Throughout history, artificial intelligence (AI) has often been hailed as one of the most significant inventions of mankind. At the same time, AI has raised several critical observations and perspectives. The saying ”all that glitters is not gold” also applies to AI.
The research and development of AI are, in many ways, one of the most important scientific research tasks for the future. The far-reaching impact of AI on societies is already known, and it also has a strong political dimension. Once again, private international technology companies have been significant pioneers, while governments, politicians, and legislation lag far behind. The most concerning aspect, from a European perspective, is how totalitarian dictatorships like Russia and China have acknowledged the same phenomenon.
PROGRESS CAN GO IN TWO DIRECTIONS
In the May issue of the French magazine Le Point, an interesting discussion took place between two leading researchers in their fields, Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari and French AI researcher Yann Le Cun. The views and basic assumptions of these researchers regarding the impact of AI on politics, science, and social progress differed significantly.
Harari interestingly compares the invention of AI to the invention of the printing press and the radio. Harari skilfully distinguishes between the inventions. While the printing press or the radio themselves did not create any books or compositions, AI can produce both. Harari aptly reminds us of the significant impact the printing press had on numerous political and social changes in Europe and the rest of the world. The printing press fuelled and facilitated the spread of enlightenment ideas such as rational and scientific thinking, as well as the spread of individual rights. At the same time, the printing press also fuelled imperialism and the often expansionist, chauvinistic, and extremely ambitious foreign policies of Western countries. Thus, a progressive invention could have dual effects since the Middle Ages.
The situation was similar with the radio. After its emergence, the radio became the first real-time medium and enabled rapid information dissemination almost everywhere. This phenomenon did not go unnoticed by the Nazi propaganda machine in 1930s Germany. Nazi Germany combined the mass production of affordable radios with the accessibility of propaganda. The result is part of European history, which is still being examined.
Yann Le Cun, the leading AI researcher at Meta Corporation, examines AI in a much more positive framework than Harari. Le Cun believes that humanity may be on the verge of a new era of enlightenment because AI accelerates all scientific development and research, regardless of the field. Le Cun also notes how the internet itself opened a new era when the monopoly of information was broken, allowing anyone interested in AI to easily explore its possibilities. Furthermore, Le Cun argues that AI fosters the creation of new jobs in place of the old ones, in the spirit of creative destruction.
DOES DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COLLAPSE?
Yuval Noah Harari sees significant structural and inherent biases in AI that ultimately threaten democracy, knowledge, and progress. Harari envisions a scenario where new religious wars are intertwined with AI, and their combined impact on world peace would be fatal. Secondly, because of the ongoing erosion of democracy, thought, and knowledge, digital dictatorships could emerge in various parts of the world. The totalitarian power of such dystopian states could be unprecedented and unpredictable. Harari’s scenario strongly resembles Orwellian dystopia depicted in George Orwell’s famous novel 1984.
Regardless of the location, the remedy for distorted development is the same everywhere. Only education and literacy in their various forms can serve as a preventive buffer and the most effective counterforce against totalitarian power. As the Finnish author Ida Rauma aptly stated, ”a literate person is difficult to control.” Free information dissemination, freedom of speech, and expression are crucial at this point to determine the future direction of Western societies in the era of AI, for example.
Harari also sees a problem in how AI could lead to a development where humanity loses one of its most important resources: the interest in exploring human nature and human behaviour. According to Harari, AI creates conditions and situations where the focus is solely on maximizing the efficiency of various algorithms. In such a situation, in-depth analysis of human behaviour and actions would become secondary. The consequences of the collapse of social sciences, whose main purpose is to study human behaviour and various communities, would be catastrophic for political life and political discourse, extending to both national and international levels. In practice, a situation would arise where researched knowledge would no longer have any significance as a source for social and intellectual discussion. Thus, a dystopian society built on Putin-like lies would become a reality.
HOW DOES FINNISH POLITICS RESPOND TO HISTORICAL TRANSFORMATIONS?
One of the major weaknesses of Finnish politics and decision-making has been its inability to renew and reinvent itself for decades. Due to this chronic problem, something new should be created and tested. In this regard, AI could serve as an excellent instrument to assist decision-making or even guide it. Since AI is based on computer calculation and machine learning, it can be used in various contexts and applications, making its experimentation in political decision-making worthwhile.
It would be interesting, for example, to know what kind of healthcare reform AI would have produced compared to the current reform, which currently seems to serve the regional political objectives of the Center Party. Decades of political and ideological manoeuvring concerning healthcare reflect the weak decision-making and strategic thinking of Finnish politicians. The traditional Finnish political and societal decision-making is based on systems and structures that no longer meet the needs of this millennium. Decisions are made slowly and rigidly if they are made at all.
Concerning the societal and economic development, it is unfortunate how technology companies and politicians have existed in completely different realities regarding AI. In practice, states and political leaders have been decades behind in understanding technological advancements. As mentioned before, politicians and entire states have not comprehended the possibilities, but also the clear threats posed by AI. Instead of putting brakes on AI, its research should be intensified. Public sector and businesses should work together. The stakes are nothing less than the ability of the democratic system to renew itself and remain a credible alternative in the eyes of the voters.