It is quite probable that in the past few months there has been more talk about the coming AI age than about any other war raging in the world today. Even though I am far from being an expert in the field of AI, I, like all concerned human beings around the world, am quite aware of the possible consequences that this unique technology could bring about in the world — especially to our so-called Third World.
If by AI we mean only a kind of specialized machine intelligence intended to solve our most intractable problems in medicine, engineering, and the environment, or help us design far more efficient systems in these same fields or take over the hardest and most dangerous work performed by humans, no one would have any issue with it. The problem begins — or has indeed begun — the day computer scientists wanted to create an AGI, i.e., an Artificial General Intelligence modeled on human intelligence but exponentially more intelligent than the smartest human on the planet. This is precisely where the problem begins: why on earth do human beings, and more precisely certain groups of human beings, feel the need to create this kind of machine or program with human-like intelligence that is vastly more intelligent than us? Every expert in the field of AI was keenly aware that the advent of AGI would upend human existence completely. When super-AGI emerges in the not-so-distant future as an uncontested, uncontrollable intelligence and wields total power over the world, what will happen to us is not hard to imagine.
Even though the so-called tech multi-billionaires like Altman, Thiel, and Musk have finally shown some concern about the possibility that unchecked and unregulated AGI could do more harm than good to humans, it is technologists of their ilk who have been wanting to create such an AI at any cost. The question is: to what end?
The answer is not so difficult to guess. It is all about power and money — more the former than the latter. This is the running theme that courses through Western history, at least since the start of the industrial age. Money is always sought for power, and it consistently secures it. Now, however, if AGI goes rogue, or at least behaves in ways unintended by its creators and the tech billionaires, they will stand to lose everything. It is not their concern for humanity that has prompted them to appeal to the U.S. government, but fear for their own survival and relevance.
Their appeal to the U.S. government could not have come at a worse time. I am not alluding here to the ongoing war with Iran, the economic difficulties faced by most Americans, or the profound cultural division in the country. The problem is that both Houses of Congress are overwhelmingly “inhabited” by the most ignorant, sycophantic, and short-sighted individuals — especially on the Republican side — at least since the end of the Cold War.
When Mike Johnson, the hapless and spineless Speaker of the House of the United States Congress, was asked what he planned to do in the face of the danger posed by AI, he nonchalantly responded that he didn’t know much about it and so he could not legislate about it. He completely forgot that it is his primary job to find out what dangers face his country and how best to deal with them using all the considerable tools available to him. He clearly displayed why the world should never look up to America to protect it. In fact, the world should be seriously afraid of America, given how at least a third of its electorate has shown its utter and tragic narrow-mindedness in electing the current president — a president who is not only dangerous to his own country, but to the whole world.
A serious America would have come together in Congress to tackle emerging AGI with at least the same seriousness it once applied to nuclear proliferation. What America appears more concerned about is never falling behind China and remaining at least one step ahead of her. American history has shown that she has never been averse to exterminating an entire race of people, enslaving another, and unleashing an atomic bomb on a civilian population. If there is even a minuscule chance that America could somehow harness the powers of AGI, she will do so without hesitation — to the detriment of us poor souls of the Third World. Why such hesitation to legislate or issue regulations on AI, unless the American government hopes to harness it for its own advantage against all real or perceived enemies, or for that matter, to subjugate those who cannot defend themselves?
As things stand, I have more faith in the CCP doing the right thing than the U.S. or, for that matter, the EU. I do not put my hope in tech billionaires who have clearly shown their utter contempt and even racism toward the poor of the world and who are holding the U.S. government hostage from doing anything helpful for the world. I think their appeal to the U.S. government concerning the regulation of AI stems more from fear born of their own greed than from fear of the danger AI poses to humanity. Let us not forget that these same tech billionaires are the ones comfortable with the idea of a post-human world in which our former existences on this planet would simply be preserved in digital form in some digital bank.
Since these tech billionaires have shown their utter inhumanity, disregard, and contempt for the marginalized and underclass of the world, it would not be far-fetched to imagine that they will actively pursue the reduction — to the point of elimination — of the peoples of the poorest countries in order to appropriate their lands and resources. I would not be surprised if they are already pursuing this project.
We, the people of the Third World — especially of Africa — must call upon our most talented AI scientists and professionals to come together to devise mechanisms by which we can prevent any use of AI not only to our disadvantage, but to our very existence. If we are lulled into thinking that the West has the moral fortitude to suppress its worst drives, we would be exposing ourselves to catastrophic danger. The West, despite its claim of two millennia of Christianity, has only shown us its utter disregard for our humanity and well-being. No need to repeat here all the atrocities committed in the name of almighty capital against Africans and other peoples of the Third World. Let us remind ourselves that the West, given the opportunity, would not hesitate to use, abuse, and dispose of us. It is our responsibility to awaken and prepare for the fight ahead.
A truly moral world would have immediately perceived the danger that unchecked AI poses — an unimaginable danger to all of us, just as nuclear proliferation once did. As we saw no good coming out of the latter, we need to realize that there can be no positive outcome from the former. Let us be clear-eyed about this moment. Americans and Europeans are not displaying the level of concern they should be displaying about AI because they still have the edge over the rest of the world, especially over China. The day China closes the gap will be the day they clamor for an AI summit. This has always been the case with the West throughout its history: as long as it has the advantage, it will continue to temporize. Once it loses its advantage, it appeals to the humanity of others — a humanity it has never shown to the rest of the world.
Editor’s Note: Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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