Peter—thanks for a very helpful reply. I think your diagnosis is correct.
Your point about the wrong scapegoats getting blamed is very important. If we start seeing mass AI-induced unemployment, the AI companies will have every incentive to launch disinformation campaigns leading people to blame any other scapegoats for the unemployment—e.g. immigrants, outsourcing to China/SE Asia, ‘systemic racism’, whatever distracts attention from the problem of cognitive automation. The AI companies don’t currently have the stomach to manipulate public opinion in these ways—they don’t have too. But the history of corporate propaganda suggests that every business facing a public backlash will do anything necessary to scapegoat others outside their industry. Big Tech will be no different in this regard. And they’ll have the full power of mass-customized AI propaganda systems to shape public opinion.
Peter—thanks for a very helpful reply. I think your diagnosis is correct.
Your point about the wrong scapegoats getting blamed is very important. If we start seeing mass AI-induced unemployment, the AI companies will have every incentive to launch disinformation campaigns leading people to blame any other scapegoats for the unemployment—e.g. immigrants, outsourcing to China/SE Asia, ‘systemic racism’, whatever distracts attention from the problem of cognitive automation. The AI companies don’t currently have the stomach to manipulate public opinion in these ways—they don’t have too. But the history of corporate propaganda suggests that every business facing a public backlash will do anything necessary to scapegoat others outside their industry. Big Tech will be no different in this regard. And they’ll have the full power of mass-customized AI propaganda systems to shape public opinion.