What exactly is the NEED for artificial intelligence in our society? I’m well aware of all the clamoring surrounding AI. Every giant tech firm is investing tens of billions of dollars in the technology and the amounts continue to rise. In fact, the only reason for the ballooning stock market is the 7 largest tech companies’ investment in the AI field. If not for AI, Trump’s tariffs would have sunk our economy months ago. But, beyond that, why are we doing this? There are some pretty intelligent, knowledgeable voices out there saying, “Be careful”, but we take no heed. Of course, we don’t listen because what value do intelligence and knowledge currently have in this society? Worthless compared to bombast and conspiracies.

AI worries me. The dangers are real and significant, but are ignored. My fears aren’t based on technology in general. I consider myself an “early adopter” of new tech. Didn’t I get rid of my flip phone 2 years ago? And I write all of this on the World Wide Web. So, I think my bona fides in technology speak for themselves.

I am aware of the potential benefits of AI. Superintelligence will be able to pose and solve problems far beyond human capacity and, from this, society will benefit by… That’s where I run into a bit of a problem. I think some of the dangers that AI poses dwarf the potential benefits. I know AI will greatly reduce labor costs for industry (is that good?) and I can easily see how AI will further divide all of the world’s societies into “haves” and “have nots” (not a good thing). College students will never have to write another term paper and Trump administration lawyers will never have to write another brief. Those are 2 benefits certainly for anyone having to read their work, but let’s quickly look at some dangers that AI poses.

Environmental Harms – Gigantic AI data centers consume vast amounts of water and electricity. One study estimates that training a single natural language model emits over 600,000 pounds of carbon monoxide, about 5 times the amount of an automobile over its lifetime. For one model. An investigation by Red Canary Magazine found that 60 AI data centers in the Phoenix area used 177 million gallons of water per day. Every day. In water starved Phoenix. Even in these early stages, the need for electricity to power AI is alarming. Currently, AI requires 7.4% of the power for the state of Arizona and 11.4% for Oregon. An ever-increasing power drain on an already over taxed power grid. Put simply, with so many of these gigantic data centers being located in sparsely populated areas, society’s need for potable water and AI’s unquenchable thirst for water and power are on a collision course in the American west. I always had trouble with this in biology class: what is necessary to sustain life – water or artificial intelligence?

Security Threats – Hackers and criminals will use AI to generate fake identities and create convincing phishing emails to scam innocent people. Already happening. The vast data sets that will be accessed by AI models will make it easier to steal people’s identities. Cyberattacks will be much more widespread, devastating, and disruptive.

Job Losses – Expansion of AI will lead to a reduction in the number of positions in many fields. These include, but are not limited to, clerical, secretarial, and customer service roles. This is alarming to many people, myself included, because it is easy to see what levels of our socioeconomic system will be most harmed by this change. Guess what? It won’t be the rich and educated. I saw that an IBM response to this concern was to adopt a proactive approach “that considers how employees can use AI tools to enhance their work, focusing on augmentation rather than replacement”. What corporate horseshit language that is. They’ll be gone for good.

Lack of Transparency – This is probably the biggest issue with AI. These models are “black boxes” so complicated that even their creators (AI researchers) cannot tell you how they arrive at a particular prediction or conclusion. This opaqueness erodes trust and obscures the potential dangers of AI. Also, if the AI model creators do not even understand how they work, how can anyone alter, improve, or stop them? Particularly, as we move into the realm of superintelligence when these algorithms will be far beyond human intellectual capacity. How do you stop something that is much more intelligent than you and that is beyond your comprehension?

The above are just a few of the simple, straightforward concerns around the incredible growth of AI in our world. Threats posed by AI may actually be catastrophic. The US State Department commissioned a report to assess how “AI is aligned with its goal to protect US interests at home and abroad”. The report, released in February 2024, states that advanced AI systems could “pose an extinction-level threat to the human species”. That should make you sit up and take notice. (On a separate note: what do you think the chances are that report would have been released during the current administration?)

I know there are benefits to building faster, smarter computers. I know society moves ever forward. I just believe that when all of society rushes headlong towards a brass ring that no one completely understands, there is a great likelihood for calamity. Probably not short term, but certainly long term. Of course, I may be wrong, but I challenge any of you to watch a video of the inside of one of these data centers with its row upon row of thousands of machines computing constantly and tell me that this is the path for mankind into the future. It is not, but it is probably already too late.

Full disclosure: The image at the top of this article is AI generated. I’m such a hypocrite.

Post Notes

What were all those dreams we shared

so many years ago?

What were all those plans we made

now left beside the road?

Behind us in the road.

Pearl Jam

* The Farmers Almanac will cease production with its 2026 edition. After 208 years, the Almanac and its incredibly incorrect long range weather forecasts are no more. I can actually remember, growing up in Pennsylvania, having people quote the Almanac about the upcoming winter. Of course, they were being taken away by men in white at the time, but still.

* Trump announced that he’s on top of this whole “Affordability” thing. He told America that the Walmart Thanksgiving meal was 25% cheaper this year than it was last year under “Sleepy Joe Biden”. It is important to note, however, that the 2024 Walmart meal included 29 items and the 2025 meal had only 15 items. The dropped items included: pecan pie, cranberry sauce, whipped cream, mini marshmallows, sweet potatoes, celery, onions, and others. Also, some brand items had been replaced by cheaper Walmart brands. Final thought on this: Walmart is consistently devious and Trump is an idiot. So, nothing new here.

* The power of corporate America over the rest of us is personified in the current standoff between Disney (ESPN) and YouTube TV (Google). Two behemoth companies worth hundreds of billions of dollars that literally do not have to care about their customers because the actual companies that provide these services are such a small part of the conglomerates that they do not matter. Teddy Roosevelt must be spinning in his tomb.

*Always hear the phrase, “If it all ended tomorrow..” followed by some sage philosophical observation that tries to put all of this into perspective. If it all ended tomorrow for me I’d wonder why I exercised so much and gave up alcohol and didn’t eat all those delicious, fatty foods and passed up dessert. If it all ended tomorrow, I’d be pissed. So much for wise philosophy.

Be good, Stay healthy. Get your vaccines this fall. Vote. Even if there’s not an election – vote.