The Nuclear Legacy of Artificial Intelligence
We hear from many quarters that “AI will destroy the world,” but everyone’s got a different scenario for what that means. The most sensational perspectives come from theorists like Geoffrey Hinton, the so-called “godfather of AI” or industrialists like Elon Musk. They warn us that one day, a superintelligent AI could replace human beings in controlling the planet. But we don’t need to conjecture into the future. The scorched-earth destruction is already happening now. Jobs are hemorrhaging with no sign of return; data centers are turning U.S. farmlands into barren industrial gulags while consuming record levels of power, spewing volumes of carbon and using up our last freshwater sources; fusillades of deep-fake videos politically paralyze the public; an AI surveillance infrastructure is being constructed that will lock in fascism; and algorithms are telling ICE and the IDF who lives and who dies. It seems all too overwhelming. However, by tracing AI’s lineage to the development of the atom bomb — with the same ideologies and twisted logic — it becomes apparent that solutions to the AI dilemma can also be found in nuclear history, in its disarmament successes.
Speaker
Koohan Paik-Mander
Koohan Paik-Mander is a journalist, author and peace and environmental activist. She is a co-founder of the Tech Critics Network and serves on the board of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Her articles appear in The Nation, The Progressive, Foreign Policy in Focus, and other publications. Her article “Whales Will Save the World’s Climate — Unless the Military Destroys Them First” was named by Project Censored as one of the top 25 censored stories of 2021-2022. She is co-author of The Superferry Chronicles: Hawaii’s Uprising Against Militarism, Commercialism and the Desecration of the Earth.
Will –
Great listen on my way to work about the disaster that is AI and the morons leading the charge 💔
teri kolder (verified owner) –
An outstanding collaboration of thoughts from her clear mind. To listen to the speaker, Koohan, from Hawaii, put together her stream of thoughts connecting the Broligarchs abuse of the Marshallese sailors’ mind. To program the bots to sail the seas and attack China is so profound that it most likely is true. The US already abused this quaint island nation during the 50’s and dumped its nuclear waste on the Marshall’s. This is a great journalist piece. Thank you Koohan for your marvelous mind. Aloha Nui.
Lynda Liptak –
This should be heard around the world. Heard it on public radio last night and want to hear it again even though it was chilling and kept me awake with anxiety.
Paul Feinzimer –
Excellent, superb presentation. Couldn’t be better.
Martin Glendon –
Spot On !