The Most Destructive AI in Human History? [So Far]
Vicar Sayeedi
Over the past ten years, Artificial Intelligence has had a profound impact on society. It has made its presence felt in virtually every industry and area of human endeavor while the number of AI use cases continues to grow with each passing month. With AI Agents such as GPT-3 natural language processing from Open AI in San Francisco to Alpha Fold in Structural Biology from Deep Mind in London, the ground-breaking contributions of AI are seemingly endless. And although these applications of AI are profoundly positive, we can’t help but fear how this incredibly powerful Fourth Industrial Revolution Technology might negatively impact our lives.
One such worrisome impact of AI has to do with the very notion of truth in society. There are three distinct types of people in society today: those with information, those with knowledge and those with wisdom. Information is now virtually unlimited in its availability. We only need to activate our smartphones and we have limitless amounts of information at our fingertips. But a common mistake amongst people is the belief that information and knowledge are one and the same. They are, in fact, quite different.
To generate or produce knowledge, we must start with information. Then, this information will need to be extensively and laboriously processed by our intellect. We will need to apply logic, reason and science in an effort to extract meaning and value from the information. We will likely need to triangulate the information, as well. Essentially, we must examine the information from the perspective of multiple academic disciplines to determine what can be surmised in the context of what we already know or in the context of evidence previously collected but not understood.
Once we have completed these processes, we will then need to document our conclusions. We will have to begin with a draft, a preliminary version of our thoughts and findings that can then be shared with others for their insights and criticisms. This process will probably involve a significant number of iterations and hence, a great deal of time.
Eventually though, we will be able to publish our findings in a respectable journal and a wider audience of our peers from around the world will then evaluate our work and will likely challenge our findings in subsequent publications of their own. This process goes on and on and through this disciplined approach, humankind’s overall body of knowledge grows. It is a time-tested process that requires a great deal of discipline, humility and patience. Invariably, we will make mistakes along the way and we will be criticized but this is also a necessary part of the process. But eventually, humankind will benefit as their total body of knowledge and understanding grows.
At some point during this process of cultivating new knowledge, some amongst us will take our ideas and experiment with their application in real world scenarios. Their goal will be to determine whether they can increase positive outcomes or reduce negative outcomes. The ability to apply knowledge to improve outcomes is the attainment of wisdom.
So, now we can see that information, knowledge and wisdom are not at all the same thing. But this concept is not readily understood or accepted by the majority of society. In fact, in our current environment, a person with access to information can use some of it to assemble straw man arguments and conspiracy theories based upon simplistic understanding and arguments and these arguments and theories can attract hundreds of millions or even billions of listeners and viewers on social media.
A prominent, recent example was Alex Jones and his Info Wars Podcast. Another was the story of the group promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory. Unfortunately, the fact that such arguments and theories have no basis in fact or that they cannot withstand even the most basic degree of scrutiny is irrelevant to those that promote them or to those who find them compelling. They simply believe what they want to believe and refuse to allow knowledge or truth to stand in their way.
This problem has been significantly exacerbated by Social Media in the last ten years and as such, has emerged as perhaps the most dangerous and destructive application of Artificial Intelligence that we’ve experienced and witnessed. It is leading to a significant weakening of democracies in the Developed World and has strengthened the hand of Authoritarians. It has broken relationships between friends and family members that had previously endured decades of tribulation.
Once the AI Agents that underpin social media platforms such as Facebook and Youtube! realized they could keep a User on their platform endlessly engaged by showing them posts and videos that triggered anger or fear, this became their modus operandi. They weren’t concerned that the posts and videos they were recommending were false – to them, this was irrelevant. They shirked this responsibility by claiming that they were Tech companies and didn’t shoulder the burden of any sort of journalistic integrity or societal responsibility. They didn’t want this responsibility because it conflicted with their economic goal, which was to maximize the time a User spent on their platform. The longer a user spent on their platform the more opportunity Facebook and Youtube had to learn about and collect data on that User and also to show them more ads. This is how the social media platforms monetize their product to such an extraordinary degree. In fact, this process of predictive analytics applied to the digital exhaust left behind by Users traversing the Internet has resulted in the most lucrative business model in the history of human commerce.
Although these platforms are having a detrimental effect on society and are doing untold damage to democracy – which depends on society knowing the truth – very little has been done by regulators to address this problem. The European Union is slowly and gradually intervening and in many ways providing crucial leadership for the Developed World on issues of User Privacy and Protection. But the financial contributions of these Tech giants to the campaigns of politicians in the United States has, thus far, served their interests well. They continue to grow in power and wealth and avoid regulation.
But we have now reached a point in the development of Artificial Intelligence that a carefully orchestrated approach to regulation has become profoundly urgent – so we must hope that 2021 will bear witness to this recognition by the European Union and the United States. AI enabled social media has shown itself to be the single most destructive application of Artificial Intelligence in the world today and this power must be reigned in before things go much further. The future of democracy may well rest in our ability to curtail it.
