Nate Silver, who irritates as often as he illuminates, has in his latest post taken on the techno-elephant in the room — artificial intelligence and the future of our democracy.
That is my characterization, not his. He simply says, “If AI is even half as transformational as Silicon Valley assumes, politics will never be the same again.”
He makes the following points:
Silicon Valley is bad at politics. If nothing else during Trump 2.0, I think we’ve learned that Silicon Valley doesn’t exactly have its finger on the pulse of the American public. It’s insular, it’s very, very, very, very rich — Elon Musk is now nearly a trillionaire! — and it plausibly stands to benefit from changes that would be undesirable to a large and relatively bipartisan fraction of the public.
Cluelessness on the left about AI means the political blowback will be greater once it realizes the impact.
Disruption to the “creative classes” could produce an outsized political impact.
So he never gets around to mentioning democracy, although he does predict revolution (I think) and frankly his entire post could use a good edit.
But what I am saying here is that with the current administration in power, acquiring expertise in AI is a scary proposition. The White House is already fooling around with AI, and this is not a regime known for exercising ethical restraints nor observing norms.
We have important midterm elections this fall, which will be the first big test in the age of AI for our oh-so-wobbly democracy.
HEADLINES:
Trump Threatens to Block Opening of New Bridge to Canada (NYT)
ICE boss faces questions from lawmakers on Trump’s immigration crackdown (BBC)
Kidney transplant recipient in ICE custody is finally getting meds, wife and attorney say (MPR)
How Stephen Miller Became the Power Behind the Throne (The Nation)
Federal judge blocks California’s law enforcement mask ban (CNN)
Democrats say White House offer on ICE is ‘insufficient’ as Homeland Security funding set to expire (AP)
Georgia Ballot Inquiry Originated With Election Denier in Trump White House (NYT)
EPA set to repeal landmark finding that climate change endangers the public (The Hill)
Republicans are pushing to drastically change the way you cast ballots (WP)
DOJ again defends Lindsey Halligan’s appointment in appeal of James Comey and Letitia James case dismissals (NBC)
Zach Bryan calls Turning Point USA’s halftime show ‘embarrassing as hell’ (SFC)
New Epstein Details Rattle Washington, Hollywood and Beyond (NYT)
Americans’ sense of optimism is at nearly two-decade low, according to new poll (WP)
BBC World Service faces funding cliff edge in seven weeks, says Tim Davie (Guardian)
Indonesia prepares to deploy thousands of troops to Gaza (Financial Times)
10 Dead and 25 Injured in Shooting at School and Home in Canada (NYT)
Woman caught poaching endangered abalone, hiding it in her pants: Officials (ABC)
2026 MLB Power Rankings: Where Do All 30 Teams Stand Before Spring Training? (Fox)
FBI releases first surveillance images of masked person on Nancy Guthrie’s porch (AP)
How the use of AI and ‘deepfakes’ play a role in the search for Nancy Guthrie (NPR)
The singularity won’t be gentle (Silver Bulletin)
Elon Musk makes eerie prediction of the end of AI and he thinks it’s happening in ‘just months’ (UnladTech)
Why All the CEOs Stopped Talking About AI (Atlantic)
What Is Claude? Anthropic Doesn’t Know, Either (New Yorker)
Trump Attempts To Distract From Epstein Files By Gaining 200 Pounds (Onion)
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