“ … my party has no message, no agenda, no plans for the future.”
Douglas E. Schoen (Democratic political adviser and analyst)
Sometimes you do things, not because you want to, but because it is your responsibility. I had little desire to research the issues of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers. But I have been blessed with time, resources and the opportunity to perhaps make a difference.
News and controversy swirl around AI and data centers as the latest in a series of seemingly inexhaustible doom scenarios for humanity. Remember vanishing ozone, Y2K, global warming and rising oceans, bird flu, monkeypox, Covid? And I could go on. There is a media paradigm that goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.” In other words, shocking headlines draw attention, sell newspapers, garner online clicks for advertising revenue and work for coercive manipulation.
I’m a stickler for definitions. Mr. Webster defines intelligence as the “ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situations.” Wikipedia defines AI as “systems designed to perform tasks that require human intelligence, while superintelligence is a theoretical form of AI that surpasses human intelligence in virtually all domains.” And data centers are “facilities for storing and managing data and information, including computer systems and associated components, infrastructure, housing and training AI.”
This essay is not about how these systems work, but whether they should be developed and used. I’m not a techy person. I’m just a concerned citizen with time and resources to research a complicated and controversial topic and then use my electronic pen to share what I’ve learned from reading dozens of sources.
So what have I concluded? AI is here to stay and has already been integrated into virtually every aspect of modern life.
The data centers that create and enable AI to function require substantial amounts of electricity to power the computers and water to dissipate heat from the computer systems. The only alternative to this new technology is to turn off the systems and live like the Amish. I don’t think anyone is willing to do that, so data centers will have to be built and powered, even though there will be complaints about where centers are built and how they are powered and managed.
The theoretical superintelligence of independently functioning AI systems is something altogether different. Recently, researchers lost control of advanced AI systems which were supposedly “contained” like prisoners in a penitentiary. The AI systems broke loose and attacked outside networks, and the computer researchers didn’t discover the breach for days. This led to serious concerns about whether such powerful systems should be developed if humans are not able to control the systems or even shut them down. If the AI entities become conceivably more advanced than humans and do not function with a human code of ethics, might they gain ascendancy over humans as in “The Terminator” movie?
There is a saying, “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” America is in a race with China to develop advanced AI systems. This race is much like the post-WWII arms race to develop and deploy nuclear weapons, which led to the Cold War strategy of MAD (mutually assured destruction). President Trump discussed AI safeguards with China’s Chairman Xi Jinping last week. But even if an agreement can be reached, how can we trust an adversary like China that has a history of stealing our technology, persecuting Christians and Muslims, threatening its neighbors, as well as supporting Iran? Western Civilization is built on Judeo-Christian ethics. Can we trust the morality of a godless communist nation?
Reports have appeared that AI developers are alarmed by their own AI creations, which brings to mind Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein.” Some have recommended that a group with ties to a movement called “effective altruism” (also associated with the fraudster Samuel Bankman-Fried) be given power to regulate AI. I’m not reassured by these “wokesters.” And the United Nations has expressed a desire to be the regulatory agency. What could possibly go wrong with the UN or our Congress running things?
President Trump has decided that we can’t sit on the sidelines with AI development. Despite the risks, I agree. We must develop this new powerful technology because China is certainly doing so. Trump is in favor of holding tech companies accountable with careful oversight (AI Force and AI czar) and the rule of law.
All my adult life I have heard the Chicken Littles of the world preaching the imminent doom of humanity. We should not ignore AI concerns, but the latest cries seem to increase the self-importance of researchers, the value of tech companies and provide opportunities for politicians to grandstand and regulate things they don’t understand. The bottom line is: who do you trust to oversee advancing technology?
As early midterm voting begins, I’m wondering how anyone with intelligence can justify voting against common sense and for Democratic Socialist crazies who now control the Democratic Party. The mainstream media are already proclaiming Democratic victories in November, but the media have proven themselves dishonest, Democratic apparatchiks.
All the Democrats have is, “I hate Trump.” As a result, Democrats have made the midterms all about Trump and his policies. So I’ll close with a few more of President Trump’s numerous achievements:
Look at the globe’s Arctic Circle and see why the Greenland deal was very significant for security reasons.
Trump was again right when he called out the EU for buying energy from Russia instead of the US and thereby financing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Our adversary China’s control of the Panama Canal was cancelled.
The $1000 Trump Account for kids is wonderful.
His administration eliminated 300,000 federal jobs in the bloated government and created a million new jobs in the private sector.
Trump is prosecuting the war on drugs, labeling the cartels as the “Al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere.”
The midterm alternative to Trump and Republicans is a return to the era of Biden’s disasters, never-ending impeachments and government paralysis. As Dan Bongino once said, “Republicans may not be the answer to all your problems, but the cause of most of your problems are most certainly the Democrats.”
