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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If it heals our brains.. i put it mycellium in sandy chicago backyard soil it helped repair the soil. We have grass again. Root systems are important. Mycellium i see is the dendrites that reach out creating synapse. It is how the plants communicate it is therefore how we communicate.
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.
Absolutely. I think his initial question asked for a top 3 though. Education is certainly a critical issue, too.
This right here
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.
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
Forgetting our past and lessons from it
Erosion of human connection
Fragility of food and water
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)
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.
ai
24/7 internet users, severely out of touch, zero knowledge of local community
War
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
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.
The three main things that worry me nowadays are: artificial intelligence, wars around the world, and Donald Trump 🥺
My top three concerns is: Gun Violence, Gun Violence, Gun Violence!!!
Something needs to be done with our gun laws…now
How is AI gonna fix that?
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.
I'm with you, man.
We Shall Use ai to bring the Kingdom of Fungi into the everpresent. Mycellium shall heal the world
If it heals our brains.. i put it mycellium in sandy chicago backyard soil it helped repair the soil. We have grass again. Root systems are important. Mycellium i see is the dendrites that reach out creating synapse. It is how the plants communicate it is therefore how we communicate.