By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column
Well, the way the tech bros describe their modern day Frankenstein a.k.a. A1, you would think that the world is on the brink of a never ending fountain of blessings, peace and prosperity.
I mean, after all, what could go possibly wrong! Right?
When you factor in human ignorance, hubris, arrogance, greed, con games and the need for power by the already powerful and the eternal desire of mankind to dominate and control out of fear of being dominated, you have a perfect recipe for worldwide chaos.
Reading the news and papers regarding the looming and ominous cloud of unrestricted AI development and the lack of serious oversight of a computer chip on steroids, it is not hard to fathom that all is not well in bringing to heel this stalking Hulk.
Sure, billions will be made off of A1 and its endless progeny of startups and profit sharing but the question(s) still remain: (1) who is in control and (2) who determines who shares in the “goodies” and who does not.
According to financial reporters, the vast amounts of money that are being made off of AI development and the future waves of income to those who control the access to AI, will stagger the imagination. And we know that with vast unregulated wealth comes the sinister ability to buy politicos and elections (Elon Musk…anyone?).
Can A1 be a “friend”? Sure, if it is thoroughly vetted and has internal safeguards so that it cannot go rogue and control that which is off limits to it.
Already, you may have read stories of rogue A1 modules attacking, without reason or permission, other systems and without a human handler, they can cause serious damage.
Let’s not forget that when companies seeking models of cost saving or efficiencies, invite A1 into their computer infrastructures, that invite, without strict governance, call lead to unanticipated chaos resulting in losses to the end consumer…you.
Yes, unregulated A1, if left to its own devices under the guise that it is “just a computer” can cause power outages, bank losses, security breaches, municipal services to fail, traffic lights to go dark, airplanes to be grounded, trains to stop, medical records to be lost and a host of other acts that are anti-human.
And all because of what? Because some scientists think thought they could touch the sun and not get burned!
Of course, there is the tremendous promise of A1… regulated and guided A1, doing the proverbial, a world of good, but when you examine human nature and when it sees a chance to exert power over others and to extort obscene amounts of money, red lights need to go off!
Just this past week, there were panicked stories of millions of hackers attacking a prominent system which caused havoc to worldwide governmental systems. As you can discern, hackers, who have no allegiance other than to themselves or their illicit gains, do not care about your welfare.
Politicians, many of whom are clueless about the inner workings of the A1 behemoth, will mouth expected glib remarks about having hearings to determine what can be done, but until there is a worldwide convocation that has the grit and enforcement powers to control A1and its never ending progeny…nothing is achieved.
The growing and loud debates over the mushrooming data centers is part and parcel of the reasonable fear that A1 wants you to submit to control by questionable computer geeks and unsavory actors, including governments, whose motives need to be thoroughly vetted.
For the most part, we, the consuming public of the goods and services of A1 are dependent upon enforcement agencies that hopefully have both the nerve and knowledge as to when to flip the switch, as it were (note: there is no one switch to flip to turn off A1) so as to slow down or stop a rogue A1 actor.
I predict that the allure of A1 may reach the point that humans may be convinced to allow A1 to implant into their bodies or brains tiny devices that would be marketed as advancements in human intelligence that will benefit everyone!
Don’t do it! Never allow any A1 product to become part and parcel of your physical body and with its reporting capacities, you then become a walking human guinea pig for untold “experiments.”
One cannot be too cautious in accepting all things, A1. If you let A1 be the final arbiter in some decision making processes without a third party check on its veracity and positive effects, you will lose.
Contact Lafe Tolliver at lafe5x@gmail.com