Day 1 in Davos: Using AI to usher in a 'safe digital future'
Each annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, spearheaded by Klaus Schwab and his puppets, has a different theme. This year, it's all about gaining trust — oh, we wonder why they feel the need to do that?
The first day of meetings was comprised of many subjects, ranging from the use of artificial intelligence on the street, ushering in a “safe” digital future, to even central bank digital currencies.
Let's begin by talking about AI on the street.
The WEF's angle is that as social unrest and organized retail crime has spiked over the last year, many governments and businesses have turned to artificial intelligence, including facial recognition, to bolster law enforcement.
The expanding scope of this technology has led to public concern and calls for regulation, but investment growth looks set to continue.
How can we ensure that the use of AI in public services and spaces does not conflict with the public interest?
With the use of China's artificial intelligence, from robotic dogs barking COVID orders at citizens, to the drones in Shanghai restricting citizens from singing on their balconies, we have seen the effects of what happens when you let a control-hungry government use these tactics because they believe that this is for a “greater cause”.
We haven't and will not forget.
To tie this in with Canada, the WEF's experimental ground, according to True North, Justin Trudeau's government has announced that it has worked with airlines to consider requiring “digital identity documents” and biometric data like facial recognition for pre-aircraft boarding requirements.
What a coincidence.
The WEF has plans to “usher in a safer digital future” — with their angle being that with 4.8 billion internet users globally, all forms of harmful content online need to be tackled. Pervasive issues such as health misinformation, terrorist content, and state-sponsored informational campaigns contribute to a complex environment where long-standing problems, including online exploitation and abuse, also persist.
The WEF's idea of a “safer future” is an obvious one, but safer for who exactly?
Online censorship has reached a point where it's out of control. An open online discourse of ideas is now considered a threat to democracy, when historically the sharing ideas is the epitome of a fair and democratic society.
What's changed?
When did more free speech become a radical proposal? And who does this benefit? And finally, the topic of central bank digital currencies, or “CBDCs”, where the WEF claims that this has the potential to reshape the financial systems to be more inclusive — inclusive to who, exactly?
The truth is, if this system is implemented, your government would have complete and total control over your spending habits. If the state does not like your purchasing habits, or your carbon usage, what happens? And that's not even mentioning government officials literally calling for money to be programmable or even hacked.
We'll say this again: who does this benefit?
