Horrific wars, the climate crisis, a global rise in authoritarianism—a lot’s happening right now. But underlying it all is the technology we use to get our information, communicate, and cooperate.
Thank you, Joseph, for this lucid and timely reflection. As a writer from Portugal, I found your piece both sobering and galvanising. The world may indeed be ablaze — with conflict, climate collapse, and democratic erosion — but your argument for focusing on the architecture of communication and cooperation is spot on.
AI may not be the fire, but it’s certainly the accelerant. And as you so rightly point out, the issue isn’t the technology itself, but the incentives behind it. Attention-maximising algorithms don’t care for nuance, truth, or civic health — they care for clicks. And that’s a dangerous compass to follow.
Still, I remain cautiously hopeful. I believe that if we, as creators and citizens, engage with these tools critically and ethically, we can help shape a better trajectory. Personally, I’m working on a poetry collection — and I’d love to publish it in a way that embraces technology without surrendering to its worst instincts. If AI can help amplify voices that seek connection over division, then perhaps there’s light yet.
Thank you for reminding us that the future isn’t written — it’s coded, curated, and still very much ours to influence.
1. The rise of fascism/deterioration of democracy/greedy, inhumane folks in power
2. War/famine
3. The climate crisis
All of these are connected. They all impact each other. Yes, AI is part of each one today, but the aforementioned issues have existed long before you or I were even born, and before AI existed. AI is a newer, powerful tool that fuels the issues listed above. I guess my concern is that the money and power resides with the folks/groups that fall into the first category I listed. With them using, running, controlling AI, the concerns and impacts with the other categories grows exponentially.
Of course, this is merely a response to the question you asked. I fear that all are equally important. It's tough to separate them all out, at least for me.
Thanks for using your platforms for good. For intellectual dialogue. For freedom of expression. For humanity.
Agreed. Group 1 is the greatest challenge right now. They're also driving a 4th, but important change - the downgrading of education in the US. I tutor as a side gig, and see how the oligarchs are taking away vital resources, rewriting history, and taking away vital language assistance. Very alarming.
You want to have an honest discussion about AI but don't mention Palantir? How they are using AI to target journalists in Gaza. How in partnership with Elbit, they are using murder drones to kill tens of thousands of people, many women and children. This is a dystopian nightmare, AI being used is akin to Skynet, the murder drones are Terminators. This isn't hyperbole or conjecture, they are going to market these "weapons" as battle tested. The same way they did in 2014. AI is like nuclear power, used wisely it can be a benefit to humanity. Used unwisely it can be a destructive force. I was inspired by Andor, show about a rising resistance movement under the threat of a genocidal empire. There is a quote from season 1 "I am condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them", I have been using AI (empires tool) to strike back at the empire by using satire, parody and pop culture subversively. I don't think AI is the problem, it's how and why it's being used. In the hands of Musk, Zuckerberg, Theil et al, the future looks incredibly bleak but it's not AI that scares me, it's apathy. It's apathy that will be the ruin of us all!
I believe AI is a major issue. I feel people have become so reliant on it to write, communicate, create, think, etc. that they are losing creativity, ability to communicate effectively, and differentiate between facts & fiction.
Too many folks are getting sucked into the screen in their hands instead of looking at the state of the community around them. This unfortunately,makes these technological distraction machines enable autocracy, illiteracy, and political ignorance. AI will just worsen this.
One fact, that few have taken note of and which confirms our downward spiral, is that the reading for pleasure habits of Americans has declined to only 16 minutes per day. That's barely enough time to fully understand any topic.
both social media and generative ai discourage critical thinking and encourage anti-intellectualism because their algorithms are programmed to encourage extremes, which will always benefit authorotarians.
My top three concerns are my healthcare, Medicaid, and paying my bills. Social media has gone to the elite and those who don't care about real life situations. Like "where is my next meal coming from", can I pay my rent this month, my car inspection is due, taxes, tags, insurance". My life changed the moment that🟠🤡💩 took office. I lost my existence... I'm not alone. Social media is losing out to actual conversations that are from the boomer era. Anyone with common sense knows that AI is only for the rich and it's literally going to destroy the world! My opinion, my voice!! 🩵
I agree that this is worrisome, but it's also a symptom. The cause is the inability to separate genres. If we do that, AI can spew as much false news as possible and insanity and the people wanting that can enjoy it as much as they want (Great for story ideas). So it should be allowed and encouraged for crazy ideas for writing.
