Eels Blogs

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        Hell On Eels > Randy Handlinger August 5, 2025 at 6:57pm

        

        As with every major technological advancement since the Industrial Revolution, AI brings social, ethical, environmental and economic challenges. The potential for Covert Digital Authoratarism scares me the most. It's great that Billionaire article explores some of that.

        But where that article ultimately falters is in its slide into ideological fanaticism.

        It assumes that all billionaires and wealthy actors are The Problem. Are they? If so, why? Some are, sure. But all? 

        There’s a whiff of angry Marx mixed with a quasi-Calvinist view of human nature. That wealth or power inevitably corrupts, like the serpent's apple in the Garden of Eden. The wealthy are monolithic oppressor. The masses are oppressed. Victims. No nuance. No redemption. Only blame.

        The article also neglects a key point: AI isn’t only in the hands of billionaires. It's central to governments, militaries, and bureaucracies. Are these powerful entities, evil too?

        If the issue is power itself, then, who can ever be trusted with such tools?

        So what are the rules for AI? Who sets them? Who is the gatekeeper and Watch Dog? And if power corrupts, who Watches the Watchers and the Watchers of the Watchers?

        If we remove all those in power, what are we left with? And who is powerful enough to do that? Power removing Power? Can we trust them, too?

        We'd almost need to keep chopping down people who might becoming more powerful. Tall Poppy Syndrome 101.

        Ai is a powerful weapon. And the solutions aren't straightforward. But it’s a conversation worth having. But first we must be honest about the nature of the problem. If we conclude that the problem is human nature itself, we must also remember that past attempts to purify humanity — religious wars, communist gulags, and Nazi death camps — have led only to horror. 
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          Tad > Hell On Eels August 5, 2025 at 10:05pm

          

          "A conversation worth having" " The problem is human nature " 

          Lots to think about HOE. The Catholic church has been held as the guiding light of morality.(I grew up a Catholic) They also have a deep history of power corrupting their soul.. Nothing is black and white.  Lots of grey.s.in trusted institutions.. Trying to make sense of it is part of a conversation. I think we live in a time of lots of diversions by powerful interests to keep the herd entertained with keeping the eye off the ball eg religious ritual