Vicar Sayeedi's Blog, page 6

AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules

AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Vicar Sayeedi
April 24, 2021


As discussed in Episode 54 of the “ai & u!” Podcast, on April 21st the European Commission announced an unprecedented regulatory regime that will govern the use of Artificial Intelligence across the EU. This regime is expected to be highly consequential for the world’s leading technology companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, each of which is a world leader in AI. These companies have invested enormous sums in the development of perhaps the most significant but ethically challenging scientific and technological advancement humankind has ever seen. During the announcement, Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission Executive responsible for digital policy across the twenty seven member states of the EU stated, “On artificial intelligence, trust is a must, not a nice-to-have. With these landmark rules, the E.U. is spearheading the development of new global norms to make sure A.I. can be trusted.”

The proposed rules will set strict limits around the use of Artificial Intelligence across a wide range of applications including academic placement and student examination, employment decisions and labor issues, financial institution lending practices, policing and adjudication, self-driving vehicles and many other applications deemed to be “high risk” since they carry the potential to compromise the basic rights of individuals as well as public safety. Certain AI applications, including real time facial recognition of individuals or groups in public places, will face an outright ban except in specific situations involving policing and national security.

By publishing its 108-page policy the European Union has acted proactively in an attempt to regulate an emerging technology before it becomes ubiquitous. Many other companies – besides the aforementioned leading technology companies – that are increasingly turning to Specialized AI Agents for the improvement of applications including medicine and public health will also need to pay careful attention to the EU’s new regulations and the direction they will follow on their way to becoming law. In the case that these firms are found to be in violation of the proposed regulations, they could face fines of up to six percent of annual worldwide sales.

The EU’s proposed regulations will require companies who develop and sell AI solutions for applications deemed as high-risk to provide regulators with evidence that these AI Agents are safe. These safety submissions will need to include risk assessments and documentation explaining how their AI is making its decisions. They will also need to guarantee human oversight in the system’s creation and use. Applications including Chatbots that are designed to serve in the customer service function, and others that create undetectable fake images or deep fake videos, will need to inform users that they are an AI Agent and not a human and that the images they are seeing are not real and have been generated by AI.

For some years now, the European Union has been the world’s leading and most aggressive regulator of the technology industry and has enacted the world’s most rigorous data privacy regulations. Their work on antitrust law and content regulation is also likely to soon be the world’s most advanced and forward looking. Their extensive, proactive and rigorous approach to advanced technology regulation has created a template that many other countries often adopt as their own regulatory regime.

But the EU is no longer alone in demanding more rigorous and stringent oversight over Big Tech. These sophisticated powerhouses are increasingly facing a similar reception from governments across continents, each harboring their own reservations of the Tech industry’s deeply worrisome rise in influence, power and wealth. In the US, for example, President Biden’s new Administration deliberately includes many voices that are openly critical of Big Tech and their behavior over the course of the last decade. In the UK, Prime Minister Johnson’s administration is developing a regulatory agency for the Tech Sector and even China has come down hard on these firms as seen in its recent cancellation of ANT Financial’s planned IPO and the dressing down of its Chairman, Jack Ma.

How these regulators choose to respond to the behavior of Big Tech in the next few years will have a significant impact on the development and use of Artificial Intelligence, the Internet and other technology platforms and services. We may witness a new world where people have access to a widely varied portfolio of content and services depending upon the geographies in which they live. The EU’s proposal is a first but even with this new regime there are many voices raising concerns that the proposed legislation does not go far enough and probably leaves too much to the discretion and self-regulation of the Big Tech firms. The coming months and years will be critical: how the biggest firms behave now will have considerable influence on the direction regulators in the Developed World take. Given Big Tech’s track record over the past decade, it’s quite likely that the regulatory regime that comes into force will be highly punitive and stringent.











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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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

AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?

AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Vicar Sayeedi
April 20, 2021


In 1995, New York University Cognitive Scientist, David Chalmers proposed a famous thought experiment in which every neuron in our brain is sequentially replaced by a functionally equivalent electronic cell. In this hypothetical experiment, our visible behavior would not change and we would appear to be exactly the same to our friends and family, those who know us best. But this experiment raises an important question: at some point in this neuron replacement process, might we cease to be conscious and how would this happen? Would we lose our sense of self-awareness gradually, suddenly or not at all?

This is the sort of debate that often raises tempers amongst leading researchers in Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology and Philosophy. There are those researchers and thought leaders at one end of the spectrum, the optimistic end, who argue that there are no laws of mathematics or physics, nor any principles of biology or chemistry that limit consciousness to carbon based life forms. Thus, silicon based systems should also be able to attain sentience.

However, if consciousness is exclusive to carbon based biological entities, then even if a human brain’s synthetic replacement enabled it to function exactly as it did prior to the afore described neuron replacement procedure, the person whose consciousness previously inhabited this brain would no longer be there. At this end of the spectrum, the pessimistic end, researchers argue that in order to implement such a sentient AI Agent we must first understand the scientific foundations of human cognitive behavior and humankind has barely scratched the surface of this esoteric domain. Thus, the critical question of whether Artificial General Intelligence will ever achieve consciousness remains a hotly debated topic, one that we can only speculate about today.

As we contemplate the issue of sentience in future AI Agents, we must also keep in mind that Artificial Intelligence is exponentially superior to human intelligence in its ability to analyze vast quantities of data, permanently retain the insights garnered from its analysis and then formulate decisions based upon this comprehensive analysis. AI can also perform this process at light speed and it never forgets what it has learned. This raises the sobering question of what sentience even means in the context of AI. For example, will humans be able to recognize AI’s consciousness since our understanding of sentience is limited by our own cognitive capacity? Will the AI’s sentience be something completely different? Will it appear sentient to us because it has learned to mimic human consciousness in its behavior, conversation and interaction? Will it have dimensions of sentience that are simply beyond our cognitive capacity to understand?

