, these Agents have learned to attract teens and preteens to their platforms and to then keep them engaged for long periods of time.
Once on these platforms, children are shown images of young girls with perfect hair and makeup, perfect features, figures, smiles and teeth, beautiful clothes and homes, perfect boyfriends, families and so on. The psychological harm being done to these highly impressionable and vulnerable youngsters is unprecedented – once they recognize the gap between the idealized, manipulated images they see on these sites when compared to their own lived reality, they often begin to engage in self-harm, or worse, they attempt or contemplate suicide. The rates of such dangerous behavior being documented in hospital emergency rooms across the United States has set alarm bells ringing amongst health care providers and stakeholders and is a warning sign of the perniciousness of the application of Narrow AI in social media.
Over the last few years, AI has also been widely deployed as the backbone of State sponsored surveillance systems in both Authoritarian and Democratic societies. In Authoritarian countries, AI enabled surveillance systems can be used to demand that a society’s behavior conform to published guidelines and ideals envisioned by the State with strict mechanisms in place to quickly address any infractions. Although the case can be made that such systems are highly effective in improving law enforcement, it is not difficult to imagine how they can be abused when they eventually fall into the wrong hands. In Authoritarian China, the Communist Party’s surveillance systems are transforming the society into a previously unimaginable dystopian reality while simultaneously erasing any semblance of human agency. This reality has not been easy to suppress – despite so much turmoil in many parts of the world, even the most desperate of migrants and refugees and the traffickers that enable their journeys never contemplate emigrating there.
AI enabled surveillance technologies have also made their way into the workplace and these systems now offer managers unprecedented power to oversee labor on construction sites, in hospitals, offices, restaurants and warehouses. But there is no plan to provide reciprocal power enabling workers to transparently listen and observe the actions and decisions of management. Once again, it’s not difficult to imagine scenarios in which company management will abuse their newfound surveillance powers to maintain an authoritarian grip on labor.
Artificial Intelligence is also increasingly being deployed within the criminal justice system in the setting of bail and in sentencing. But evidence indicates that the algorithms used in these systems are inheriting and magnifying biases and inequities that already exist in the datasets used to train these AI Agents. This is very concerning and can result in the propagation of terrible injustices that will be difficult to remedy.
AI is also distorting the debate around political discourse during elections by presenting people with news stories that confirm their biases, thus keeping them engaged on various platforms for longer and longer periods of time. These distortions result in deep social chasms between various echo chambers as people feel adamant that they are the ones in possession of what is really true. In fact, social media platforms are now being flooded with so many stories that large segments of society struggle to identify truthful reports from outright fabrications and propaganda. This situation is doing tremendous harm to democracy as increasing numbers of people within society turn away from Democracy and towards Authoritarianism. In this environment, demagogues arrive on the scene promising to relieve the people of the burden of understanding the complexity of 21st century life. Instead, they spin simplistic tales blaming ethnic and religious minorities. This in effect, further foments division and violence in society.
In summary, this ability to manipulate the understanding and hence behavior of wide swaths of society is fundamentally inconsistent with democracy and may lead us down a very dark path long before the age of Artificial General Intelligence or Artificial Super Intelligence, as portrayed in the frightening tales spun by our great storytellers.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar 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 on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London, the National Library of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, California.
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. 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
July 8, 2021
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Vicar Sayeedi
July 8, 2021
For tens of thousands of years, Homo Sapiens has made deliberate and extraordinary attempts to leave behind a record of its achievements, beliefs and presence on the Earth in a deliberate and unequivocal attempt to inform future societies of what has come before. From the 40,000 year-old Lion Man of Stadel carved from Mammoth ivory and found in a cave in Germany to the 4,600 year old mausoleum of Pharaoh Khufu at the Great Pyramids at Giza. From the nearly 4,000 year old legal code of the Babylonian King, Hammurabi to the death mask of the Florentine writer, Dante Alighieri and other prominent figures from the late Middle Ages, humankind has used many methods to inform future generations, even those who might come thousands of years later, that they are following in the footsteps of many great personalities, some well known and meticulously documented and preserved in the archeological and historical record, alongside the contributions of so many others who remain anonymous. Without a doubt, there is something hardwired in our Limbic System, an algorithm in our Mammalian brain, as a result of Evolutionary Psychology, some need in the Homo Sapiens that for seventy thousand years following the Cognitive Revolution has left us with a deep seated need to be remembered following our death.
