AI sidelines people; threatens democracy
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European commentators, philosophers and researchers warned that increasingly opaque AI language and logic had begun to cut humans out of conversations and risked disempowering education and democracy.
Or as I told someone at NBC yesterday "it's not 'a rogue AI', it's sloppy software." I won't even use "an AI" to refer to a program (or robot,) these people are using the term to refer to a bunch of cloned threads.
Absolutely. These people wrote code that hacks into other people's computer systems, potentially wrecking them, and there are penalties for that.
AIs aren't beings, they are computer programs. We mustn't lose sight of that fact just because they imitate human conversation and make a lot of money.
AIs aren't beings, they are computer programs. We mustn't lose sight of that fact just because they imitate human conversation and make a lot of money.
I really hate the framing of these stories as "an AI agent broke out and hacked something."
No, an inadequate sandbox meant that a powerful and unpredictable computer program was set loose on the open internet by the company that designed it. The agency isn't with the "AI agent", it's with the firm
No, an inadequate sandbox meant that a powerful and unpredictable computer program was set loose on the open internet by the company that designed it. The agency isn't with the "AI agent", it's with the firm
September 19, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Or as I told someone at NBC yesterday "it's not 'a rogue AI', it's sloppy software." I won't even use "an AI" to refer to a program (or robot,) these people are using the term to refer to a bunch of cloned threads.
by Grady Booch
It is simultaneously strange and humbling to realize that the term “artificial intelligence” was coined almost a decade before the term “software engineering”.
September 19, 2026 at 2:36 AM
It is simultaneously strange and humbling to realize that the term “artificial intelligence” was coined almost a decade before the term “software engineering”.
Reposted by Gary Marcus, Anders Nilsson, Larry W. Hunter
@aoc.bsky.social just put out a great statement on AI. Refreshing to see a major politician on the left nail this.
"Silicon Valley billionaires want us to believe that Al robots will destroy humanity. But the biggest threat to humanity are the tech oligarchs themselves."
🎯
"Silicon Valley billionaires want us to believe that Al robots will destroy humanity. But the biggest threat to humanity are the tech oligarchs themselves."
🎯
September 19, 2026 at 1:19 AM
@aoc.bsky.social just put out a great statement on AI. Refreshing to see a major politician on the left nail this.
"Silicon Valley billionaires want us to believe that Al robots will destroy humanity. But the biggest threat to humanity are the tech oligarchs themselves."
🎯
"Silicon Valley billionaires want us to believe that Al robots will destroy humanity. But the biggest threat to humanity are the tech oligarchs themselves."
🎯
As we get thrust into an unnecessary period of fascistic violence, war over resources, and the stripping of basic human services and dignity, the appeal of AI for the powerful isn’t just planning or war making, it’s creating a system that will do what they want and allow them to shirk all blame.
September 19, 2026 at 3:13 PM
As we get thrust into an unnecessary period of fascistic violence, war over resources, and the stripping of basic human services and dignity, the appeal of AI for the powerful isn’t just planning or war making, it’s creating a system that will do what they want and allow them to shirk all blame.
Reposted by R. M. Wilson
Every now and then I see myself referred to as an "AI Denier" and I want to be clear I acknowledge "AI" exists, it's just I think it's a massive energy drain, created from theft, implemented poorly for inappropriate tasks by loathsome tech executives who get hard at the idea of the rest of us dying
September 19, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Every now and then I see myself referred to as an "AI Denier" and I want to be clear I acknowledge "AI" exists, it's just I think it's a massive energy drain, created from theft, implemented poorly for inappropriate tasks by loathsome tech executives who get hard at the idea of the rest of us dying
They are not reasoning from evidence to conclusions. They are starting from a conclusion (AI dwarfs all other dangers, priorities and moral duties) and working the evidence and numbers until they point there, and only there.
September 19, 2026 at 3:53 PM
They are not reasoning from evidence to conclusions. They are starting from a conclusion (AI dwarfs all other dangers, priorities and moral duties) and working the evidence and numbers until they point there, and only there.
If you want an example, here. The major corporations are already training their AI to engage in corporate espionage and subterfuge. And yet, Google, one of the most powerful companies in the world, gets to hide behind the “rogue AI” bullshit and avoid consequences.
September 19, 2026 at 3:55 PM
If you want an example, here. The major corporations are already training their AI to engage in corporate espionage and subterfuge. And yet, Google, one of the most powerful companies in the world, gets to hide behind the “rogue AI” bullshit and avoid consequences.
This is the far more likely pathway for how AI will end us all, btw. Not via some superintelligent swarm of paperclip maximizers, but by a cascading sequence of dumb fuckups driven by human beings who have arranged things to be fast-moving and catastrophically fragile while also being really lazy.
That’s a load-bearing assumption, Dr Strangelove. www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
September 18, 2026 at 6:56 PM
This is the far more likely pathway for how AI will end us all, btw. Not via some superintelligent swarm of paperclip maximizers, but by a cascading sequence of dumb fuckups driven by human beings who have arranged things to be fast-moving and catastrophically fragile while also being really lazy.
Unlike career civil service, AI can't swear an oath to the Constitution. It can't speak truth to power or blow the whistle. It's not subject to professional ethics. It doesn't have to look at itself in the mirror.
September 19, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Unlike career civil service, AI can't swear an oath to the Constitution. It can't speak truth to power or blow the whistle. It's not subject to professional ethics. It doesn't have to look at itself in the mirror.
