What's so "democratic" about an executive order? Apparently the mechanism of an executive order doesn't have any restrictions on its use. Is there anything that can't be done by a president's, or perhaps his entourage's, whim? When the convoluted process of selecting the senior administrative official in the US is completed, is that individual able to commit any amount of US funds to whatever project takes his fancy?
The current US president, who is only going to be around for a few more days, has, by executive order, demanded that federal property be made available to corporations involved in the development and use of artificial intelligence and marked $30 billion in greenbacks to help them along.
gregoryconstruction.com
While the immense internet filing systems called "data centers" have yet to prove their worth in any but the most mundane ways, those expected to finance their construction are supposed to shut up and pay.
Just as "virtual reality" is only an imitation of reality, artificial intelligence is imitation intelligence also. If it were real intelligence with value it could be asked "What's the answer to the Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 problem?" and after a few flashes of light and beeps a correct, unchallengeable answer would pop up on a data center screen and shortly thereafter on the on-line site of the New York Post. That's what a genuine but impossible artificial intelligence program would be able to do.
Instead, a small but influential group of Whigs has used its influence to gather tax payer cash to build factories that can only reproduce the thoughts of the past, but perhaps in a different sequence. According to these entrepreneurs and their government allies, this data must be assembled and analyzed so the hordes of Chinese won't have the exclusive use of the technology and use it to spread their tyranny to the western hemisphere. It must be completely developed for defense purposes. It's also the case that these neo-Whigs will become very wealthy.
The failure of the Soviet Union was generally thought to have been caused by its attempts to match the developing military capabilities of the US which were so expensive that the Russians were basically bankrupted. It seems unlikely that a profusion of useless AI data centers will accomplish the same result with China.
In the case of the Soviets, the enormous expenses of the Cold War were at least visible flying around US air bases and sailing in and out of port. The data centers will produce only pixels arranged in different configurations on solid state hard drives. Hardly as impressive as an F-15 Strike Eagle or a Minute Man missile.
As usual when government is concerned, secrecy will be paramount. If the AI machine says tomorrow is the optimum date to shoot an ICBM at the Norks or even the Chinese, will the AI's advice absolve those who pulled the trigger? Will we be informed before or after? Or, will the AI make the ultimate decision itself?
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