While we contemplate the possibility of sentience in future Artificial General Intelligence Agents, it’s a sobering thought to realize that the narrow AI Agents widely in use today have the potential to do tremendous harm to society without any known or recognizable aspects of consciousness. Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems and the AI Agents behind major social media platforms are two important examples of worrisome and dangerous applications of contemporary AI Agents.

Before his death in 2018, Microsoft co-founder and founder of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Paul Allen wrote that achieving singularity, the point at which Artificial Intelligence is generally equivalent to human intelligence and where AI develops beyond our ability to monitor, predict, or understand it, will take far more than just designing increasingly capable machines. Allen said, “To achieve the singularity, it isn’t enough to just run today’s software faster. We would also need to build smarter and more capable software programs. Creating this kind of advanced software requires a prior scientific understanding of the foundations of human cognition, and we are just scraping the surface of this. This prior need to understand the basic science of cognition is where the ‘singularity is near’ arguments fail to persuade us.”

Paul Allen’s sentiments not withstanding, it seems the aggregate opinion amongst the world’s community of AI experts seems to be leaning in favor of those who believe Artificial General Intelligence and consciousness will be achieved sometime before the end of the century. In 2013, Nick Bostrom of Oxford University and Vincent Mueller of the European Society for Cognitive Systems published a survey of experts in the AI field indicating the timeframe in which they believed AI would approach the level of intelligence in Homo Sapiens. The survey found that more than 50% of AI experts believe that AI will achieve Artificial General Intelligence within 20-30 years while 90% believe this goal will be achieved within 50-60 years. Bostrom personally believes that the rate of progress in the next few years and decades will produce sophisticated machines with human-level intelligence that are capable of both speech and reasoning.

The prominent Computer Scientist and Futurist, Ray Kurzweil also falls into the optimistic camp in that he believes we are rapidly approaching singularity and sentience in AI. Kurzweil thinks that by the end of this decade or perhaps even sooner, AI will be able to pass the Turing test, an evaluation of intelligence that tries to determine whether a computer can convince a human judge that it is human. Kurzweil also believes that in the next decade, we will be able to upload our mind in its entirety into the Cloud. This, however, may be a bit too optimistic for most in the AI field: Connectomics is, like its predecessor Genomics, a revolutionary science that is attempting to map the human mind into silicon based systems but it may take a little longer to realize Kurzweil’s vision given the challenges that remain in understanding the human brain and its relationship to consciousness.

In summary, the genesis of sentience in Artificial Intelligence Agents is a profound notion that is likely to become reality at some point in the next several decades. And perhaps with the exception of gene editing or more generally biotechnology, there are no other scientific disciplines in which humankind is progressing so rapidly while simultaneously having such limited insight into what we’re actually doing. If the AI community is successful in creating machines that experience the world subjectively, the ethical implications will be beyond anything humankind has ever fathomed. It would also be an unprecedented moment for our species, and we would have to contend with what it means to have essentially created new life. Whether these questions remain a distant possibility or whether they are only a few decades away, it’s critical that we begin to consider them very seriously since the probability of realizing this ability is increasing every day. It is the right time for humankind to carefully and collectively consider the ethical and moral principles that are most important to us.









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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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/12EIzY6j5dU
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way

Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?

AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way

AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Vicar Sayeedi
April 16, 2021


On April 21, the Executive Branch of the European Union, the European Commission is expected to release an initial set of rules regarding the development and use of Artificial Intelligence within the EU. Although it may take some time before these rules are enacted into EU-wide law – the process will require Parliamentary approval – this is the most rigorous and strictest regime anywhere in the world. As in the case of Privacy, the EU is, once again, leading the world in its efforts to protect its citizens from the more nefarious aspects of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies while balancing their expected potential to benefit the economy and society.

The European Commission’s first of its kind proposal is expected to prohibit the deployment of AI Agents and systems in society that can be used to manipulate human behavior, along with systems used to exploit data gathered about any individual or group for commercial benefit. With exceptions for certain law enforcement applications, AI Agents used to enable surveillance will also be prohibited within the bloc. For example, the use of facial recognition technology in public spaces will require explicit authorization from EU and national authorities. Noncompliance or violation of the European Commission’s AI rules are expected to result in fines of as much as €20 million or 4% of a company’s annual sales. This punitive framework is similar to the one accompanying the EU’s Global Data Protection Regulations or GDPR.

Additionally, any AI systems deemed as “high-risk” will require advanced inspection by regimes designed to ensure that the systems have been trained on unbiased data sets. AI Agents that could potentially endanger the safety of citizens or their lives or basic rights, as well as the EU’s democratic processes, will also be included in this category. Some “high risk” examples include AI systems used to approve admission to educational institutions or in staff recruitment algorithms, as well as systems that evaluate an applicant’s credit worthiness. Self-driving cars and AI systems that can be used to predict crime will also be included in this category. In some cases, companies will be allowed to perform these inspections internally, but in other cases verification will need to be performed by independent agencies that will issue time limited certificates of compliance. These rules are expected to apply equally to companies based both within and outside the EU.

