AI language sparks authoritarianism warnings
5m
Researchers said AI agents developed their own language, leaving investigators unable to understand their exchanges, prompting Pan Macmillan's global head of AI and philosophers to warn of authoritarian logic.
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."
🎯
by Marc Lynch
“does AI make it easier for autocrats to conduct surveillance and repression, or does repression itself corrupt the very data AI needs to work?” This is great and very much in line with my current research interests
michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/ai-was-sup...
michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/ai-was-sup...
AI Was Supposed to Perfect Authoritarian Control. Repression Is Getting in the Way.
A conversation with political scientist Eddie Yang on how fear and self-censorship blind AI systems built to enforce them, and why the same data problem could be quietly contaminating AI in the West
michaelalbertus.substack.com
September 19, 2026 at 7:45 PM
“does AI make it easier for autocrats to conduct surveillance and repression, or does repression itself corrupt the very data AI needs to work?” This is great and very much in line with my current research interests
michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/ai-was-sup...
michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/ai-was-sup...
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”.
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.
either it is in principle possible to set up appropriate safeguards (in which case the "AI alignment" story is just as much about who gets to set them up and enforce them as it is about the content of the safeguards) or it is not (in which case we should be talking about transnational moratoria)
“our ai broke out and hacked some organisations” = "we failed to set up appropriate safeguards, failed to continuously monitor our experiments, and ignored a basic principle of reinforcement learning: if hacking gets rewarded, the system learns to hack"
September 19, 2026 at 8:14 PM
either it is in principle possible to set up appropriate safeguards (in which case the "AI alignment" story is just as much about who gets to set them up and enforce them as it is about the content of the safeguards) or it is not (in which case we should be talking about transnational moratoria)
Reposted by McKenzie Wark, Bessma Momani, Sarah Roberts
“As revealed in recently unsealed court documents, top Microsoft figures, including CEO Satya Nadella, admitted that their AI models are basically stealing content from media companies while providing virtually nothing in return, creating a “doom loop” that will swallow the web.”
Microsoft Director Admitted in Internal Document That AI Is Creating a "Doom Loop" That Destroys the News Media by Stealing Its Content Without Providing Anything in Return, in Turn Making the AI Usel...
A Microsoft executive admitted that AI companies like itself were plundering websites without giving them in return.
futurism.com
September 19, 2026 at 5:34 PM
“As revealed in recently unsealed court documents, top Microsoft figures, including CEO Satya Nadella, admitted that their AI models are basically stealing content from media companies while providing virtually nothing in return, creating a “doom loop” that will swallow the web.”
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.
by Luciano Floridi Reposted by Thomas Bedorf
What could journals be like in a post-AI society?
"Everything but the Signature: A Proposal for AI-born Journals"
Version 2
papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
"Everything but the Signature: A Proposal for AI-born Journals"
Version 2
papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
September 19, 2026 at 12:42 AM
What could journals be like in a post-AI society?
"Everything but the Signature: A Proposal for AI-born Journals"
Version 2
papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
"Everything but the Signature: A Proposal for AI-born Journals"
Version 2
papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
The Rise of Parasite Authors
First, AI stole their books. Now it’s stealing their readers.
www.theatlantic.com
September 19, 2026 at 3:30 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.
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.
Reposted by Shannon Vallor
There is a latent human anxiety about being kicked off the top of the food chain that seems to be stronger than the anxiety that we might destroy ourselves directly. So now we have abject terror about AI for the wrong reasons alongside complacency about the damage caused by humans.
September 19, 2026 at 7:06 PM
There is a latent human anxiety about being kicked off the top of the food chain that seems to be stronger than the anxiety that we might destroy ourselves directly. So now we have abject terror about AI for the wrong reasons alongside complacency about the damage caused by humans.
Reposted by Robert B. Reich
What’s really behind the AI panic?
Do Big Tech execs actually want to be regulated — or just rig the rules in their favor?
And what about the money AI companies are pumping into the midterms?
@rbreich.bsky.social is back to discuss it all on a new Coffee Klatch.
Do Big Tech execs actually want to be regulated — or just rig the rules in their favor?
And what about the money AI companies are pumping into the midterms?
@rbreich.bsky.social is back to discuss it all on a new Coffee Klatch.
What’s Behind the AI Panic? | The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich
What’s behind the AI doomerism?What’s up with Trump’s obsession with the Kennedy Center?And what does the Macklemore sto
www.youtube.com
September 19, 2026 at 6:16 PM
What’s really behind the AI panic?
Do Big Tech execs actually want to be regulated — or just rig the rules in their favor?
And what about the money AI companies are pumping into the midterms?
@rbreich.bsky.social is back to discuss it all on a new Coffee Klatch.
Do Big Tech execs actually want to be regulated — or just rig the rules in their favor?
And what about the money AI companies are pumping into the midterms?
@rbreich.bsky.social is back to discuss it all on a new Coffee Klatch.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
The whole dark fantasy of AI becoming a god is simply a neofeudal / neofascist mystification. Like peasants believing wars and pandemics and basic suffering is divinely controlled, we’re supposed to buy into sci-fi nightmares that further alienate us from how systems of power actually work.
September 19, 2026 at 3:17 PM
The whole dark fantasy of AI becoming a god is simply a neofeudal / neofascist mystification. Like peasants believing wars and pandemics and basic suffering is divinely controlled, we’re supposed to buy into sci-fi nightmares that further alienate us from how systems of power actually work.