This fantasy that “AI is out of control” provides cover for powerful people and corporations to simply program systems to carry out actions and then shrug. And if that is brought into the larger scheme of operations, the powerful will shrug and blame the tool they control.
September 19, 2026 at 3:15 PM
This fantasy that “AI is out of control” provides cover for powerful people and corporations to simply program systems to carry out actions and then shrug. And if that is brought into the larger scheme of operations, the powerful will shrug and blame the tool they control.
AI also has the advantage of being susceptible to bias and sycophancy. And it does all this while being completely opaque. Making oversight and accountability nearly impossible.
September 19, 2026 at 4:07 PM
AI also has the advantage of being susceptible to bias and sycophancy. And it does all this while being completely opaque. Making oversight and accountability nearly impossible.
Anyway, another reason to not get too bogged down in the specifics of Project 2025 these days. That was published more than 3 years ago. The world looked very different than. The potential of AI hadn't been fully appreciated yet.
September 19, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Anyway, another reason to not get too bogged down in the specifics of Project 2025 these days. That was published more than 3 years ago. The world looked very different than. The potential of AI hadn't been fully appreciated yet.
Notice what’s happening just in the past few days.
AI caused war crimes.
AI hacked corporations.
AI is denying healthcare.
AI nearly caused war with China.
Already the concept is becoming a catchall and hiding that, in all cases, there were people and systems getting desired results.
AI caused war crimes.
AI hacked corporations.
AI is denying healthcare.
AI nearly caused war with China.
Already the concept is becoming a catchall and hiding that, in all cases, there were people and systems getting desired results.
September 19, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Notice what’s happening just in the past few days.
AI caused war crimes.
AI hacked corporations.
AI is denying healthcare.
AI nearly caused war with China.
Already the concept is becoming a catchall and hiding that, in all cases, there were people and systems getting desired results.
AI caused war crimes.
AI hacked corporations.
AI is denying healthcare.
AI nearly caused war with China.
Already the concept is becoming a catchall and hiding that, in all cases, there were people and systems getting desired results.
“AI allows you to get to a bad idea faster”
I have been yelling since 2021 about how using synthetic text extruding machines for information access is a TERRIBLE IDEA. And yet and yet and yet: they are marketing so heavily that way that people keep falling for it.
edition.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
edition.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
Exclusive: US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report, sources say | CNN Politics
The episode shows the risks of using this new, relatively poorly understood technology in the middle of the Iran war
edition.cnn.com
September 19, 2026 at 2:18 PM
“AI allows you to get to a bad idea faster”
Reposted by Greg Linden, Melanie Simms
I really hate the framing of these stories as "an AI agent broke out and hacked something."
No, an inadequate sandbox meant that a powerful and unpredictable computer program was set loose on the open internet by the company that designed it. The agency isn't with the "AI agent", it's with the firm
No, an inadequate sandbox meant that a powerful and unpredictable computer program was set loose on the open internet by the company that designed it. The agency isn't with the "AI agent", it's with the firm
September 19, 2026 at 5:01 AM
I really hate the framing of these stories as "an AI agent broke out and hacked something."
No, an inadequate sandbox meant that a powerful and unpredictable computer program was set loose on the open internet by the company that designed it. The agency isn't with the "AI agent", it's with the firm
No, an inadequate sandbox meant that a powerful and unpredictable computer program was set loose on the open internet by the company that designed it. The agency isn't with the "AI agent", it's with the firm
It’s very simple. AI isn’t independent or autonomous. It’s a tool being specifically programmed to commit crimes against humans and against rival businesses. But the fantasy of autonomy is an incredible facade that means total deniability and our political and media classes have already bought in.
September 19, 2026 at 3:21 PM
It’s very simple. AI isn’t independent or autonomous. It’s a tool being specifically programmed to commit crimes against humans and against rival businesses. But the fantasy of autonomy is an incredible facade that means total deniability and our political and media classes have already bought in.
If Project 2025 were written today, AI would probably be more prominent.
September 19, 2026 at 4:13 PM
If Project 2025 were written today, AI would probably be more prominent.
Not sure. I’ve seen people complain about changes since they started using AI (I can’t know, I only started using it this year). I feel like the sentences are about 85% plausible/useful and 15% nonsense. And they do have a “thing” about animals doing people stuff. Maybe because Duo is an owl?
September 19, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Not sure. I’ve seen people complain about changes since they started using AI (I can’t know, I only started using it this year). I feel like the sentences are about 85% plausible/useful and 15% nonsense. And they do have a “thing” about animals doing people stuff. Maybe because Duo is an owl?
Makes me think of Stanislav Petrov, one of the greatest heroes in history. We're going to need to build systems that don't rely on people like him to stop a rush to judgment.
Lot of issues here but one part that sticks out in light of the almost-attacked-a-Chinese-ship story today: people with very important jobs where lives are at stake have bought the hype and outsourced their whole brains to AI. We're going to see more and more of this.
www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
September 19, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Makes me think of Stanislav Petrov, one of the greatest heroes in history. We're going to need to build systems that don't rely on people like him to stop a rush to judgment.
But what the Trump administration is learning is outsourcing these government functions to AI is even better. Let's face it, the people they would bring in are too incompetent to do a lot of this shit.
September 19, 2026 at 4:07 PM
But what the Trump administration is learning is outsourcing these government functions to AI is even better. Let's face it, the people they would bring in are too incompetent to do a lot of this shit.