A Mad World Made Madder by AI

Photo by Jan Kopřiva: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-wearing-red-hoodie-3281130/

 

The world looked like it had finally become a better one, at the end of the 20^th century. The Cold War was already a relic of history and a globalised world that preferred trade to war promised a future which was unmistakably bright. Countries around the world were growing richer and travel between nations by the peoples of the world was ushering in an almost utopian era of peace and prosperity. Russia the successor state of the erstwhile Soviet Union was no longer an enemy of the West and had in fact adopted a free market economy where all the major Western brands had a prominent place.

 

Western movies were freely shot in Russia often starring Russian actors and Russian airlines flew Boeing and Airbus aircraft. China became the flavour of the world, manufacturing every conceivable product for nations across the globe. India on the other hand excelled at technology services and became a force to be reckoned with in the world of software.

 

At long last, the world seemed to be getting its act together and choosing economic growth, peace and prosperity over strife and violence. There were conflicts, of course, in the Middle East, parts of Africa and elsewhere, but the general trajectory was in the right direction.

The world was gearing up to fight the greatest challenge to its very existence in the shape of climate change and it seemed that everyone was on the same page about what really mattered.

 

Until it all unraveled. Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and shattered the illusory era of peace and bonhomie that the world has begun to believe was normal. When its revisionist leader invaded Ukraine the world was dragged back decades to not just the Cold War era, but the times of Hitler and the Second World War.

 

And then Trump happened to the world. He took a hammer and dismantled the carefully constructed global order largely put in place by his own country, the United States. The phenomenal rise of China as an economic and military power, which America itself helped create now threatened the latter’s global hegemony and had to be checked. The way to do it was to destroy the rules based global order of trade which led to the emergence of other powers in the world that challenged the predominant nature of American power.

 

So that needed to be destroyed and an era of uncertainty unleashed upon the world where nations couldn't tell between friend and foe, as they could in the past. We now live in a dog eat dog world where things like climate change, fighting disease and chronic poverty are the least of any nation’s priorities anymore.

 

If things couldn't get any worse, we now have the spectre of AI or Artificial Intelligence and Robotics destroying every known profession. Doctors, teachers, lawyers, can drivers, factory workers, actors, artists, musicians and everybody else is on the verge of redundancy. This is going to inevitably happen and not in the very distant future.

 

As to who will benefit from this seminal translation is not clear. Will it be the governments of the world, the corporates or the people be in charge? Are we going to see the dawn of a brave new world where AI will take care of everything and mankind will be free to pursue higher interests or are we to replicate the scenario so well depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster Matrix?