My 3:
#1 The inability of people to get access to an Ethical Journalism Rating, like a G-rated TV channel. We need to click a button on sites to get access to the Ethical Journalism Genre and report any breaches of the code of conduct.
#2 The prejudice system. Search is broken because it's not judging content, it's judging the image. So the best content may never be seen because the person can't sell themselves or make their image perfect and persuasive. We need a search that will allow us to find content based on the criteria of the content, and allow us to program and share our customisable search settings. Huge data would be needed, though, for every website page. If I want to find a Cure for cancer based on tarantula venom with no more than 20 links to the site, with between 5000 and 6000 words, let me search for it.
#3 Fear-based productivity. We need welfare for the bottom 3 tiers of Maslow's Hierarchy. We need Military level rations and shelter and schooling, and medical for everyone. We need people to be able to join real-world communities face-to-face. All for free. Then, people can be exploitive as hell with anything in the top 2 tiers. If people want a huge TV, they work for it. If they want ice cream, they work for it. But who would work for an unethical company and harm people, for ice cream? Nearly none. But currently, people will actively harm people and the environment because they fear their children will die, or be suffering, or be emotionally outcast. Fear generates a willingness to harm others and the environment. But take that fear away, and you can let the rich have as many yachts as they want.
Thanks! I had a lot of discuss with friends about this topic. After reading your post I thought I had a great sentiment! Is a shame how a lot of people don’t understand this. Again thank you! Sorry for my grammar.
2. All those who could have stood up to him but did not and instead let him have his way.
3. Those he has enabled to replace him if he is not able to finish his term, or work.
Donald Trump is the worst person to take helm of the most powerful country on earth at a time when so many crises are placing our world in danger. How could a man with so little to offer gain so much power? At this time in history the USA has more freedom and opportunity than any other. Yet it produced someone who has taken no advantage of the educational and information wealth the country offers, to improve himself. It gave his father the opportunity to become rich, but Trump got that wealth and opportunity by inheritance. How did someone with no intelligence, no awareness, no knowledge, no talent, no morals, no ethics, no class, no honesty or integrity, no shame, no governing ability and no humility get so high up on the ladder? All he has is a lot of ambition. Nothing else has spurred him into this position.
I had no idea that what the USA has been bragging about the most, its policies of freedom and human rights, could have been dispensed with so easily. Except the shooter in Butler, PA, and the one at Mar-a-Lago later, no one has made a serious attempt to stop him. All the elected Republicans gave him everything he asked for at a time when he didn't yet pose much of a threat. The only threat he had on the Republican representatives is maybe to convince his supporters not to re-elect them. How many sold out their principles just because they may not be re-elected? There were a few death threats. But for the most part, these were not serious. No broken legs and no bodies floating in the river. He did not yet have a big and strong enough goon squad to carry those out. He is building one now. The more Republicans give in to his demands and decide it's easier to give him what he wants than stand up to them, the more power they give him to cause real pain and destruction in the future. Why would all these people abdicate their own power and what kind of a life do they think they will have when he eventually gets real dictatorial and psychopathic powers?
So now we learn that Trump is not well, perhaps seriously ill. With so many in his administration who have broken serious laws, and seriously ignored the Constitution will those who have supported him simply let him die, or maybe even run out his term? Will they just face the music when he is no longer around to protect them? Is JD Vance capable of carrying out his legacy? I'm thinking of people like Pam Bondi and others in the DOJ. I'm thinking about Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller who have committed such blatant human rights violations. How many people's lives have been destroyed, figuratively and literally, by their actions and decisions? Even if they can escape punishment by the judicial system they have committed crimes according to the ICC. Are they making plans to take over from Trump and hope JD Vance can step into his spot with no consequence to them?
All this of course is going to have devastating results and cause great upheaval for the world. Forget doing something about climate change and the environment and other "woke" concerns. There will be economic chaos. There may be civil war.
As for AI it has its strong points and its weak points. Soon we will have AGI which will be more intelligent than the sum of all the intelligence now held by the human population of Earth. I think we need more wisdom more than we need more intelligence.
Thank you, Joseph, for this lucid and timely reflection. As a writer from Portugal, I found your piece both sobering and galvanising. The world may indeed be ablaze — with conflict, climate collapse, and democratic erosion — but your argument for focusing on the architecture of communication and cooperation is spot on.
AI may not be the fire, but it’s certainly the accelerant. And as you so rightly point out, the issue isn’t the technology itself, but the incentives behind it. Attention-maximising algorithms don’t care for nuance, truth, or civic health — they care for clicks. And that’s a dangerous compass to follow.
