This is purely my opinion and may be of no use to you. My “tone” is sarcastic and rude and confident on purpose. I am not that kind of person, but there are certain topics, such as Artificial Intelligence, that rub me the wrong way. Maybe I am, or used to be, smarter than most. Maybe the opposite is true. In any case, I seek to put A.I. in its place, in a box, lock it in there, sit on the lid, and laugh.
It is always going to be true that human beings are flawed (original sin, if you will), and will find ways to exploit things, including, and most definitely in recent memory, via technology. A.I. is just another iteration of that. I call Technology the Tower of Babel because it’s just another way that humans try to be godlike, and they build, and build, and build, until all their plans are turned to dust. Fun fact: “software engineers” are paid several hundred thousand dollars a year in some locales. Isn’t that ridiculous? They then turn around and pay many, many, thousands of dollars a month to live in a shack in California. Who are the smart guys now? But, I digress. Back to the topic at hand.
I was recently asked by a family member what I thought of Artificial Intelligence. Because, believe it or not, my professional background is in Technology, specifically computer and network security. I took a deep breath and began way back to the beginning of the Technology boom, Moore’s Law (you can Google it), etc. I had done my Master’s Thesis on the convergence of various technologies, stating that it was somewhat inevitable for it to become a big blob (so much for Ma Bell and monopolies). We now know that is true, and it has permeated into every aspect of our lives, as we allow it. As his eyes glazed over, I quickly stopped my diatribe on Technology, and simply said, “You can just turn it off. It’s really that simple.”
Do you wonder why we never have country wide power outages? Think about it.
It is not completely true that we can just turn it off, but the influence part of it you can turn off (the Internet, cell phones, television, social media, etc.). Social media was specifically designed to be addictive, so even now I find it hard to just take a glance without it affecting me. The news media is the same. Outrage has become the currency of the day. Fright. Fight. Flight.
In my own life, I had whittled devices down to a cell phone and a laptop. But then, my family was coming for the holidays and wouldn’t it be nice if I had a big screen television so that we could all watch the Christmas movies together? Think of the children! Just like old times. So, I bought a big screen. They are so cheap now! And now, I find myself turning it on regularly. Ooops! Well, my reasoning was that the sound was going out on my old laptop. Ye olde laptop was configured with layers of security. I never saw an ad, nor was subjected to exploits, kept social media off of it, encrypted email, anonymous and encrypted browsing, etc. But, over time, my technical skills have lapsed to the degree that I couldn’t figure out how to secure the television. It’s not hooked up to Cable, “just” the Internet, and I’m not subscribed to anything nor pay for extra services, etc.
I can basically browse the web and watch YouTube videos about gardening, animal husbandry, etc. As far as the government is concerned, I’m a gardener and a farmer. So what? I unplug it from the wall when I’m done using it to keep electronic “emissions” low. It’s not linked to any other devices. I don’t care how much I’m tracked because we all are (remember Edward Snowden?). That’s my way of keeping it in its place. But, I still resent its presence because it is a “smart” device. I equate “smart” with “spy”.
I saw a hilarious meme the other day. It was two old ladies having tea, and one said to the other, “The universe is speaking to me, Marge”. And Marge said, “Those are targeted ads, Martha”. So true.
However, social and news media aren’t really the problem in the long run. The problem is that companies will be incentivized to lay off people and use A.I. in their place. Well, until, A.I. starts telling people to delete themselves (wasn’t that in a news story recently?). Honestly, I just don’t see A.I. “taking over”. If it does, in some nebulous and nefarious way, I say, have at it.
Remember there is a programmer behind the curtain, so to speak. A.I. is not sentient and it never will be. It is not a human being, no matter how much the globalist technocrats want you to think so. No matter how much they fantasize about inserting technology into the human body, making it transhuman. A.I. is a blob of computer programs with the physical technology behind it to perform operations and store data at heretofore unknown speeds. A.I. only does what it has been programmed to do. And Musk can take that to the bank. The “sentient” part is programmed in, and that is why A.I. makes mistakes. Because the goal of A.I. is to replace the human brain and that, my friends, is impossible. It can mimic, and therefore, get things dead wrong. The whole thing, in my humble opinion, is just more outrage. Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to be outraged by anything for just one day?
Imagine having an enormous data center that requires nuclear power to keep it running. And you thought that nuclear power was coming back into fashion organically? Imagine vast databases filled with all the written knowledge in the world. Imagine smart guys (and gals) writing programs that will utilize the data to make “knowledge connections”. Now imagine the string of IF, THEN, or ELSE statements… LOL. I’m not dissing on the programmers, or the “software engineers” as they are called now. I’m just saying that the instruction sets, loops, etc., are what matter, and those are supplied by human beings, who are fallible, have an agenda possibly, etc. The most A.I. has going for it is data and speed. And they are so impressed with themselves…
Remember, the real goal is about money. If Palantir Technologies is trading at around $161 and some odd cents today, wonder what it will be trading at in a few years? Nice government contract you’ve got there. Do you see?
A.I. is being used in the backend of the Internet of Things. The more you minimize the “Internet”, the more you minimize the risks. We will not be able to avoid it when it comes to things like Travel (papers please), Banking (I’m sorry, I can’t let you do that Dave), all things Internet (searching, mapping), etc.
But, as preparedness-minded people, don’t we already have those bases covered? The old truck or car that’s not smart; paper maps; old books? Don’t we have alternative ways of obtaining water, electricity, etc? Have we practiced living off the grid? Do we have cash or barterable items and skills? Do we grow our own food? Do we have backups to the backups to the backups? Do we own our property outright save the insidious property taxes and homeowners insurance? Do we have layers of physical security in place? Do we bank local and know our Banker personally? All the things.
The thing we cannot escape as Christians and preparedness-minded individuals is targeted persecution, if that comes to us. In which case, are our hearts, minds and souls prepared for the inevitability of TEOTWAWKI? A.I. may, or may not, play a part in that. But it is the human condition that is flawed, not the silicon chips.
To me, it’s all connected. It’s black and white. As of right now, I can control the Inputs. I am not chained in a cell and forced to do anything. I am subject to the Will of God, as always, and that includes the forces of Nature.
I went through a period of time studying dissidents who had lived through various hardships – communist regimes, persecution, genocides, etc. I took the lessons I could from my studies. Until I have to live through something like that, I won’t know if I will thrive or die. But, I accept death as an inevitability. To accept death is actually quite freeing. You just stop worrying about it, save for getting your financial affairs in order to help your heirs out should they need it.
Bottom line: I do not want to live in Fright, Fight, or Flight mode all the time. It’s a really rotten way to live. Don’t, unless, and until, you have to. And when you do, then do your best. Keep on developing skills that are based on tangible and helpful things. I, for one, am going to learn how to keep the squash bugs from devastating my garden! It’s more important than you realize if you are growing your own food. Minimize the Internet of Things in your life and get outside and get moving. Nothing is more horrifying to me than sitting in a lounge chair staring at a device that feeds my soul and mind nonstop. I might as well be a robot already.
