AI-imperialism will transform independent countries into a vassal states. Like this: if the countries' entire economy and the military is powered by an AI-based infrastructure – possible for America or China to switch off – it is no longer independent.
There are four options here.
The first is acceptance. The country’s government agrees to the nation becoming a vassal state. If an American president asks the government to jump, it jumps. If the president wants Greenland to become American, it becomes American.
Option two is to say no. The public chooses to remain independent and opts out. People appreciate the solving of medical mysteries and the increased efficiency of society, but their reservations outweigh their enthusiasm — due to the massive water and energy consumption, the digital sludge it generates on social media, and the prospect of mass unemployment among the highly educated. The price to pay is being outcompeted by nations with superior technology.
Option three is also a refusal to become a vassal state, opting instead to build a domestic AI infrastructure. The problem here is the cost: hundreds of billions of dollars, based on current investment levels in the US and China. This might be achieved by raising taxes, taking on massive loans, and give up necessary investments in healthcare, social welfare, education, transport, defense, climate adaptation, and more for several decades to come.
The thoughts regarding the alternatives are not my own, but rather a loose paraphrase of a conversation between the Israeli intellectual superstar Yuval Noah Harari and Rory Stewart, an author and former British minister. The conversation, which takes place on the podcast "The Rest Is Politics UK", focuses primarily on the UK—a country Harari believes is one of the few outside the major powers that might be capable of building its own AI infrastructure.
It is more likely that the UK will rejoin the EU—a possibility the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has just opened the door to at the time of writing. (Perhaps he heard the same podcast.)
For Sweden, the fourth option applies: sharing AI costs with other European countries under the leadership of the European Commission’s AI Office. Eventually, perhaps in close cooperation with countries like Canada and others weary of the power ambitions of the US and China.
The problem here is that the EU lags far behind the US and China, both in terms of investment and technology. The EU protects its citizens through regulations; critics argue that this stifles development. Is Europe capable of even deeper cooperation involving a shared AI infrastructure?
Alternativen framstår som direkt olämpliga eller osäkra och min egen fråga gäller orsakerna till varför våra politiker inte pratar om valen som behöver göras, och insatserna som står på spel. Finns det något viktigare just nu? Utvecklingen är obegripligt snabb och effekterna för samhället ser ut att bli mer genomgripande än något annat som för närvarade kan överblickas under den närmaste framtiden. Som medborgare behöver vi bli involverade.
Yuval Noah Harari, a professor of history, offers a possible answer to this question:
The politicians' hesitation stems from the fact that they find themselves in the same situation as the Aztecs when Hernán Cortés landed in present-day Mexico with a few hundred men. The Aztecs simply did not comprehend what they were seeing—metal-clad creatures mounted on enormous beasts, wielding fire-spewing sticks. The Aztecs were paralyzed by these "aliens"—whom they could easily have defeated with their 200,000 warriors.
Yuval Noah Harari and Rory Steward in the pod:
The Rest is Politics UK
An example showing how AI is becoming indispensable can be found here här
PERZUN
Thoughts on this can be sent to: ph.sundstroem@gmail.com
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