Still, I remain cautiously hopeful. I believe that if we, as creators and citizens, engage with these tools critically and ethically, we can help shape a better trajectory. Personally, I’m working on a poetry collection — and I’d love to publish it in a way that embraces technology without surrendering to its worst instincts. If AI can help amplify voices that seek connection over division, then perhaps there’s light yet.
Thank you for reminding us that the future isn’t written — it’s coded, curated, and still very much ours to influence.
Warm regards,
Adrião
Porto, Portugal
1. The rise of fascism/deterioration of democracy/greedy, inhumane folks in power
2. War/famine
3. The climate crisis
All of these are connected. They all impact each other. Yes, AI is part of each one today, but the aforementioned issues have existed long before you or I were even born, and before AI existed. AI is a newer, powerful tool that fuels the issues listed above. I guess my concern is that the money and power resides with the folks/groups that fall into the first category I listed. With them using, running, controlling AI, the concerns and impacts with the other categories grows exponentially.
Of course, this is merely a response to the question you asked. I fear that all are equally important. It's tough to separate them all out, at least for me.
Thanks for using your platforms for good. For intellectual dialogue. For freedom of expression. For humanity.
Basically 100% agree with everything you just said
Agreed. Group 1 is the greatest challenge right now. They're also driving a 4th, but important change - the downgrading of education in the US. I tutor as a side gig, and see how the oligarchs are taking away vital resources, rewriting history, and taking away vital language assistance. Very alarming.
Forgetting our past and lessons from it
Erosion of human connection
Fragility of food and water
The top 3 things I’m worried about right now are
Me & My sister’s health
Not losing our food stamp and SSI we’re both disabled
And keeping our rent to a payable amount.
This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sounding an alarm. With news on AI assisted suicides (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/family-teenager-died-suicide-alleges-openais-chatgpt-blame-rcna226147) and toxic health coaching (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/man-asked-chatgpt-cutting-salt-diet-was-hospitalized-hallucinations-rcna225055) there is a DIRE need to safeguard and impose guardrails.
https://youtu.be/9rEWBIX7Rp8?si=LSW0vGJtVB5s3tWi
ai
24/7 internet users, severely out of touch, zero knowledge of local community
War
AI - Skynet and the Matrix
Fascists in power
people who don't see other people
1) The corruption (and everything it signifies from erosion of public trust in institutions to the widening wealth gap)
2) War, such as in Ukraine and Gaza (though the latter is extremely one-sided and a more accurate term for it would be genocide)
3) The breakdown of civil society and community (Just see what people are willing these days to say and do in public, let alone get away with)
You want to have an honest discussion about AI but don't mention Palantir? How they are using AI to target journalists in Gaza. How in partnership with Elbit, they are using murder drones to kill tens of thousands of people, many women and children. This is a dystopian nightmare, AI being used is akin to Skynet, the murder drones are Terminators. This isn't hyperbole or conjecture, they are going to market these "weapons" as battle tested. The same way they did in 2014. AI is like nuclear power, used wisely it can be a benefit to humanity. Used unwisely it can be a destructive force. I was inspired by Andor, show about a rising resistance movement under the threat of a genocidal empire. There is a quote from season 1 "I am condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them", I have been using AI (empires tool) to strike back at the empire by using satire, parody and pop culture subversively. I don't think AI is the problem, it's how and why it's being used. In the hands of Musk, Zuckerberg, Theil et al, the future looks incredibly bleak but it's not AI that scares me, it's apathy. It's apathy that will be the ruin of us all!
I believe AI is a major issue. I feel people have become so reliant on it to write, communicate, create, think, etc. that they are losing creativity, ability to communicate effectively, and differentiate between facts & fiction.
Too many folks are getting sucked into the screen in their hands instead of looking at the state of the community around them. This unfortunately,makes these technological distraction machines enable autocracy, illiteracy, and political ignorance. AI will just worsen this.
One fact, that few have taken note of and which confirms our downward spiral, is that the reading for pleasure habits of Americans has declined to only 16 minutes per day. That's barely enough time to fully understand any topic.
both social media and generative ai discourage critical thinking and encourage anti-intellectualism because their algorithms are programmed to encourage extremes, which will always benefit authorotarians.
