NewScientist is admirably avoiding pure partisanship this year. It’s still continuing the LONG tradition of public science voices, boosting the newest fashion in Share Value, treating the latest tech dystopia as utopia.
From an article on Altman’s latest crime:
= = = = = START UTOPIA:
But ask agentic AI, “What should I eat tonight?” and it can pick out dishes it thinks you will like from a restaurant’s website and – if there is an online order form – pay for the food using your credit card, arrange for it to be sent to your home and let you know when to expect the delivery. “That will feel like a fundamentally different experience,” says Stone: AI as an autopilot rather than a copilot.
= = = = = END UTOPIA.
Sending you something you didn’t order and taking money from your bank account to pay for it is NOT autopilot. It’s the classic Nigerian Prince racket! Altman now has access to your bank account, and he will NOT use the access responsibly.
Switzerland is taking a different approach. Instead of helping crime, it’s starting up a national AI system to compete with Altman. Supposedly the national AI will use its power responsibly. Intuitively it doesn’t feel right. I think it’s better to simply BAN a known gangster instead of operating your own gang in competition. Unless the new system is totally isolated from the web, it will be exposed to subversion from NSA and Altman. NSA follows a LONG tradition of developing tech to defeat competitors.
BUT: It could work. It could be like the New Deal hiring workers through WPA to compete with businesses who fired workers. I’ll try to keep an open mind.
Polistra's Mill 