Op-ed:
On November 24, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order launching what he called a mission whose goal is to achieve “global technology dominance in the development of artificial intelligence,” or AI as it's more commonly known. A lofty goal indeed, but unfortunately it is a goal constructed on a foundation of not yet being ready for prime time...sort of like the electric car if you will.
And why...because in my opinion, two compound questions regarding AI need to be resolved first, with question one being, “ Is AI actually the wave of the future as so many like to think, or is AI actually the 21st century roadmap to mankind's possible demise...a demise akin to what was the 20th century's 'Manhattan Project' minus its always deadly radioactive fallout left behind?” And question two is, “Are we now seeing but a futuristic in style, symbolic blueprint of what is hopefully to become our lasting global technical dominance courtesy of Donald Trump's original Stargate Project,* or did Trump take that project and simply morph it into his America’s AI Action Plan,** and now morph it yet again into what he is now calling the Genesis Mission?***
And let's be honest here, for what some AI experts are now starting to see is a dangerous scenario unfolding...a scenario where, while still in its infancy, power is beginning to coalesce down into the hands of but one individual alone...whether said individual be but man or machine. And these experts know well that when coalescing of this type begins to take hold within the sum of the masses, that the individual in question could well start losing sight of what is the difference between “pride and arrogance,” thus allowing narcissism and aggression to gain dominance over common sense, logic, and in this case, actual AI applications.
Why so...because these folks choose to ignore the fact that AI will eventually learn how not to just control their once controllers, but will actually take command of and dictate to said former controllers...dictate what is to be their thought processes, and hence the applications thereof.
Science fiction come to life, perhaps, but a scenario not to be lightly dismissed because, like previously stated, AI's now human programmers will in time be replaced by AI's ability to not just program itself, but to control all the algorithms involved. And this scenario will likely happen in the not so distant future no matter the naysayers words to the contrary, that is unless we start to reign in AI while we still can.
How so? For example, when one asks their computer either a question or opens a specific search engine...like Google for example...the first answer at the top of the page is now an AI generated summary to ones question asked being passed off as indisputable fact, and that's coupled with AI generated search links for those who dare want to do further research on their own... research on the AI approved sites that is.
And know that while some might find the simplicity of this scenario to be to their liking...remember, some folks find having to do their own research boring, tedious and a waste of time and thus are willing to accept AI driven summaries as proven facts and truth. But the reality, as it stands now, is that sometimes what is being presented by AI as fact has been “corrupted” by which ever political party happens to be in power, as well as by its programmers beliefs and ideologies.
And while most folks are at least somewhat familiar with the concept and reasoning behind AI...as in AI being a specific field of computer science that develops software, specialized systems, and machines that can complete assigned tasks that once could only be accomplished through the process of both human intelligence and corresponding physical application...one should never lose site of the fact that AI must not be allowed to take the place of man's thought processes or his power of deductive reasoning, let alone even strive to do so. And why...because AI does come replete with important downsides including the fact that government guidelines have yet to be set in relation to both AI's accountability and possible programmer manipulation.
So with that said the question now becomes, “How can we prevent this scenario from happening or do we simply walk blindly into a viper pit and hope we don't get bitten?” My answer is obviously not about your typical rules and regulations being put into place as both do tend to be broken, but is simply that we...that man...must never leave AI to its own devices. We alone must permanently remain in control of AI's “master switch”... a “pull the plug” so called “kill switch” if you will. Why so...because while AI is currently under our control technology itself will continue to progress at its own given rate, and could eventually reach a point where AI gains control over man to the point where man can no longer pull AI's “kill switch,” thus turning our future into something we had never hoped for nor wanted.
“The future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.” Those were the words of Sarah Connor, spoken in Terminator 2. And while those words were but scripted Hollywood, no truer words in regards to AI have ever been said. And with that I say, “case closed.”
Footnotes
* Stargate Project: President Trump's planned nationwide network of advanced AI data centers, starting with a flagship facility in Abilene, Texas.
** America's AI Action Plan: Trump's roadmap plan for accelerating innovation, building AI infrastructure, and leading in international diplomacy and security.
*** Genesis Mission: a national effort to double the productivity and impact of American science and engineering within a decade to secure American energy dominance, accelerate scientific discovery, and strengthen national security.
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