Legal scholar Jonathan Turley set Bill Gates straight after the Microsoft founder called for using artificial intelligence (AI) to combat “political polarization” and “digital misinformation.”
As Slay News reported, Gates is pushing a disturbing dystopian plan to censor information online.
Speaking during a new podcast interview with German news media outlet Handelsblatt, Gates argues that AI should be used to police the speech of humans on the Internet.
When asked about “political polarization” and “misinformation,” Gates gave the Jan. 6 as an example, which he referred to as an “attack” against the Capitol.
He continued by declaring that he’s still “in a state of shock” over people questioning the 2020 election results.
“I’m certainly concerned about political polarization, and I know the U.S. situation best of all,” Gates said.
“I wouldn’t have expected people to attack the Capitol, or people to deny the validity of election results.
“I’m in a state of shock about that.”
Turley fired back at Gates over the plan, likening him to the Star Trek villain ‘The Borg.’
Turley said:
“In a recent chilling interview, Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates called for the use of artificial intelligence to combat not just ‘digital misinformation’ but ‘political polarization.’
“He is only the latest to call for the use of either AI or algorithms to shape what people say or read on the internet.
“The danger of such a system is evident where free speech, like resistance, could become futile.
“In an interview on a German program, ‘Handelsblatt Disrupt,’ Gates calls for unleashing AI to stop certain views from being ‘magnified by digital channels.’
“Gates added that AI can combat ‘political polarization’ by checking ‘confirmation bias.’
“Confirmation bias is a term long used to describe the tendency of people to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms their own beliefs.
“It is now being used to dismiss those with opposing views as ignorant slobs dragging their knuckles across the internet — people endangering us all by failing to accept the logic behind policies on COVID, climate change, or a host of other political issues.
“This is not the first call for AI overlords to protect us from ourselves,” Turley continues.
“Last September, Gates gave the keynote address at the Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy.
“He told his fellow billionaires that ‘polarization and lack of trust is a problem.’
“The problem is again … well … people: ‘People seek simple solutions [and] the truth is kind of boring sometimes.’
“Not AI, of course. That would supply the solutions,” Turley mocked.
“Otherwise, Gates suggested, we could all die: ‘Political polarization may bring it all to an end, we’re going to have a hung election and a civil war.’
“Others have suggested a Brave New World where citizens will be carefully guided in what they read and see.
“Democratic leaders have called for a type of ‘enlightened algorithms’ to frame what citizens access on the Internet.
“Social media responded to such calls and engaged in widespread censorship of those who held opposing views of mask mandates, vaccine safety, school mandates, and the origin of COVID-19.
“Many of those criticisms and views are now acknowledged as plausible and legitimate, but scientists were banned and censored.
“President Biden joined in these calls for censorship, often sounding like a censor-in-chief.
“Currently, Microsoft, the company Gates founded, uses NewsGuard, a self-described arbiter of misinformation, which rates sites and has been widely criticized for targeting conservative media.
“Now, this work could be turned over to an AI Overlord.
“Of course, the intelligence remains artificial,” he said.
“A human has to program what is truth and what is intolerable ‘polarization.’
Turley cites ChaptGPT, an AI chatbot that has been incorporated by Microsoft into its Bing search engine.
ChatGPT has shown an incredible bias against conservatives and has been unsurprisingly favorable to liberal points of view.
Conservatives accuse ChatGPT of giving liberal answers on affirmative action, diversity and transgender rights. OpenAI CEO admits bias “shortcomings.”https://t.co/hHDtvI65fh
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) February 13, 2023
