Honest Government Ad | AI
The Government™ has made an ad about the existential threat that AI poses to humanity, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative (biting political satire).
Boeing and Baltimore Bridge Scandals: Monopolization and Criminal Negligence? – Katya Schwenk
The fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX passenger aircraft and the recent Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident, in which a door-plug blew out after take-off, are consequences of Boeing’s systemic incentivization of profits over safety. Katya Schwenk, reporter at The Lever, discusses the policies of recent administrations to enable Boeing’s industry takeover and criminal negligence, as well as similar practices of covering up safety issues in the shipping industry, which potentially led to the Dali cargo ship’s collapsing of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Genocide in Gaza Supported by Venture Capital’s AI Military Tech – William Hartung
The Israeli attack on a civilian aid convoy, which killed seven World Central Kitchen workers, has pushed U.S. officials to entertain policy alternatives to unconditional aid to Israel. Bill Hartung, national security and U.S. foreign policy analyst at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, discusses the Biden administration’s weapons sales to Israel, many of which have not been reported to U.S. Congress. Hartung addresses the role of venture capital firms in shaping the U.S. defense industry, firms which advocate the development of dual-use technology or artificial intelligence as optimized tools to wage warfare.
Venture Capital Fuels U.S. Military Support for Israel, Egypt, and Saudis – Shana Marshall
Dr. Shana Marshall is the Associate Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University in D.C. She highlights a crucial element of financing the military and defense technology sector by venture capitalist and private equity firms with dubious financial and political interests. She explains how the business models of these firms shape the sort of weaponry produced in the U.S., such as an increase in drones and AI-powered systems and the “attritable” form of warfare that is waged as a result. Furthermore, she argues that U.S. policy in the Middle East and American support for authoritarian regimes has had dire consequences for the people in the region.
Revolutionary Mathematics: Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, and the Logic of Capitalism
Justin Joque is a visualization librarian at the University of Michigan and the author of the book Revolutionary Mathematics: Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, and the Logic of Capitalism. His book examines the statistical models on which our algorithms, machine learning, and financial systems are built, highlighting the mechanisms of abstraction which lend these models an air of misleading objectivity. Can statistical models be used towards emancipatory aims?
Military-Industrial Congressional Frauds – Lester Earnest on RAI Pt 2/5
Corporations bribed politicians—it’s legal, it’s called campaign contributions—and they funded projects the Defense Department contracted out, giving the crooks a lot of money; that’s still going strong today – says Lester Earnest, founder of the AI Lab at Stanford. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced December 26, 2018.
AI Should Improve Quality of Life, Not Make Capitalists Rich – Lester Earnest on RAI Pt 5/5
Artificial Intelligence can make the world better or be a tool for war – says Lester Earnest, founder of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at Stanford, on Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced January 4, 2019.
Billionaires Shouldn’t Control Artificial Intelligence – Lester Earnest on RAI Pt 4/5
“Patents block progress” – says Lester Earnest, founder of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at Stanford, on Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced January 2, 2019.
DOD Criterion for Success Spend all Your Money by Year-End – Lester Earnest on RAI Pt 3/5
After working on the MIT SAGE radar system and at the Joint Chiefs, Earnest concluded “it’s basically a money-making system, that’s what it’s about and has nothing to do with real defense” – Lester Earnest on Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced December 28, 2018.
Cold War Radar System a Trillion-Dollar Fraud – Lester Earnest on RAI Pt 1/5
Profit and deception drove cold-war militarization, says Lester Earnest, founder of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at Stanford; Earnest says the anti-nuclear bomber SAGE radar system never worked and carried on for 25 years – Lester Earnest on Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced December 24, 2018.
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Socialism – RAI with Aleksandr Buzgalin (12/12)
On Reality Asserts Itself, Prof. Aleksandr Buzgalin says the conditions for socialism did not exist in the 1920s but now they do, but there will be many zigs and zags getting there – with host Paul Jay. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced July 29, 2018.
Artificial Intelligence in Whose Interests? – RAI with Rana Foroohar Pt 6/6
On Reality Asserts Itself, Ms. Foroohar and host Paul Jay discuss the merging of finance and big tech and the threat AI poses to working people and the economy; they also discuss the potential of AI in addressing the climate crisis and making a more rational and equal society possible – with host Paul Jay. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced May 9, 2018.