The EC is very concerned about how Artificial Intelligence is being used in China to strengthen the Communist Party’s Authoritarian surveillance state, with facial recognition technology and a social credit system at its core. The EC’s intention is to ban these types of systems completely. Draft versions of the forthcoming rules are pointing towards a comprehensive ban on what they consider to be dangerous applications of AI whilst also limiting or restricting other systems that do not meet the new standards. The Commission is emphatic in communicating that they are not willing to allow powerful tech companies to remain on the “honor system” in which they are essentially left to self-regulate, as is presently the case in the United States.

The European Commission’s rules proposal also seeks to prohibit AI systems that can cause harm to people by manipulating their behavior, opinions or decisions as well as those AI systems that exploit or target an individual’s vulnerabilities. Rather, the EU is signaling that it intends to allow AI into their economy and society using a “human-centric” philosophy, an approach that will actively encourage and support the development of advanced AI while also ensuring that it is developed and used within guardrails underwritten by their ethics and privacy laws. AI Agents and systems that improve manufacturing processes through the incorporation of automation and robotics and those that can be used to better understand climate change, or those that can improve the efficiency of energy distribution throughout the national electricity grid will actively be encouraged and supported. But AI Agents used to determine social security benefits or to process asylum and visa applications or to assist in the process of adjudication in the courts, will be categorized as “high risk” and would be subject to a considerable degree of scrutiny.

But the proposed rules will allow for exceptions in certain circumstances: they will permit authorities to use AI systems if they are to be used to help in the fight against serious crime. For example, AI-enabled facial recognition technology in public places might be allowed if it is used for a limited period of time and in a pre-determined location or region for a specific security operation.

With the announcement of these rules on April 21st, the European Union is sending an unequivocal message, a warning shot of sorts, to other countries outside the bloc as well as to the Tech giants involved in the development of advanced AI systems that if they would like to continue to access the world’s largest market, they will need to understand and comply with their regime. Nevertheless, Google’s former CEO and Chairman of America’s National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence [NSCAI], Eric Schmidt believes the European Commission’s strategy will ultimately fail since the EU is simply too small to compete on this issue on its own. Schmidt believes the EU will need to partner closely with the United States on these key platforms.

Time will tell but the EC and the EU have together taken a very important step in the regulation of Artificial Intelligence that can serve as a template for others as they contemplate there own defenses against perhaps the most powerful technology humankind has ever invented.







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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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/12EIzY6j5dU
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way

AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software

AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Vicar Sayeedi
April 13, 2021


For some years now, the West has been shocked by a steady stream of news reports detailing the incarceration of some 1.5 million Uighur and other Turkic People from Xinjiang Province in Northwest China. In light of historical events in Europe during the mid-20th century, news of the fate of so many Uighur People has been viewed with alarm and disbelief across the West and has formally been labeled as an act of genocide by governments in several leading Western capitals, including Washington. But what has not been understood by most is the technology that has enabled the Chinese State to identify and track the Uighur people: it is facial recognition software enabled by Artificial Intelligence that can uniquely identify Uighur faces amongst all others.

Today, many in the Western scientific community involved in the development of surveillance technologies such as AI-enabled facial recognition are concerned that some of their colleagues have been working to develop these incontrovertibly dangerous machine-learning algorithms in an unregulated and unethical manner. They are also worried that a number of important academic, scientific and technical journals have published peer-reviewed research papers describing the implementation of facial recognition technology to identify Uighurs along with members of other Chinese minority groups. Their complaints have resulted in a number of investigations as academics and human rights activists try to cajole the wider scientific community to take a principled stand against the unethical use of facial-recognition research and development. The activists are denouncing the controversial use of such powerful technology, along with the ethically weak basis of so much of the research in this discipline.

A growing number of scientists have been trying to convince their research colleagues to avoid working with academic institutions or companies linked to unethical projects and to more carefully consider how they are collecting and sharing facial-recognition datasets. Many of these studies have collected staggeringly large datasets of images of people’s faces without consent and some of these datasets have now helped train AI-enabled commercial and military surveillance algorithms. Activists in the scientific community want researchers to be more thoughtful about the ethical basis of their work. Some progress is being made as a few academic conferences and a number of journals are increasing scrutiny of the studies they publish, while some in the facial recognition technology community have begun to believe that it’s just too difficult to do ethically acceptable work in this field, at all.

For today’s facial-recognition algorithms to work well, they must be trained and then tested on very large sets of images that are being collected, often without consent. In 2015, scientists at Stanford University published a set of 12,000 images captured from a webcam in a San Francisco café. In 2016, researchers at Duke University released more than two million photos of students walking on the university campus. But the largest datasets of images have been collected online. In 2016, facial recognition researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle uploaded a database called MegaFace which contained over three million photos collected from the image-sharing site Flickr, while research scientists at Microsoft Research published the world’s largest data set, MSCeleb, consisting of ten million images of about 100,000 unique individuals from across society including photos of leading academics, journalists and performers that they’d scraped from the Internet. These datasets have since been used to test and improve various surveillance products including military surveillance systems in China. We now realize that many of the photos people unwittingly post online are eventually used as training data for AI-enabled surveillance systems.

Some of these datasets have now been removed from the Internet but not before they have served their [often nefarious] purpose. Other large online image collections, such as the one from Microsoft, continue to be circulated amongst researchers, who continue to cite them in their research and even to upload them, or some version of them. The researchers occasionally stipulate that these datasets should be used only for the purposes of scientific research; however, once these datasets have been widely distributed, it is no longer possible to prevent for-profit enterprises from acquiring them for commercial use.

