The Prophets of Progress have
arrived in Louisiana, preaching a gospel of beatitude via AI:
‘“All along
the I-20 corridor, we’ve been calling this for sometime the ‘cyber corridor’
and now we have real, real opportunity with the advent of AI and the
development of data centers and the new needs that are out there, north
Louisiana and northeast Louisiana, specifically, is very well situated to
maximize that potential and that opportunity,” Johnson continued. “We’re poised
and ready. A lot of this is underway already but we believe there’s unlimited
potential right now.”
‘ . . . Johnson noted he and
other members of Congress who represent Louisiana have been meeting with large
technology companies and prominent technology officials, including Elon Musk,
to discuss the state’s future in AI and the expansion of the state’s energy
industry.
‘“The other interesting thing
about the development of AI is that you also have a great increase in the need
for energy to power all that and Louisiana is perfectly situated for that,”
Johnson said. “You need a couple of ingredients to make a large energy AI
center and all these things, we have in abundance here.”
‘Memphis, Tenn., has been
making great strides toward the development of AI data centers but Johnson
argued Louisiana—especially northeastern Louisiana—would soon outpace
Memphis.
‘“I was in Wisconsin a couple
of days ago and they were talking about Monroe, La., as the place that might be
becoming the center of this new AI data center revolution,” Johnson said. “So,
we have a lot to be proud of. I think Louisiana is really going to be put on
the map and if we continue the trajectory we’re on, it’s really going to be a
game-changer”’ (Kaitlin Maness, ‘House Speaker touts AI development in NELA’,
hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen).
How often have we heard this
siren song? Embrace the newest technology
with gusto, and all will be well! We
don’t have to look too hard for examples to disprove statements like that. Smartphones are an excellent example. The all-in-one device promised many
conveniences, some of which it has delivered on, but at a very high price: Social relationships between people have
suffered terribly. Places where human
conviviality used to take place – a checkout line, a waiting room, a playground,
etc. – are now silent as people stare blankly at their phones. Children especially have been harmed. They have been so stunted by their fixation
on these devices that they can’t communicate well with other children or with
adults, amongst other problems. Sweden
has become so concerned about this that her government is planning to severely
restrict the use of smartphones by Swedish schoolchildren:
‘Flashback
to 2017, where Sweden's five-year digitalization strategy for schools stated
that its main objectives were to "create further opportunities for
digitalization, achieve a high level of digital competence (especially in the
context of children, students, and younger people), and promote the development
of knowledge and equal opportunities and access to technology."
‘Now Sweden has the
second-highest use of the internet in the European Union,
after Denmark, and the government is worried there may be too many
opportunities for young people to stay connected in the classroom. Social
Affairs and Public Health Minister Jakob Forssmed is leading an effort to get
students to rebalance real life and TikTok reels.
‘"Schools have a
responsibility to prepare [children] for the world," Forssmed affirms.
"But my God," he says, throwing his hands wide in consternation,
"what we're seeing now is something else." Forssmed says Swedish
students are suffering widespread disorders and a decline in physical and
intellectual capabilities due to the hours spent online.
‘"They cannot cut with
scissors. They cannot climb a tree. They cannot walk backward because they are
sitting with their cell phones," he told DW in an interview at the
ministry in Stockholm. "We are also seeing things like diseases that usually
were in old people and middle-aged people now haunting young people" due
to lack of physical activity.
‘That's why Forssmed is
pushing for restrictions on personal digital devices in school to be enshrined
in national law and made mandatory rather than just recommended, as is
currently the case.
‘The government’s proposal
for the new law would allow students up to 9th grade to have no access to their
devices during the entire time spent in school, including breaks.
‘Their case is bolstered by
new guidelines issued earlier this month by the Swedish Public Health Agency
advising no screen time at all for toddlers below the age of two, one hour
total for those aged two to five, two hours tops for those six to 12 and for
teenagers, three hours maximum’ (Teri Schultz, ‘Back to basics: Sweden aims to
de-digitalize youth’, dw.com/en).
Sweden and others are
experiencing significant remorse over their eager embrace of earlier forms of
digital tech. Louisiana should take some
time to reflect on this before latching on to AI with all her might. The warning signs about it are already
appearing.
There have been numerous
stories about AI as a threat to various occupations from paralegals to doctors
to stock market advisors. But for a
political site such as this one, there is a danger that hits closer to home,
the threat to conventional political practices like voting. Replacing the fickle, fallible human voter
with a more reliable and steadier AI replica has seemingly begun:
. . .
The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2024/09/garlington-staring-into-the-abyss-of-ai/.
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
