Technology Uber Alles
by John Lawrence
Ted Kaczynsky was right. The worship and fetishism of technology is leading humanity in the wrong direction. Too bad he chose the path of killing people to draw attention to his thesis. Nevertheless, he had a very substantial point. The latest prostration of the human race is bowing before the false idol of AI. Oh, AI, it's so all powerful that we poor little humans must kneel before it in awe. AI will do nothing to create a more peaceful world. In all likelihood the major applications will be military. So rather than AI itself taking over from human beings because it will outsmart us, the country with the most powerful military application will take over the world. Kaczynski's manifesto argues that technological advancement has led to the dehumanization of individuals, the erosion of personal liberties and the destruction of the environment. He might have added increased militarization of the world. The point is that technological advancement has done nothing to create world peace.
One could point to the increased demands for energy that AI portends. Yes, they are trying to make that renewable energy, but that's not a guarantee. Kacynsky points out that the advancement of technology has done nothing to alleviate Third World suffering. It also has had nothing to do with the prevention of war. It is an enabler for the continuance of war because it creates new forms of warfare that are seemingly so powerful that no country will rise up against the country that possesses them. Therefore, every country has to race to create these new destructive methodologies before a rival country does so first. So we spend all our time, if not actually engaging in war, preparing for it.
If we spent as much money on a peace establishment as we do on the military establishment, we might just be able to finally establish a peaceful world, something that has not occurred in the 5000 year sordid history of human civilization. It is hard to imagine that spending more money on peace and less money on war or the preparations for war could actually accomplish a better world. Or how spending more money on peace and less on war could do so, but that is due to the paucity of human imagination. It is similar to the situation that would ensue if everyone was healthy and doctors weren't able to make money. In a world where more money was spent on peace to the point that no money would have to be spent on war, war contractors would go broke. Would there be such a thing as a peace contractor getting large lucrative contracts from the Federal government? Unimaginable. The economy would collapse.
