AlternativeRadio

We hear from many quarters that "AI will destroy the world," but everyone's got a different scenario for what that means. The most sensational perspectives come from theorists like Geoffrey Hinton, the so-called "godfather of AI" or industrialists like Elon Musk. They warn us that one day,  a superintelligent AI could replace human beings in controlling the planet.  But we don't need to conjecture into the future. The scorched-earth destruction is already happening now. Jobs are hemorrhaging with no sign of return; data centers are turning U.S. farmlands into barren industrial gulags while consuming record levels of power, spewing volumes of carbon and using up our last freshwater sources; fusillades of deep-fake videos politically paralyze the public; an AI surveillance infrastructure is being constructed that will lock in fascism; and algorithms are telling ICE and the IDF who lives and who dies. It seems all too overwhelming. However, by tracing AI's lineage to the development of the atom bomb -- with the same ideologies and twisted logic -- it becomes apparent that solutions to the AI dilemma can also be found in nuclear history, in its disarmament successes.

In a time when scoundrels abound and corruption is rife, the need for resistance is critical. This is no time for fence-sitting and twiddling thumbs. Throughout history, people have fought and defeated autocracy by organizing with allies to challenge, disrupt, and roll back unfair rule. We are in such a moment now, as power is being centralized and the rule of law and decency are being undermined. The odds may seem too difficult, but perseverance and collective action can be effective. Through resistance, authoritarian rule can be rolled back. Historian Howard Zinn reminds us," The power of tyranny is overestimated and can be overcome by the unity and the determination of apparently powerless people."

Genocide is the most heinous of crimes and it connects to settler colonialism. Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz says, “Settler colonialism requires genocidal violence to attain its goal” of acquiring land. In North America and elsewhere this meant the Indigenous population was targeted for mass murder. North America’s huge landmass and resources drove the policy. In Germany, there was the Nazi desire for lebensraum, living space, in Eastern Europe. It’s interesting to see the parallels. The U.S. General William Sherman said in 1873, "We must act with vindictive earnestness against the Sioux, even to their extermination, men, women, and children.” Seventy years later in 1943, Heinrich Himmler, the notorious SS commander, said, “I want to mention a very difficult subject with complete candor. I am talking about the extermination of the Jewish people.” Recorded at Simon Fraser University.

The history of the U.S. is one of settler colonialism. The state was established on the basis of white male supremacy, slavery, land theft and genocide. “From sea to shining sea” the Native nations were decimated and dispossessed. The survivors herded into concentration camps. The genocidal policy reached its peak under President Andrew Jackson. Its ruthlessness was best articulated by Army general Thomas Jesup, who, in 1836, wrote: “The country can be rid of them only by exterminating them.” Native people are still here. Today, there is growing support for their movements such as the campaign to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The Dakota Access Pipeline resistance led by the Standing Rock Sioux was joined by many non-Native allies. The action, though unsuccessful, captured the imagination of people everywhere. The struggle for indigenous rights continues.

The United States has a long history of intervening in the internal affairs of Latin American and Caribbean countries. From Cuba to Chile, from Grenada to Panama, the U.S. has invaded, occupied, staged coups, carried out assassinations, and imposed sanctions. Today, Washington has oil-rich Venezuela in its gunsights. It has deployed an armada of warships, including the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, near Venezuela. It’s blowing boats out of the water, which legal experts call extra-judicial killings. It’s threatening Caracas with regime change. The White House justifies its saber-rattling rhetoric and aggressive military actions by calling Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a “narco-trafficker.” As Noam Chomsky has often said, to best understand U.S. foreign policy, use the mafia model. Very simply, if you obey the master, you’re safe. Step out of line? Look out.