I saw a small blurb this morning. Apparently, a group in Wisconsin is holding up plans for building a data center. There’s a lot of that going around the United States. New York has put a moratorium on them. Bravo for them. They’re using the freedom of our society to impose the will of the people.
Or maybe not.
Maybe it’s not them.
Maybe it’s someone else using the freedom our society believes it has to impose the “will of the people.” Someone who has a vested interest in the United States not pushing ahead too quickly in the race for Artificial Intelligence dominance.
Many years ago, when I was traveling through China, we passed through a small city. The gentleman with whom I was traveling pointed out the best buildings and said, “These are the government buildings. The government controls the money, so they make sure they take care of themselves first.” He went on to tell me about huge buildings housing the surveillance state, filled with thousands of people whose job is was to monitor the population.
But of course, it’s worse now. With facial recognition and tracking, the law directing all financial transactions be made using an app on your phone, and your phone itself — all with the help of AI now — there is no freedom in China. Oh sure, the regular citizen can function for a lifetime as long as they keeps their head down and bow to the state. But, step out of line? Time for a deduction on your social credit score. And that’s showing up now as those who don’t toe that line and lose their social credits end up on the streets.
The thing we should ponder…who’s deciding the line from which you cannot step?
Do you think a government like that cares about what the citizens have to say about data centers? Of course not. At least in America, if the government seizes your land, they’ve covered up for it with the shady “eminent domain” argument. In China, not only do they not care for eminent domain…well, the land isn’t even yours in the first place.
It seems the term “useful idiots” is working overtime here. AI is the future…for now…and of course while we want it safe and regulated in as much as it can be, preparing the very basics of our capabilities is crucial to not falling too far behind. China cares far less for the little things like “safety” and “caution.” And they don’t have the “will of the people” to exert any pressure or act as the conscience of their leaders. If you think one of our parties is all lined up to kiss the president’s rear end, just imagine what it’s like when the entire government does it for you. If Xi and his band of cronies want it, it’s going to happen. And all they have to do is keep the general population complacent and happy. And even then, they don’t necessarily have to. They can (or, already have) turn China into an open-air prison, where you have to line up for everything and follow along like lemmings or risk your “30 days in the hole” (but far worse) through a drop in social credit. Do you think the apparatus is going to forgive and forget? You’re marked for the rest of your miserable life.
So China [and Russia, and Iran, and North Korea] will continue to manipulate their useful idiots, who will think they’re championing the cause (and far too often blaming the wrong group of people). Ironic in that they really are engaging in our American system of freedom, but doing it with the ultimate result of limiting those freedoms and perhaps one day destroy them completely. If only more people took the time to study and understand how the world works in light of history, we wouldn’t have to put up with this. But sadly, far too few care to pay attention.
What a way to the future.
