The root cause of the AI crisis is our democracy

Long ago, America was ruled by a sole monarch. Over time, people grew sick and tired of having to follow his rules.

After a revolution, the Founding Fathers wrote a document called the Constitution. Fundamentally, the Constitution made it so that our government is accountable to the people.

The American Constitution is the longest-standing document of its kind. It has been amended numerous times, but its core tenets (eg. checks and balances, Federalism) are still alive today.

Back in the day, because of limited technology, the Founding Fathers instituted certain practical limits on democracy. Not everyone would vote on everything. Instead, we entrust representatives to create laws and run the country. These representatives would be trusted to serve the people, not faraway kings or wealthy oligarchs.

This system is certainly more democratic than a monarchy. Yet in today’s politics, we have seen some major drawbacks:

• Corruption. Politicians can take money from big business. Politicians need money to run campaigns and feed their families, so the money they receive influences their policy decisions.
• The Party Line. Politicians must think about their careers, and this typically means voting with their party rather than doing what they actually believe. It also means that politicians may privately hold stronger positions on issues but are afraid to voice them for fear of burning political capital.
• Attention. Politicians must make extremely complex policy decisions on dozens of issues simultaneously, meaning they simply don’t have the time to deeply understand every nuanced topic before them.

I believe these flaws have led to the collapse of effective governance over the past few decades. The downstream consequences are many: lack of economic mobility; dire homelessness and inequality; and ineffective government responses to crises like COVID-19 and climate change.

Today, we are facing the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced: the AI crisis.

We have seen increasing concentration of wealth and power driven by artificial intelligence. We have seen companies founded in idealism turn toward greed in pursuit of the one ring of power. We have seen the forces of unchecked, crony capitalism at work — spurring even the noblest of CEOs toward danger — while those same capitalists have lobbied our representatives to serve the interests of Big Tech rather than the American people. But time is running out.

Whoever holds powerful artificial intelligence — which may arrive this decade — could launch a coup against the U.S. government, create a totalitarian surveillance state, or wipe out the human race.

I believe the root of this crisis is not the technology itself, nor even the greed of individuals. The root of the crisis is our failing democracy.