Vicar Sayeedi
December 31, 2020
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.
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?
Over the past ten years, Artificial Intelligence has had a profound impact on society. It has made its presence felt in virtually every industry and area of human endeavor while the number of AI use cases continues to grow with each passing month. With AI Agents such as GPT-3 natural language processing from Open AI in San Francisco to Alpha Fold in Structural Biology from Deep Mind in London, the ground-breaking contributions of AI are seemingly endless. And although these applications of AI are profoundly positive, we can’t help but fear how this incredibly powerful Fourth Industrial Revolution Technology might negatively impact our lives.
One such worrisome impact of AI has to do with the very notion of truth in society. There are three distinct types of people in society today: those with information, those with knowledge and those with wisdom. Information is now virtually unlimited in its availability. We only need to activate our smartphones and we have limitless amounts of information at our fingertips. But a common mistake amongst people is the belief that information and knowledge are one and the same. They are, in fact, quite different.
To generate or produce knowledge, we must start with information. Then, this information will need to be extensively and laboriously processed by our intellect. We will need to apply logic, reason and science in an effort to extract meaning and value from the information. We will likely need to triangulate the information, as well. Essentially, we must examine the information from the perspective of multiple academic disciplines to determine what can be surmised in the context of what we already know or in the context of evidence previously collected but not understood.
Once we have completed these processes, we will then need to document our conclusions. We will have to begin with a draft, a preliminary version of our thoughts and findings that can then be shared with others for their insights and criticisms. This process will probably involve a significant number of iterations and hence, a great deal of time.
Eventually though, we will be able to publish our findings in a respectable journal and a wider audience of our peers from around the world will then evaluate our work and will likely challenge our findings in subsequent publications of their own. This process goes on and on and through this disciplined approach, humankind’s overall body of knowledge grows. It is a time-tested process that requires a great deal of discipline, humility and patience. Invariably, we will make mistakes along the way and we will be criticized but this is also a necessary part of the process. But eventually, humankind will benefit as their total body of knowledge and understanding grows.
At some point during this process of cultivating new knowledge, some amongst us will take our ideas and experiment with their application in real world scenarios. Their goal will be to determine whether they can increase positive outcomes or reduce negative outcomes. The ability to apply knowledge to improve outcomes is the attainment of wisdom.
So, now we can see that information, knowledge and wisdom are not at all the same thing. But this concept is not readily understood or accepted by the majority of society. In fact, in our current environment, a person with access to information can use some of it to assemble straw man arguments and conspiracy theories based upon simplistic understanding and arguments and these arguments and theories can attract hundreds of millions or even billions of listeners and viewers on social media.
A prominent, recent example was Alex Jones and his Info Wars Podcast. Another was the story of the group promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory. Unfortunately, the fact that such arguments and theories have no basis in fact or that they cannot withstand even the most basic degree of scrutiny is irrelevant to those that promote them or to those who find them compelling. They simply believe what they want to believe and refuse to allow knowledge or truth to stand in their way.
This problem has been significantly exacerbated by Social Media in the last ten years and as such, has emerged as perhaps the most dangerous and destructive application of Artificial Intelligence that we’ve experienced and witnessed. It is leading to a significant weakening of democracies in the Developed World and has strengthened the hand of Authoritarians. It has broken relationships between friends and family members that had previously endured decades of tribulation.
Once the AI Agents that underpin social media platforms such as Facebook and Youtube! realized they could keep a User on their platform endlessly engaged by showing them posts and videos that triggered anger or fear, this became their modus operandi. They weren’t concerned that the posts and videos they were recommending were false – to them, this was irrelevant. They shirked this responsibility by claiming that they were Tech companies and didn’t shoulder the burden of any sort of journalistic integrity or societal responsibility. They didn’t want this responsibility because it conflicted with their economic goal, which was to maximize the time a User spent on their platform. The longer a user spent on their platform the more opportunity Facebook and Youtube had to learn about and collect data on that User and also to show them more ads. This is how the social media platforms monetize their product to such an extraordinary degree. In fact, this process of predictive analytics applied to the digital exhaust left behind by Users traversing the Internet has resulted in the most lucrative business model in the history of human commerce.
Although these platforms are having a detrimental effect on society and are doing untold damage to democracy – which depends on society knowing the truth – very little has been done by regulators to address this problem. The European Union is slowly and gradually intervening and in many ways providing crucial leadership for the Developed World on issues of User Privacy and Protection. But the financial contributions of these Tech giants to the campaigns of politicians in the United States has, thus far, served their interests well. They continue to grow in power and wealth and avoid regulation.
But we have now reached a point in the development of Artificial Intelligence that a carefully orchestrated approach to regulation has become profoundly urgent – so we must hope that 2021 will bear witness to this recognition by the European Union and the United States. AI enabled social media has shown itself to be the single most destructive application of Artificial Intelligence in the world today and this power must be reigned in before things go much further. The future of democracy may well rest in our ability to curtail it.
Vicar Sayeedi
December 31, 2020
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.
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?
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