A few years ago I picked up a book I found at my parents’ house and gave it ago. The title “1984” printed in big bold letters drew my attention and the first page retained it. I was mesmerzed by this fictional yet not so distant distopic reality George Orwell wrote about. The powerful surveilling, the masses manipulated to be kept in line, cameras watching every step they take.
Testing Phase:
Seems crazy to think about it in a time where we value freedom of speech so much; nevertheless, baby step by baby step, we seem to get tested on our obedience. And one big change has rekindled my memories about the book, our powerful companion, AI. The AI community is divided into 3 groups: The optimists, the deniers, and the skeptics. I admittedly belong to the last one. I love and at the same time fear the power of AI. It can make my dreams and ideas come true in seconds, but it can also be devastating and terrifying if it falls into the wrong hands. Now, after recent news in the UK of the Introduction of Digital IDs and the European Commission proposal for access to private chats in the name of “security”, what I feared just got closer to reality. Fueled by the UK’s prime minister’s proposal for the use of technological and AI systems to link all our documentation and access to our bank accounts, and the EU’s scheduled voting for the 14th of October to access private messages, concerns me. But this begs the question…
Who is powering this?
Let’s talk about Palantir, a company that offers data analytics platforms that aid governments and businesses in reading Vast and complex data sets in order to find solutions and make decisions. At first doesn’t seem very harmful, right? Just a tool to make businesses and governments more efficient, but reality ain’t always black and white. Moreover, it is one of the leading companies on the innovation of data analysis and storage through AI systems For example, the numerous contracts with US defense ministery, intelligence community, links to Snowden’s NSA’s massive data privacy exposure, and support of AI tools in military contexts for Israel concering actions in the Gaza strip show the frightening reality that AI heads for if kept in the wrong hands. Oppression, terror, misinformation, and censorship are not new to mankind, but are escalating once again and threatening to plunge the globe once again into dark times that we have witnessed in the past. So let’s…
Cherish the Present but defend the Future.
In 2025, “1984” seems to be more relevant than ever. We are sold the dream that AI will facilitate our workloads and achieve our dreams, but subsequently also take away our freedom. It is frightening, invasive, and we seem to get no say on it. Let’s learn from the past and advocate for a better future, or else be ready to welcome Big Brother…
If you haven’t read this book, I urge you to do it; if you have, let me know if you see any resemblance with today’s reality.