My top three concerns are my healthcare, Medicaid, and paying my bills. Social media has gone to the elite and those who don't care about real life situations. Like "where is my next meal coming from", can I pay my rent this month, my car inspection is due, taxes, tags, insurance". My life changed the moment that🟠🤡💩 took office. I lost my existence... I'm not alone. Social media is losing out to actual conversations that are from the boomer era. Anyone with common sense knows that AI is only for the rich and it's literally going to destroy the world! My opinion, my voice!! 🩵
I agree that this is worrisome, but it's also a symptom. The cause is the inability to separate genres. If we do that, AI can spew as much false news as possible and insanity and the people wanting that can enjoy it as much as they want (Great for story ideas). So it should be allowed and encouraged for crazy ideas for writing.
My 3:
#1 The inability of people to get access to an Ethical Journalism Rating, like a G-rated TV channel. We need to click a button on sites to get access to the Ethical Journalism Genre and report any breaches of the code of conduct.
#2 The prejudice system. Search is broken because it's not judging content, it's judging the image. So the best content may never be seen because the person can't sell themselves or make their image perfect and persuasive. We need a search that will allow us to find content based on the criteria of the content, and allow us to program and share our customisable search settings. Huge data would be needed, though, for every website page. If I want to find a Cure for cancer based on tarantula venom with no more than 20 links to the site, with between 5000 and 6000 words, let me search for it.
#3 Fear-based productivity. We need welfare for the bottom 3 tiers of Maslow's Hierarchy. We need Military level rations and shelter and schooling, and medical for everyone. We need people to be able to join real-world communities face-to-face. All for free. Then, people can be exploitive as hell with anything in the top 2 tiers. If people want a huge TV, they work for it. If they want ice cream, they work for it. But who would work for an unethical company and harm people, for ice cream? Nearly none. But currently, people will actively harm people and the environment because they fear their children will die, or be suffering, or be emotionally outcast. Fear generates a willingness to harm others and the environment. But take that fear away, and you can let the rich have as many yachts as they want.
Thanks! I had a lot of discuss with friends about this topic. After reading your post I thought I had a great sentiment! Is a shame how a lot of people don’t understand this. Again thank you! Sorry for my grammar.
1. Donald Trump
2. All those who could have stood up to him but did not and instead let him have his way.
3. Those he has enabled to replace him if he is not able to finish his term, or work.
Donald Trump is the worst person to take helm of the most powerful country on earth at a time when so many crises are placing our world in danger. How could a man with so little to offer gain so much power? At this time in history the USA has more freedom and opportunity than any other. Yet it produced someone who has taken no advantage of the educational and information wealth the country offers, to improve himself. It gave his father the opportunity to become rich, but Trump got that wealth and opportunity by inheritance. How did someone with no intelligence, no awareness, no knowledge, no talent, no morals, no ethics, no class, no honesty or integrity, no shame, no governing ability and no humility get so high up on the ladder? All he has is a lot of ambition. Nothing else has spurred him into this position.
I had no idea that what the USA has been bragging about the most, its policies of freedom and human rights, could have been dispensed with so easily. Except the shooter in Butler, PA, and the one at Mar-a-Lago later, no one has made a serious attempt to stop him. All the elected Republicans gave him everything he asked for at a time when he didn't yet pose much of a threat. The only threat he had on the Republican representatives is maybe to convince his supporters not to re-elect them. How many sold out their principles just because they may not be re-elected? There were a few death threats. But for the most part, these were not serious. No broken legs and no bodies floating in the river. He did not yet have a big and strong enough goon squad to carry those out. He is building one now. The more Republicans give in to his demands and decide it's easier to give him what he wants than stand up to them, the more power they give him to cause real pain and destruction in the future. Why would all these people abdicate their own power and what kind of a life do they think they will have when he eventually gets real dictatorial and psychopathic powers?
So now we learn that Trump is not well, perhaps seriously ill. With so many in his administration who have broken serious laws, and seriously ignored the Constitution will those who have supported him simply let him die, or maybe even run out his term? Will they just face the music when he is no longer around to protect them? Is JD Vance capable of carrying out his legacy? I'm thinking of people like Pam Bondi and others in the DOJ. I'm thinking about Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller who have committed such blatant human rights violations. How many people's lives have been destroyed, figuratively and literally, by their actions and decisions? Even if they can escape punishment by the judicial system they have committed crimes according to the ICC. Are they making plans to take over from Trump and hope JD Vance can step into his spot with no consequence to them?
All this of course is going to have devastating results and cause great upheaval for the world. Forget doing something about climate change and the environment and other "woke" concerns. There will be economic chaos. There may be civil war.
As for AI it has its strong points and its weak points. Soon we will have AGI which will be more intelligent than the sum of all the intelligence now held by the human population of Earth. I think we need more wisdom more than we need more intelligence.