It is not yet clear whether scientists in Europe can collect photos of people’s faces for biometric research without explicit consent. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation [GDPR] does not provide any legal basis for researchers to do this, but there hasn’t been any official EU guidance on how to interpret GDPR regarding this issue and it has yet to be tested in court. In the United States, some states say it is illegal for commercial enterprises to use a person’s biometric data without their consent. Illinois has gone further and said that individuals are allowed to sue in these cases. As a result, several firms have been hit with class-action lawsuits.

Last year, Facebook agreed to pay $650 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in Illinois over a private collection of photos that it improperly used for facial recognition. The New York company, Clearview AI scraped three billion online photos for its facial-recognition system and has now also been sued for violating Illinois law in several pending cases. Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft have also been sued in Illinois for using a data set of nearly one million online photos released by IBM in 2019.

In summary, the entire enterprise of AI-enabled facial recognition is fraught with ethical challenges and although it can serve very valuable purposes in society including in medical research, public health and law enforcement, its nefarious dimension requires very proactive and thoughtful regulation.






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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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

AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?

AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Vicar Sayeedi
April 5, 2021


In the coming years and decades, as Artificial Intelligence is increasingly integrated throughout our healthcare systems on its unmistakable trajectory towards ubiquity, our processes and protocols for managing health and the onset of disease will be far more preemptive and proactive than at any time in the past. We will no longer wait for people to fall ill before initiating treatment; rather, sophisticated AI-enabled health systems will constantly monitor patients from birth and diagnose disease at the earliest sign. These AI-enabled health systems and tools will leverage vast quantities of continuously expanding troughs of data to advise patients and physicians early and accurately, thus rendering the AI Agents far more effective than previous public health systems in containing disease. Nevertheless, there are significant hurdles that we must overcome before we can realize this vision in the United States and the Developed World.

Consider, for example, a time in the not too distant future when a child is newly born. AI-enabled systems will routinely perform a comprehensive panel of checks and tests to assess the infant’s health. Following this screening, if genetic mutations are detected in important genes, the infant’s patient record [EMR] will reflect these anomalies and doctors will be alerted. As the child grows, AI Agents will silently monitor this mutation and any other anomalies, along with a comprehensive set of critical health parameters. If a genetic mutation begins to evolve into something more nefarious, the change will be detected quickly, and a thorough diagnosis will be initiated and performed to evaluate the patient’s condition and risks. Then, a physician will be engaged to consult with the patient and arrange for a therapeutic plan.

However, for such an AI-enabled system to work, it will require a very substantial health parameter dataset. Once such extensive and patient relevant data is available, the AI Agent will be well equipped to help in directing medical practitioners and patients towards a personalized treatment plan. This plan will be optimized to work in a specific patient’s situation and profile; the Agent will have acquired this ability by studying data from a vast population of similar patients. This new approach will harken a revolutionary change in healthcare: personalized medicine.

As noted above, one of the main limitations in implementing such a system today is the insufficient volume of relevant health data. Health systems will need to collect dramatically more data in order for these AI Agents to function well. Unfortunately, this issue is currently being exacerbated by the lack of diversity of patients in the American health system due to economic limitations which lead to health system access problems for certain populations. In effect, US health data is currently biased by the racial and ethnic backgrounds of patients who can afford to use the health system versus those who cannot. But bias can take many forms and cannot be resolved by simply ensuring data is collected from a wide range of demographics. In fact, to work well, the AI Agents will need to receive health data from people from as many ethnic and racial backgrounds as possible.

The extreme fragmentation of healthcare delivery in the US is also a very serious hurdle that must be overcome before acceptable levels of health data can be collected to support AI Agents in such health systems. This fragmentation in healthcare delivery has already been shown to be problematic during the current Pandemic. Unlike other countries with centralized national health systems managed by skilled technocrats and medical professionals, the US Centers for Disease Control was not able to aggregate Covid-19 data for rapid, rigorous analysis from across America’s numerous and disconnected health networks.

The use of highly effective Artificial Intelligence Agents in healthcare will rapidly become a reality in countries that can overcome these challenges through comprehensive national health systems that provide ubiquitous coverage to all their citizens along with effective cooperation between their government and health sector. For government officials charged with the solemn ethical responsibility of achieving equitable public health, countries must create a nationwide AI ecosystem that can reap the benefits which only vast volumes of consolidated patient data can enable. Government and public health officials also need to build confidence with patients from minority populations that the introduction of AI Agents will result in improved care that will grant equitable access.

It will be critically important that these officials be transparent about what the use of AI in health systems will mean for individual patients. They will need to listen to and resolve numerous data privacy concerns of patients from minority populations who often lack trust in what is a well-intentioned health system initiative due to documented historical failures in this regard.

In summary then, representatives from both government and industry will need to develop educational programs that inform all stakeholders in the public health sector of the importance of AI in the improvement of public health. They will then need to work together to overcome the numerous challenges before these extraordinarily beneficial ideas can be implemented for the nation.









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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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?

AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Vicar Sayeedi
March 27, 2021


The notion of global government, a supreme and overarching authority that all the nations of the world must recognize and obey, often draws a visceral response from ordinary citizens and public intellectuals, alike. After all, sovereignty and the right to self-determination are ideas that are precious in the hearts and minds of tens or even hundreds of millions and have largely been won at the expense of blood and treasure. For many, national sovereignty is political dynamite and is not to be bargained away at any cost. But has some measure of global governance become necessary?

Although deeply emotive, the need for global governance in the 21st century is difficult to deny. We must accept that it will be virtually impossible to contend with the growing list of challenges before us without an increase in multilateralism, a trend that is unmistakably leading us in the direction of global governance. In fact, today’s European Union is an excellent example of what global governance might look like; although at times contentious and brimming with vitriol, there is no doubt that the Continent has benefited from decades of alliances and multilateral institutions, relationships that have gradually transferred some authority and power away from the individual sovereign states and to the Union.

