The popular case against the data centers [13] now proliferating vertiginously [14] across the United States emphasizes the ecological imperative. As water resources shrink [15], forcing emergency restrictions [16] on use across the western states, voracious water consumption [17] by the industry is just one of the ways its advance portends imminent human extinction [18]. Meanwhile, the industry slaps back [19] in the courts against communities that would stand up against this advance [20]. But Artificial Intelligence itself poses an existential threat, apart from the direct impacts of the computing power. Even respected voices [21] in the industry warn of a high probability [22] that AI will turn upon and destroy its creators. The bots themselves seem to be warning us of this [23] through ominous messaging. Seeming instances of AI going unilateral [24] have prompted a bipartisan AI Kill Switch [25] bill in Congress. Finally, there is the systematic cultural destruction being wrought by AI—literally shredding [26] humankind's legacy of literacy, to impose a reign of sheer error and idiocy [27]. In Episode 339 [28] of the CounterVortex [29] podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to make the case for an abolitionist [30] position on Artificial Intelligence.
Listen on SoundCloud [28] or via Patreon [32].
Production by Chris Rywalt [33]
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