I wish there was an equally intellectual discussion about AI as to that about gene modification in humans. Essentially it's going to end up being the same thing - someone decides the genes of the future with AI, and where's the discourse about who's got a say?
I'm fed up with the term AI as well. It's all an extension of the wishes of the creators of the "AI" - simply put, it's code that someone did for a certain purpose. The one controlling the code for the AI is controlling the future. Where's the democratic regulations for this?
The people that think that "new technologies" can remedy the problems with todays centralised technology stacks should wake up. It's not about the technology, it's about the control of the markets the technology is used in.
Facebook & amazon etc will not be beat by another "better technology", it's way too late for that. The current infrastructure is cemented, just as most people don't move to another country because there political party loses the elections.
We're already way too late to do this right, so we're in damage control mode now. The most important political question about democracy right now is: how do we get control of our data and infrastructure back? It's all privately held by very few corporations.
Just think about this: Zuckerberg has no need to run for president since he's already the president of a larger country than the one he lives in. Germanys chancellor calls Zuckerberg up asking for favours. This is the world we live in today.
And we're still not regulating how these corporations will have to behave in the future. We're still not talking about how all AI, self-driving cars, all of the code for these things, should be in the public domain. Common infrastructure should not be privately owned.
When you think about Facebook, Amazon, Google etc, you should compare them to Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Monsanto, but on steroids, with much more money and influence - and most of all, still a positive view from their audience.
Imagine Monsanto having so much power it would basically be the ministry of agriculture - happy times? That's todays IT giants - they are the ministries of IT globally, but without being elected or having responsibilities.
So, if we're going to let these companies control our future AI (which should be read as the new infrastructure for basically everything), let's at least have a few minutes to discuss this before we let them take over the world completely? Too much to ask?
Because AI is not artificial intelligence. It's Another Infrastructure. And that means it should belong to all of us, not just those guys that fit in a minivan controlling 50% of the worlds riches.