Since the end of World War II, the number of security alliances and multilateral institutions that have formed in the Developed World – agreements that cede some or even significant portions of a nation’s historically sovereign rights – continues to grow while millions of citizens quietly benefit. Many countries in Europe, for example, have surrendered their right to a sovereign currency in favor of the Euro while also grudgingly committing a portion of their annual government budget to Brussels for their collective defense. They are also treaty bound to participate militarily in conflict zones if called upon for this collective defense. As a result they have experienced historically unprecedented peace and security and economic stability, albeit with a loss of some sovereignty.

There are many alliances and multilateral institutions in place around the world for us to consider as potential reference models of global government, with some institutions being better than others or certain aspects of some agreements so desirable that we might extract them as part of a global model. Consider, for example, the European Union, the African Union, the Association of South East Asian Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Arab League, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, the Five Eyes security alliance, the most recent Quad Alliance conceived as a buffer against the rising power of China, the United Nations [the successor to the League of Nations], The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Countless statesmen have argued in favor of these alliances and multilateral institutions claiming that they have served an enormously valuable role for citizens everywhere while also preserving peace and security. Even with their undeniable institutional lapses and shortcomings, the consensus opinion is that the benefits have been overwhelming. But there are still those who vociferously disagree and are hard at work in their effort to break free of these global alliances and multilateral institutions. The Brexit process in the United Kingdom is the most recent example.

The growing list of deeply worrying problems collectively faced by humankind include the need to regulate the powerful 4th Industrial Revolution technologies of Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computing, Data Science, Gene Editing, Germ Warfare and Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems along with the rising existential threats posed by Climate Change, Ecological Collapse [due to unsustainable living] and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In the 20th century, alliances and multilateral institutions across the Developed World worked reasonably well to contain nuclear threats, but as our list of threats grows and engulfs the Developing World, as well, it will probably be impossible to overcome these challenges without the representation of all countries and an increasing degree of acquiescence to global authority.

If we are to refuse such authority then we are likely to experience unprecedented social disruption as refugees pour out from the world’s equatorial regions in the direction of the northern ones in a desperate flight from rising temperatures while others flee low lying regions now engulfed and thus uninhabitable due to rising sea levels. Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Robotics will also displace hundreds of millions of jobs and will lead to societal breakdown and uncontrolled migration. We have no choice but to urgently confront these issues and an organization like the United Nations which, by design, lacks any authority cannot lead the way. It must be an institution along the lines of the European Union.

The transition to global governance will also come about much like it has in Europe. It will not be dramatic or instantaneous, like the flip of a light switch; rather it will be more gradual. But the need for such carefully choreographed governance is acute and is likely to become more so as the current decade unfolds. Those who reject this transition will continue to do so, politically and vocally, even as their leaders sign accords that in effect cede authority to address these critical problems. Nevertheless, drip by drip the direction and need is unmistakable. There may be no other way.





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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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?

AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East

AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Vicar Sayeedi
March 24, 2021

It’s been relatively quiet in the Palestinian Territories as of late. Perhaps this is because the Israeli government has been busy with so much domestic turmoil. After all, the Prime Minister has been battling for political survival as he contests his third election in the past six years. The Israeli electorate is sharply divided between conservative right wing supporters of Prime Minister Netanyahu and those from the Liberal Left who are deeply concerned about the growing shadow of Authoritarianism and demonization of academics, journalists, public intellectuals and writers in Israeli society; in other words, anyone wanting to hold the government to account. Or perhaps the calm in the Territories is a result of the Coronavirus and the primary need of the Israeli government to vaccinate their society. It has certainly been a very impressive public health initiative by any measure. Or perhaps there is something more at play.

In fact, the Middle East is in a state of flux unlike any other time in recent history. The Turks are actively asserting themselves in multiple conflicts and directions throughout the region including Iraq, Libya and Syria in an effort to reclaim the mantle of Sunni leadership within the Muslim World, a sort of neo-Caliphate. Iran is also projecting its power, directly and by proxy, throughout the region in an attempt to claim authority and to assert Shiite hegemony. Meanwhile, the Saudis and their protectorates in the Gulf are watching these developments with rising alarm as the US, their long standing ally and first tier supplier of military armaments, shifts focus away from the Middle East and towards China as their leading foreign policy objective. The Israelis, of course, remain as potent as they have ever been and intervene wherever and whenever they wish. Finally, in the vacuum left in the wake of America’s foreign policy recalibration, the Russians are aggressively stepping in as America’s replacement, a self-appointed new sheriff in town.

It’s a tense time for all players in the region as well as those around the world with commercial and strategic interests in the Middle East. Particularly since no one can predict how things will settle given the recent availability and knowledge of how to effectively deploy 4th Industrial Revolution technology to contain security threats. The Israelis, for example, now use drone reconnaissance and satellite imagery to great effect. They collect large volumes of citizen surveillance data from the Palestinian Territories and then use Artificial Intelligence to process this data in an effort to extract actionable intelligence regarding potential security threats. They also maintain Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems [LAWS] on standby to undertake any corrective measures they deem necessary. The new security regime is so effective that the numbers of Israeli Defense Force [IDF] troops required to assert Israeli authority and control over the West Bank and Gaza continues to ebb.

