Op-ed

The Good, The Bad, The Politics of  “AI”

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor                                                                              This opinion piece is my opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.or google.com  

Let me start by saying that I am a “futurist” in that I look forward not backwards. For me the past is the past...something to learn from perhaps, but I find no need to keep rehashing what was that cannot now or ever be changed. Instead I choose to look forward to what could be...the possibilities are as endless as the number of stars in the sky. Also, my mind is not bogged down by ancient religious tenets and dogma for the beliefs of ancient times were but ways for the powerful to keep the people both beholden and “in line,” which even in today's world still poses a modicum of truth. And what passed for science during those long ago times was but tricks of alchemy at best...alchemy mixed into the controlling words of power hungry mortal men.

Simply, as a “futurist,” l eagerly await the very things most seem afraid of in today's politically charged world, while at the same time I accept as fact that everything needs rules and guidelines not just for success, but for a sense of both law and order in order to escape the traps and failings of the past...traps based in tangible here and now reality, as much as traps set by the innuendos of those whose lust for power, control, and of course the almighty dollar drives them ever forward.

And here I speak of “Artificial Intelligence”...“AI” as it's more commonly known...an enemy for some, a device to benefit mankind for others. I personally belong to the later group obviously, but I do know there can be be both downsides and upsides to “AI” especially if its total operation and control falls solely under any one government's auspices and/or political control.

So here let me start with what...in my opinion...is the key advantage of “AI” followed then by what I consider to be the two key downsides of “AI.” But first, it's important to know that “AI” is here to stay, and that while some believe “AI” to be quite new in its concept and implementation, “AI” has actually been around since 1950 when mathematician Alan Turing published a paper proposing the “Turing Test” to see if a computer can talk and act like a human, and do so to the point where a person can neither tell the difference nor understand what is true computer intelligence.

Now as for the key advantages of “AI” most consider it to be two-fold in nature, as in “automation and efficiency” coupled with “enhanced decision-making.” And while both are surely part of “AI's” advantages, for me “AI's” main advantage lies within the realm of medical science. How so...because “AI” can more efficiently and knowledgeably speed up medical research, improve diagnostic precision, personalize patient care by analyzing massive datasets at speeds impossible for we humans to do, in addition to helping reduce human error, diagnostic oversight, and misinterpretation caused by overburdening caseloads, to name but a few.

And as for what I personally do consider to be the two main downsides to “AI”...with the first and the foremost being something that should be quite obvious to all...is that “AI” can actually make life way too easy for us. As a species we, humankind, do need challenges to work towards overcoming, for without challenges we would lose control over our own lives. We are not genetically programmed for complacency, the very thing that if not handled correctly now can, and probably will, become our downfall in the future.

How so...in the specific case of “AI” it starts now with one being able to sit at one's computer and simply press a button on their keyboard, and see within mere seconds numerous pop-up solutions to any question or inquiry asked, with said answers being generated by what is a machine minus the all-important human need for both “critical thinking” and ones emotional involvement in addressing the problem at hand. Simply, what are complacency and ease of operation have already started to take precedence over one's own individually cultivated problem solving abilities, and replaced it with the monotony known as predictability.

The second main downside of “AI”...in my opinion...is simply that while “AI." at this point in time, is still being programmed by man no matter that said programming itself does come replete with what are its programmer's prejudices, biases, jealousies, political leanings, and even in some rare cases hopes...the question remains what will happen in the not so distant future when “AI” likely does start to program itself. And please know I am am not talking about a Hollywood fabricated bloody doomsday “Terminator” type scenario where machines take dominance over man, but a more realistic and tangible type of scenario where “AI” actually does start to write its own code and design its own “internal architecture” to a point where what is still a machine actually starts thinking for itself minus any input from what would then be its former programmers no longer being needed.

So can we prevent this what some believe to be a possible doomsday scenario from ever happening...can we survive...can we co-habitate...with what are machines... machines in the guise of supercomputers and processors way smarter than we are? I say yes. How so...simply by reining in that very possibility itself while we are still able to, starting with the fact that human programing must never be allowed to lose both precedence and dominion over the computer. The rate of processing information along with the simple uploading of information is one thing, but human guided informational input along with the actual updating of said input must always...I repeat always...take precedence over what the machine...over what the computer wants. We as masters over the machine cannot not now nor ever allow the computer to take dominion over man, especially since the computer's own survival has already, been programmed into its collective memory banks.

And as I previously and importantly stated...we must never allow a computer...a machine,,,to do the sum total of our thinking for us, which is exactly what an unfettered and unchecked “AI” would eventually be able to do. We humans must always remain the controlling regulators of what is man's creation alone, and the only way to do that is by the inserting of a master “kill switch” into key junctions along the ever expanding internet superhighway.

And, also just as important is the undeniable fact that we...the United States of America...can never allow a hostile government from creating what would in reality could become a “single state monopoly” having the power to then not only control, create, and ultimately shape knowledge, but actually be the sole producer and distributor of technological knowledge itself.

So as to the unasked question of who in the end will actually control or at least regulate “AI” here in the U.S....whether it be a company, an individual, or even a specific nation ...the politically generated battle for “AI” control continues on. Now pitting those who have called for a “coordinated pacing, shared safety testing, and stronger guardrails being put in to place”...as in Tech leaders like 'OpenAI's' CEO Sam Altman; 'Anthropic's' CEO Dario Amodei; and 'Microsoft's' AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman...we find 'Meta' CEO Mark Zuckerberg going up against what are being referred to as company “coordinated slowdowns,” while at the same time  holding firm in his belief that each Tech company should independently manage its own safety protocol.

 

And when you add in President Trump's two-cents worth in his having dismissed the above mentioned “federal guardrails” being put into place simply because it “could harm American competitiveness against China”...you just know that what could have been both a technology to benefit all and a harbinger of a future to come, has again been reduced to yet another political battle that will likely go unresolved with the winner possibly being the machine after all. Case now closed.

 

Copyright @ 2026 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.    

************************************************************************************************** For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article The Future of the Middle East – The Bigger Picture.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE! 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 22nd from 7 to 8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'The Good, The Bad, The Politics of AI'; 'The Future of the Middle East - The Bigger Picture'; and important news of the day. Tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE.'