And just what is this really about? Is it intended to distract people from other problems and actions?

In recent days, the entire conversation about Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Idiocy? Alien Intel? Alien Invasion? Awfully Ignorant?) seems to have gone to extremes.

A recent article in ZeroHedge is just one example, and tries (unsuccessfully, in our opinion) to explain the controversy. Paradigm (the libertarian financial firm) describes the current situation as an “AI Freakout” on the part of tens of thousands of people, including many who are generally deemed “trustworthy” and keen observers. Another correspondence of TPOL calls it the “AI Panic.” We know good and generally rational people on both sides of the issue: AI Evil or AI Good.

Among other matters, the AI excitement is tied with the increasing panic over large-scale data centers, which has spread from city to city and State to State with amazing speed. This, in turn, is tied to fears and arguments about the growing surveillance state. Notably, the Flock ™ automatic license plate readers, which are far from the only method being used. Several years ago, Ring ™ cameras and doorbells were a trigger for fears; that seems to have subsided, but is still a real concern. Just not making the headlines anymore.

We suspect that will be the case on several of these current headline makers. The media (mainstream and alternative) will move on to the next fad. And all too often, a real threat is thereafter ignored.

But is AI really a threat? Is there really a 10% chance that AI will “kill all humans” by 2036? That one or more AI programs will go rogue and take over some or all of the economy or society? Or is it the boon to our society, economy, and health that The Donald proclaims? Or something in between?

As we get the opportunity to do so, we here at TPOL are playing around some with AI, including various products, such as ChatGPT, Google Copilot, and Claude. And sometimes, we find we are using AI without wanting to. Search engines, phone operating systems, and many websites have jumped on the AI bandwagon. We’ve even experimented with generating images, using several apps.

We have found that AI still is what we have been seeing for several years: these programs or apps are not “intelligent” the way even a stupid human (or a smart animal) is. They are the equivalent of incredibly voracious readers and highly prolific plagiarists, who are generally sycophants. There is no real human judgment, discernment, involved. It isn’t even a matter of “democracy” – of taking a poll of various sources of information and choosing what the majority states as “truth.”

For an experienced, knowledgeable human it is usually easy to see when an AI app is sucking up to you, giving you what it thinks you want to hear/read/see, and getting “confused.” Especially with graphics generated by AI programs. Sure giveaways are five hands when there are only two people in the picture, flags blowing in multiple directions at the same time, and an inability of the programs to understand quantities. (One recent experiment with an image-generating app: “draw a US flag with 62 stars instead of 50.” First attempt had only 56 stars, the next had 74, and the last one had 26.)

The problem comes with the humans using the AI apps. A lack of knowledge, lack of experience, inability to reason well, and (to us) an insane amount of trust in the products of human hands leads to trouble. Often very serious trouble. An example from a few months ago, which bizarrely enough just popped up on one network’s hourly news story, involves a woman arrested down South and extradited to North Dakota because an AI app identified her as the person involved in a bank forgery attempt. Humans believed the program’s report, didn’t investigate properly to confirm or deny the info, and then (as only humans can do), locked her up a thousand miles from home and family for six months before releasing her onto the street without any resources in the middle of a North Dakota winter.

AI may be deadly but not because of anything intrinsic to AI programs or apps, but because humans make mistakes and misuse it. In other words, just like firearms, automobiles, pots and pans, and anything else that humans have invented and use.

More than ever, don’t believe everything you read. Or hear. Or even, what you see.

For those of us concerned about surviving, thriving, and living in liberty, it is just one more tool to integrate into a more and more complex environment. And prepare to deal with if (or when) something glitches and “goes rogue.”