The Saudis have historically sided with Palestinian interests against those of the Israelis, at least in principal or in public, but they now find themselves aligning with the Israelis as the Americans fade from the scene. This steady warming of relations between the Saudis, the Gulf Arabs and the Israelis – a third axis – is a product of growing anxiety over Turkey’s neo-Caliphate ambitions as well as Iranian threats now looming on the horizon. These threats along with the Abraham Accords engineered by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner – without any involvement from the US Department of State and its diplomatic core, the Department of Defense or the involvement of any other American institutions whose explicit role is to advise and lead on such critical foreign policy initiatives – has essentially marginalized the plight of the Palestinians in the eyes of the regional Arab governments as well as in the eyes of the Israeli regime.

As the United States withdraws from the region and limits arms sales to the Saudis in what appears to be a successful effort to force an end to the six year war in Yemen, we can be certain that American intelligence will be using similar drone reconnaissance and satellite data processed by AI to ensure that once a JCPOA style nuclear agreement is revived with the Iranians, surveillance technology and cyber monitoring will be very effective in ensuring compliance. AI enabled surveillance and Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems will also relieve US intelligence and military apparatus of significant day to day responsibility so they can concentrate on ensuring multilateral efforts to contain China – including the new Quad alliance between Australia, India, Japan and the United States – receive the attention necessary to make them effective as a check against rising Communist Party threats, be they political, scientific, or technological. If threats arise, the AI enabled surveillance will raise the alarm and the matter can be dealt with swiftly using LAWS and any collateral concerns rapidly contained.

The US government hopes this protocol will be sufficient to keep a lid on the Middle East while it pivots to Asia but empowering the Saudis and Gulf Arabs by brokering the poorly considered Abraham Accords between them and the Israelis may result in unintended consequences: we may see conflict between the Saudi-Israeli axis against one of the other major players, Iran or Turkey, and this may draw the US back in to the Middle East quagmire, this time with a Russian regime that has also entered the region in America’s former role. It’s a complex game of geostrategic maneuvers that can have dangerous consequences so we will need patience to see whether AI and surveillance are sufficient to neutralize threats before they escalate into something much worse.







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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East

AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East

AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Vicar Sayeedi
March 24, 2021

It’s been relatively quiet in the Palestinian Territories as of late. Perhaps this is because the Israeli government has been busy with so much domestic turmoil. After all, the Prime Minister has been battling for political survival as he contests his third election in the past six years. The Israeli electorate is sharply divided between conservative right wing supporters of Prime Minister Netanyahu and those from the Liberal Left who are deeply concerned about the growing shadow of Authoritarianism and demonization of academics, journalists, public intellectuals and writers in Israeli society; in other words, anyone wanting to hold the government to account. Or perhaps the calm in the Territories is a result of the Coronavirus and the primary need of the Israeli government to vaccinate their society. It has certainly been a very impressive public health initiative by any measure. Or perhaps there is something more at play.

In fact, the Middle East is in a state of flux unlike any other time in recent history. The Turks are actively asserting themselves in multiple conflicts and directions throughout the region including Iraq, Libya and Syria in an effort to reclaim the mantle of Sunni leadership within the Muslim World, a sort of neo-Caliphate. Iran is also projecting its power, directly and by proxy, throughout the region in an attempt to claim authority and to assert Shiite hegemony. Meanwhile, the Saudis and their protectorates in the Gulf are watching these developments with rising alarm as the US, their long standing ally and first tier supplier of military armaments, shifts focus away from the Middle East and towards China as their leading foreign policy objective. The Israelis, of course, remain as potent as they have ever been and intervene wherever and whenever they wish. Finally, in the vacuum left in the wake of America’s foreign policy recalibration, the Russians are aggressively stepping in as America’s replacement, a self-appointed new sheriff in town.

It’s a tense time for all players in the region as well as those around the world with commercial and strategic interests in the Middle East. Particularly since no one can predict how things will settle given the recent availability and knowledge of how to effectively deploy 4th Industrial Revolution technology to contain security threats. The Israelis, for example, now use drone reconnaissance and satellite imagery to great effect. They collect large volumes of citizen surveillance data from the Palestinian Territories and then use Artificial Intelligence to process this data in an effort to extract actionable intelligence regarding potential security threats. They also maintain Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems [LAWS] on standby to undertake any corrective measures they deem necessary. The new security regime is so effective that the numbers of Israeli Defense Force [IDF] troops required to assert Israeli authority and control over the West Bank and Gaza continues to ebb.

The Saudis have historically sided with Palestinian interests against those of the Israelis, at least in principal or in public, but they now find themselves aligning with the Israelis as the Americans fade from the scene. This steady warming of relations between the Saudis, the Gulf Arabs and the Israelis – a third axis – is a product of growing anxiety over Turkey’s neo-Caliphate ambitions as well as Iranian threats now looming on the horizon. These threats along with the Abraham Accords engineered by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner – without any involvement from the US Department of State and its diplomatic core, the Department of Defense or the involvement of any other American institutions whose explicit role is to advise and lead on such critical foreign policy initiatives – has essentially marginalized the plight of the Palestinians in the eyes of the regional Arab governments as well as in the eyes of the Israeli regime.

As the United States withdraws from the region and limits arms sales to the Saudis in what appears to be a successful effort to force an end to the six year war in Yemen, we can be certain that American intelligence will be using similar drone reconnaissance and satellite data processed by AI to ensure that once a JCPOA style nuclear agreement is revived with the Iranians, surveillance technology and cyber monitoring will be very effective in ensuring compliance. AI enabled surveillance and Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems will also relieve US intelligence and military apparatus of significant day to day responsibility so they can concentrate on ensuring multilateral efforts to contain China – including the new Quad alliance between Australia, India, Japan and the United States – receive the attention necessary to make them effective as a check against rising Communist Party threats, be they political, scientific, or technological. If threats arise, the AI enabled surveillance will raise the alarm and the matter can be dealt with swiftly using LAWS and any collateral concerns rapidly contained.