Fortunately, in modern times, this desire of leaving behind a lasting legacy is becoming easier than ever before. Today, many people have the means to write or commission a professional biographer to compile their memoir. They can easily leave behind digital or paper documents and photographs or digital recordings and videos of great conversations, lectures or speeches of important contributions they have made to humankind or to their chosen field of endeavor. But perhaps most profound of all, in the not too distant future, deceased humans will be able to live on in digital form through Artificial Intelligence.
These Artificial Intelligence Agents will reside in our Smartphones, Smart watches and other ubiquitous devices and, during our lifetime, they will record every intimate detail about us. Then, upon our passing, these Agents will continue to represent us, perhaps as an Avatar or by inhabiting an exoskeleton that resembles our physical persona. Now, using these comprehensive and deep insights into our history and personality, we may be capable of inhabiting the present in perpetuity. These Agents will be capable of projecting what we might likely have said or might say in a particular circumstance or how we might react to a particular situation. They will essentially be extending our personality and presence indefinitely. It’s an extraordinary but understandably unsettling development and a probable reality for many.
Imagine, for example, the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court having the capacity to consult America’s Founding Fathers on their original intent with regard to major constitutional questions that arise during debate or of the opportunity for Apple’s design team to consult Steve Jobs in 2020 about his thoughts on a new iPhone design or new product launch. Or perhaps what Albert Einstein might have to say on the ongoing attempts by contemporary scientists to uncover the Theory of Everything – the God Equation – that consumed thirty years of his life. Or how Leonardo Da Vinci might respond to the realization of many of the technologies that preoccupied his thoughts during his life, including the possibility of humans taking to the skies.
Scientists and Technology Pioneers are actively investigating how Artificial Intelligence might produce a dynamic and realistic version of someone who has died, not simply a static replica for the emotional benefit of close family members but evolving digital variants that might still be able to lead great companies or extraordinary statesmen that could direct the world through dangerous and unpredictable times. A number of established Tech giants including Microsoft as well as new enterprises including Here After AI and Replika believe that there will be great demand for these digital reproductions and personas in the form of Chatbots or Avatars that will gesture and speak in a personality and voice identical to that of a now deceased individual. In fact, holograms of deceased actors and artists have already been performing in film and on stage.
In a patent held by Microsoft, two of the Tech giant’s inventors have described an AI Agent that collects data from the various social media platforms and uses this data alongside recordings of a person’s voice and copies of their writings to train itself to speak and interact by replicating that individual’s personality. According to the patent filing, this person could be someone who has now passed away or even someone who is still alive. They might be an acquaintance or celebrity, a friend or relative or even a fictional or historical character and the AI Agent would be able to imitate this person’s voice and mannerism in a very realistic manner. As our digital personas improve with time, they may be able to learn and therefore continue to evolve beyond our passing and therefore adapt to events and life as it continuously unfolds. This would confer some measure of digital immortality by not just preserving our personality but allowing us to extend our lives in perpetuity in virtual form.
In such a reality, our immortal digital personas would continue to interact with our families, friends and descendants long after we have passed. We could also explore the universe without the limitations of our biochemical hosts and thus travel farther and longer than any ordinary human could in a normal lifetime. Or perhaps in a less dramatic application, our digital persona could be used while we’re still alive so we can keep our work progressing at the office while we holiday on a sun soaked beach thousands of miles away.
The possibilities and scope of this application and realm of Artificial Intelligence is endless and will undoubtedly leave many in society feeling reticent and uncomfortable particularly when confronted with the issue of grief and of letting go. But such AI Agents may soon be a new norm while we simultaneously raise ethical questions about whether or not human rights would be applicable to our digital personas and so many other questions of ethics and morality. In summary, the likelihood is high that these AI Agents may soon find their way into society and rapidly on a path to ubiquity.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar 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 on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London, the National Library of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, California.
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. 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/1nKbTMzfpqM
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go From Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
Vicar Sayeedi
July 8, 2021
For tens of thousands of years, Homo Sapiens has made deliberate and extraordinary attempts to leave behind a record of its achievements, beliefs and presence on the Earth in a deliberate and unequivocal attempt to inform future societies of what has come before. From the 40,000 year-old Lion Man of Stadel carved from Mammoth ivory and found in a cave in Germany to the 4,600 year old mausoleum of Pharaoh Khufu at the Great Pyramids at Giza. From the nearly 4,000 year old legal code of the Babylonian King, Hammurabi to the death mask of the Florentine writer, Dante Alighieri and other prominent figures from the late Middle Ages, humankind has used many methods to inform future generations, even those who might come thousands of years later, that they are following in the footsteps of many great personalities, some well known and meticulously documented and preserved in the archeological and historical record, alongside the contributions of so many others who remain anonymous. Without a doubt, there is something hardwired in our Limbic System, an algorithm in our Mammalian brain, as a result of Evolutionary Psychology, some need in the Homo Sapiens that for seventy thousand years following the Cognitive Revolution has left us with a deep seated need to be remembered following our death.
