Letter to the Editor: How does artificial intelligence fit in with media, government?
Should I fear artificial intelligence (AI)? Should society fear guns or nuclear energy?
It does not matter if the information is provided by George Washington, AI or Donald Trump. What does matter is if the information reflects the whole truth and clearly reveals whether sharing the information is for the benefit of the sender or the receiver.
Media at all levels provides information with the sole purpose of obtaining more followers. Neither the truth, relevance or needs of the audience are prioritized over the wow factor. If it bleeds, it leads. Election zingers, a candidate eating, a stumble or the behavior of a transgender person can be the lead story for 24 hours over the coverage of a policy position. Polls on how many people want a beer with a politician appear far more than polls that reflect how that politician voted compared to the majority of constituents on relevant voter issues — for example: women’s right to choose, firearm background checks.
The Supreme Court, without an ethics code or legal penalties for taking unlimited gifts (bribes), exists for the sole purpose of settling disputes of laws written by Congress that lack clear intent of the law today. The media will report on the human tragedy of immigrants and politicians at the wall but never lists how many years that same politician has been in Congress while failing to introduce a solution for immigration, the national debt or climate change.
Some Republican members of Congress, being paid a starting wage of $174,000, suggest raising the retirement age from 67 to 70. They also voted against raising the contribution level to above $160,200. Yet, members of Congress are eligible for a pension at age 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. Members are eligible at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service or at any age after 25 years of service.
While Congress has conducted investigations of Facebook, Google and TikTok, the U.S. tax code is 6,871 pages. When you include the federal tax regulations and the official tax guidance, the number of pages rises to approximately 75,000 to provide loopholes for the rich.
Fox made billions filling the airwaves with fake news and “the sky is falling” rhetoric. To this day, Trump is the front-runner for the Republican Party, and think tanks do not often enough ask why millions of people support a person documented for telling over 20,000 lies in office. I have seen polls that show the higher their education, the less likely a person will vote Republican. With the average cost of a four-year degree over $85,000, you must ask your elected officials why degrees are not offered for free through television networks.
I am constantly reminded of computers’ “crap in, crap out.” This has proven true with Congress, the Supreme Court, Fox, talk radio and billboards. Artificial intelligence can hardly have fewer morals or values than many of the humans feeding us information today. Can we find AI that will write a balanced budget to lower the retirement age, feed the poor, craft an immigration law or a tax code in less than 3,000 pages, and develop a lifestyle of “work less and live more”? Maybe the first jobs AI will take are in Congress.
Johnny Vaughan
Lewes