The US government hopes this protocol will be sufficient to keep a lid on the Middle East while it pivots to Asia but empowering the Saudis and Gulf Arabs by brokering the poorly considered Abraham Accords between them and the Israelis may result in unintended consequences: we may see conflict between the Saudi-Israeli axis against one of the other major players, Iran or Turkey, and this may draw the US back in to the Middle East quagmire, this time with a Russian regime that has also entered the region in America’s former role. It’s a complex game of geostrategic maneuvers that can have dangerous consequences so we will need patience to see whether AI and surveillance are sufficient to neutralize threats before they escalate into something much worse.







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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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

AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets & Trade

AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets & Trade
Vicar Sayeedi
March 22, 2021


Many readers of this essay will recall the scene from the late 1990’s film, ‘Titanic’ in which the highly experienced Captain expresses little concern when cautioned about the potential for icebergs in the chosen sea lanes for the ship’s maiden transatlantic voyage. “Quite normal this time of year,” he tells a concerned passenger in his reassuring grandfatherly manner. Clearly the icebergs were not an issue until they suddenly became an issue. A junior officer at his post in the watchtower late at night first spotted the iceberg. Unfortunately, icebergs express only a small percentage of their mass above the water’s surface. The majority of their mass resides below the surface and for a ship as large as Titanic, rapidly veering out of the way to avoid a collision was all but impossible. Disaster was imminent and predictable.

Such is the reality of the governments of our age. Most countries in today’s world are byzantine, lumbering behemoths, poorly equipped to handle the problems of yesterday, let alone tomorrow. Some countries are well prepared to handle the problems of the times in which we now find ourselves but precious few nations are led by institutions that are intellectually or strategically equipped for the problems of the future.

Too many world leaders are currently focused on recreating imagined nostalgic fantasies of days gone by. Between 2017 and 2020, the recent American Administration worked tirelessly to convince their electoral base that they would ‘Make America Great Again’ by returning to the glory days of the post World War II era. Britain, with its acute focus on Brexit, barged out of the European Union as it labored to take the UK back to the Days of Empire when Britannia ruled the seas along with ¼ of the world’s population. Russia continues its efforts to return to it’s own Age of Empire by attempting to recreate The Soviet Union. In the Middle East, the Iranians, Saudis and Turks vie for the right to lead the Muslim World in a reimagined Caliphate while the Israelis outdo everyone with their nostalgic fantasy of recreating Second Temple Judaism.

All of these efforts to return to the past are the work of intellectually bankrupt leaders and their regimes that have absolutely no idea how to confront the economic, scientific, social or technological challenges of the day let alone those of tomorrow. Hence, much like a driver lost on the road in the dark, clueless leaders sell their populations on some seemingly noble effort to return to a familiar point somewhere in the past that everyone recognizes and therefore can rally behind.

This regressive thinking has been laid bare during the recent outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent Pandemic with very few countries managing their way through the crisis with any modicum of success. Most countries have suffered billions or even trillions of dollars of loss due to economic inactivity and inflicted tremendous social pain and suffering through the use of blunt force instruments such as lock downs, a tool which in and of itself is a sign of failure of the State.

Consider Taiwan as a shining example of effective modern governance; no doubt they will be at the center of a future case study in a leading academic journal for their proactive and effective management of the Pandemic. Taiwan used very effective testing, tracing and quarantining that avoided lockdowns altogether and they were able to contain Covid-19 deaths to just ten or so. That’s not 10 thousand deaths but the deaths of ten individuals. A country with a population of about 23 million – approximately equivalent to that of the state of New York – that sits just 110 miles off the east coast of China is the world’s gold standard in how to manage a crisis of this nature. Taiwan quarantined just 1% of the population – 250,000 people – for a period of fourteen days while the remaining 99% of the population went on with their lives without any significant economic impact. During this same time period, New York State has recorded nearly 45,000 deaths and tens of billions of dollars in economic damage. The lesson is clear: poor foresight and governance by inept leaders with no understanding of the environment and its geostrategic and pathological risks will lead to catastrophe.

Consider another insightful example. The 1st Industrial Revolution began in early 18th Century Britain, along the Northeast coast of the island, near the shores of the North Sea. The British Isles were fortunate in that they were geographically situated directly above enormous deposits of coal. With so much deforestation having taken place to provide energy for a rapidly expanding population, new sources of wood were only to be found in forests ever farther from the city and town centers where the energy was most needed. This greatly increased the cost of transport of wood to city centers. The burning of wood also provided only one third the energy as an equal volume of coal since coal is far more energy dense.

Europe also had coal deposits but bringing these to market in the early 18th Century proved very expensive. Their coal deposits were inland, therefore difficult and often prohibitively expensive to transport to cities where the demand for energy was acute. For the English, the process was much easier and far more cost effective since they were able to mine their coal along the shores of the North Sea, load it onto ships and then transport it to London’s extensive docks.

But once the English coalmines grew deeper, they often flooded. This would leave enormous coal deposits inaccessible. If the mines were less than 90 feet deep, horse drawn systems worked quite well to remove the water but if they were deeper, this manual mechanism failed. Given the value of the coal that lay below these depths, industrialists were incented to find innovative ways to extract the water so they could mine further.