Fortunately, in modern times, this desire of leaving behind a lasting legacy is becoming easier than ever before. Today, many people have the means to write or commission a professional biographer to compile their memoir. They can easily leave behind digital or paper documents and photographs or digital recordings and videos of great conversations, lectures or speeches of important contributions they have made to humankind or to their chosen field of endeavor. But perhaps most profound of all, in the not too distant future, deceased humans will be able to live on in digital form through Artificial Intelligence.
These Artificial Intelligence Agents will reside in our Smartphones, Smart watches and other ubiquitous devices and, during our lifetime, they will record every intimate detail about us. Then, upon our passing, these Agents will continue to represent us, perhaps as an Avatar or by inhabiting an exoskeleton that resembles our physical persona. Now, using these comprehensive and deep insights into our history and personality, we may be capable of inhabiting the present in perpetuity. These Agents will be capable of projecting what we might likely have said or might say in a particular circumstance or how we might react to a particular situation. They will essentially be extending our personality and presence indefinitely. It’s an extraordinary but understandably unsettling development and a probable reality for many.
Imagine, for example, the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court having the capacity to consult America’s Founding Fathers on their original intent with regard to major constitutional questions that arise during debate or of the opportunity for Apple’s design team to consult Steve Jobs in 2020 about his thoughts on a new iPhone design or new product launch. Or perhaps what Albert Einstein might have to say on the ongoing attempts by contemporary scientists to uncover the Theory of Everything – the God Equation – that consumed thirty years of his life. Or how Leonardo Da Vinci might respond to the realization of many of the technologies that preoccupied his thoughts during his life, including the possibility of humans taking to the skies.
Scientists and Technology Pioneers are actively investigating how Artificial Intelligence might produce a dynamic and realistic version of someone who has died, not simply a static replica for the emotional benefit of close family members but evolving digital variants that might still be able to lead great companies or extraordinary statesmen that could direct the world through dangerous and unpredictable times. A number of established Tech giants including Microsoft as well as new enterprises including Here After AI and Replika believe that there will be great demand for these digital reproductions and personas in the form of Chatbots or Avatars that will gesture and speak in a personality and voice identical to that of a now deceased individual. In fact, holograms of deceased actors and artists have already been performing in film and on stage.
In a patent held by Microsoft, two of the Tech giant’s inventors have described an AI Agent that collects data from the various social media platforms and uses this data alongside recordings of a person’s voice and copies of their writings to train itself to speak and interact by replicating that individual’s personality. According to the patent filing, this person could be someone who has now passed away or even someone who is still alive. They might be an acquaintance or celebrity, a friend or relative or even a fictional or historical character and the AI Agent would be able to imitate this person’s voice and mannerism in a very realistic manner. As our digital personas improve with time, they may be able to learn and therefore continue to evolve beyond our passing and therefore adapt to events and life as it continuously unfolds. This would confer some measure of digital immortality by not just preserving our personality but allowing us to extend our lives in perpetuity in virtual form.
In such a reality, our immortal digital personas would continue to interact with our families, friends and descendants long after we have passed. We could also explore the universe without the limitations of our biochemical hosts and thus travel farther and longer than any ordinary human could in a normal lifetime. Or perhaps in a less dramatic application, our digital persona could be used while we’re still alive so we can keep our work progressing at the office while we holiday on a sun soaked beach thousands of miles away.
The possibilities and scope of this application and realm of Artificial Intelligence is endless and will undoubtedly leave many in society feeling reticent and uncomfortable particularly when confronted with the issue of grief and of letting go. But such AI Agents may soon be a new norm while we simultaneously raise ethical questions about whether or not human rights would be applicable to our digital personas and so many other questions of ethics and morality. In summary, the likelihood is high that these AI Agents may soon find their way into society and rapidly on a path to ubiquity.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar 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 on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London, the National Library of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, California.
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. 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/1nKbTMzfpqM
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go From Here?
Episode 67 - https://youtu.be/RMrqreI-PRw
Artificial Intelligence | [Digital] Life After Death