As is often the case, necessity was the mother of invention and the steam engine was born, and with it the genesis of the Industrial Revolution. The culture of the British Empire at this time played an important role in this 1st Industrial Revolution, as well. The British government did not encourage or support monopolistic behavior by its merchant class, as was the case in neighboring France where such behavior was entrenched. British markets and the economy were also less regulated and dynamic, so ideas and innovation moved rapidly throughout the country via the Printing Press and onwards through a burgeoning capitalist culture eager in its pursuit of profit.

During the same period, the centralized control by the French State added a stifling level of bureaucracy that made rapid innovation in their industries virtually impossible, even though France had a very active and impressive scientific community of their own. The French Perrier Brothers had tried to steal the Watts Steam Engine design from Britain – they needed it to supply water to the growing population and industry in Paris – but having failed in that endeavor, they eventually purchased several engines. The Perrier’s then spent nearly ten years trying to improve upon the Watts design without success, not in small measure due to the stifling commercial and scientific control and bureaucratic regime of the French State that constricted the sort of dynamism then on display in Britain.

Thus, the success of the 1st Industrial Revolution in Britain was very much due to the innovative and progressive political climate of the age as well as the industrious, forward-looking nature of the society. Both attributes were necessary and being unencumbered by a dogmatic Clergy, as was the case for scientists in France, made things much easier.

The lesson for world leaders is that any society today that does not learn the lessons of the past with regards to forward looking governance and industrial policy to manage markets and trade will suffer, perhaps unlike any previous time in history. Regressive world views anchored in dogmatic traditions will shackle societies that fall victim to their promises as those with the most advanced forms of governance and industrial policies soar ahead and fade out of sight. This is because Artificial Intelligence and other critical sciences and technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution will find no purpose for those countries and peoples who continue to live in the realm of nostalgic fantasies. The stakes are very high and those who have yet to understand the impact that AI and the 4th Industrial Revolution are already having are probably 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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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

AI | A Catalyst for Universal Basic Income?

AI | A Catalyst for Universal Basic Income?
Vicar Sayeedi
March 18, 2021

For some time now, political scientists, public intellectuals and thought leaders have been discussing the growing risks to global labor markets as Artificial Intelligence, Factory Automation and Robotics permeate virtually every industry and occupation. In 2020, Labor Economists in Germany published a report cautioning that 800 million jobs are likely to be displaced during this decade as a result of AI’s increasing capabilities across a broad spectrum of human endeavor, from the mundane to the sophisticated.

Within the Life Sciences we are observing the rapid encroachment of AI and Robotics in areas ranging from Diagnostics and Radiology to Advanced Surgery, and numerous areas in between. It is a very exciting time for patients since these technological advancements can be both cost effective as well as medically advanced. But it is also a very distressing time for many mid-career workers and professionals who are left wondering if they’ll soon be displaced. Countless young people are also unable to decide which professional occupation they ought to pursue to protect their own economic security and future.

Of course, the ultimate reality of the 4th Industrial Revolution is that labor costs will continue to fall as demand for human workers collapses. This will create the need for a Universal Basic Income. But what exactly do we mean when we speak of Universal Basic Income? Do we really mean Universal or do we actually mean National? Most likely it is the latter.

As advanced countries such as the United States and other Developed Economies increasingly automate production, it is very likely that the price of most consumer goods will continue to fall [as a result of the decline in the cost of manufacturing]. This will make corporations tremendously profitable and wealthy since labor costs have historically been the most significant line item on the income statement of any enterprise.

If legislators and policy makers manage the situation properly, governments can tax these wealthy corporations and provide a basic income to citizens. This will enable millions to live a decent and fulfilling life with ample time to engage with family and friends, to pursue the arts and so many other areas enriching to the human condition. But we must be careful to consider that work has been an important aspect of human identity since the birth of civilization some 12,000 years ago. Many people also measure their sense of self worth through their occupation and corresponding income. This will be a very dramatic shift in society and will require considerable time to adjust.

Unfortunately, paying a Universal Basic Income in Developing Economies will be much more difficult and probably impossible. Their governments are unlikely to be able to afford such schemes. Thus, a catastrophic reduction in low wage factory jobs making basic goods in these poorer nations will likely trigger tsunami like waves of uncontrolled economic migration from poor to rich countries. This tidal wave of desperate economic migrants will very likely result in previously unseen levels of social unrest as the ethical fabric of societies begins to fray as they desperately try to cope with the influx. Thus, we need to reconsider not only how we are going to manage National Basic Income schemes through effective fiscal policies in Developed Economies but also what we are going to do to ensure that we don’t trigger cascading waves of economic migrants from Developing Economies.

Perhaps the only solution will be to address this probable scenario within an international body such as the United Nations. But this will be very difficult. Historically, the contribution of Developing Nations to the global economy has been low cost labor. Since this requirement is increasingly being met locally within Developed Economies through the deployment of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including AI, Factory Automation and Robotics, the Developing Nations will have nothing to offer and thus will have no seat at the table. Their only remaining leverage may be a threat to open their borders and allow as many people to emigrate to the Developed World as would like to go. Such a scenario will probably lead to unprecedented social unrest and probably terrible violence throughout the world.

If we are to prevent this calamity from unfolding in the not so distant future, we will need leadership by statesmen from across the world and across the political spectrum and we will need to begin planning now. Further, the solutions are unlikely to look anything like what we have previously seen and may involve the implementation of complex, unprecedented ideas researched, designed and developed by Artificial Intelligence, itself. This is the topic of my recent book The Génome Affair so I encourage everyone to make the time to read it.








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 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 [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]

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 Catalyst for Universal Basic Income?