[Fis] AI is going to be wildly more devastating than any recent technology [ ??? ]
joe.brenner at bluewin.ch
joe.brenner at bluewin.ch
Fri Apr 24 17:02:47 CEST 2026
Dear Steve and Pedro and All,
Although there is nothing in Steve's note with which I fundamentally disagree, I find it "wildly" unrealistic in tone. To say only that our institutions "are under strain", or that people in the Middle East or the United States currently benefit from "democratic accountability" is refuted by every morning's news.
"Social arrangements" do not allow anything; the question is what people control AI and with what objectives. As Pedro's references show, most of the ways in which AI has been used have been anti-social, especially in areas impacting education, entertainment and elections. It is sad (for me, as an American Democrat) to read that Democrats have been forced into gerrymandering (artificially rearranging districts to further one's party) to try to recapture the House in September's elections.
So far, AI seems to have done - no, people have used AI to do - what Steve says in the next-to-last paragraph, namely, intensity existing inequalities as they are promoted by the dregs of our leading capitalists.
Does this all mean that FIS needs to have or sponsor a group of militants? No, I am only expressing my ignorance of what information and social action can and should look like to counter the actions of the Vances, Musks, Kennedy, Jrs. and Netanyahus. Perhaps Steve's own approach of Autopoetic Ecology (AE) has implications for the struggle.
Cheers,
Joe
> Le 24.04.2026 15:14 CEST, Steve Watson <sw10014 at cam.ac.uk> a écrit :
>
>
>
> Dear Pedro,
>
> Many thanks for sharing this.
>
> I agree that AI is one of the defining issues of our time, but I think the challenge is not only that the technology is powerful or fast-moving. It is that AI is entering societies whose institutions, labour markets, educational systems, legal frameworks and public cultures are already under strain. The danger is therefore not simply “AI” as a separate force arriving from outside, but the way it becomes woven into existing patterns of wealth, power, work, attention and decision-making.
>
> This is why I think we need to be careful about both panic and reassurance. Panic can make the future appear inevitable, as though societies can only wait for impact. Reassurance can be just as dangerous, because it treats AI as another tool that can be managed through ordinary adaptation. Neither seems adequate.
>
> The key question, for me, is what kinds of social arrangements will allow people, institutions and communities to remain viable under these new conditions. That includes work, of course, but also education, democratic accountability, public trust, environmental cost, and the distribution of risk. If the benefits of AI are concentrated while the disruptions are passed on to workers, students, local communities and fragile public institutions, then the issue becomes not innovation but legitimacy.
>
> So perhaps the task is not to predict whether AI will “destroy work” or “transform work” in any simple sense. It is to ask what forms of work, learning, care, judgement and participation we want to preserve, and what institutional changes are needed so that AI does not simply intensify existing inequalities. The future will not be decided by the technology alone. It will be shaped by the choices, silences, incentives and exclusions that surround its adoption.
>
> In that sense, I agree with the urgency of the warning. But I would frame the issue less as the arrival of a brave new world, and more as a test of whether our societies can still revise themselves before the costs of their current arrangements become impossible to displace.
>
> With best wishes,
>
> Steve
>
>
>
> --
>
>
> From: Fis <fis-bounces at listas.unizar.es> on behalf of Pedro C. Marijuán <pedroc.marijuan at gmail.com>
> Date: Wednesday, 22 April 2026 at 21:51
> To: 'fis' <fis at listas.unizar.es>
> Subject: [Fis] AI is going to be wildly more devastating than any recent technology [ ??? ]
>
>
> Dear List,
>
> We have barely talked on the big topic of our times. I am just resending some brief sentences that indeed depict a Brave, Brave New World (courtesy from Malcolm Dean).
>
> Best regards to all,
> --Pedro
>
> -------- Mensaje reenviado -------
> AI is something which is going to be wildly more devastating than any of the consequences of the mismanaged technologies of the last 15 years. and
> the consequences will crash land on societies all over the world. We are not prepared for these things at all economically, society, geopolitically, environmentally.
>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://dexhuntertorricke.com/__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!SBw9rsdknsVyQsRqjJPWNRuM4Sja7ndyCrjpXzQbcx6p3Fsh6Z8kuKF59_SSffvFH45SNyHcNtt8dbcArFY8c8ZHj0E$ https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://dexhuntertorricke.com/__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka45AxZ-u3$
> Dex Hunter-Torricke
>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.centerfortomorrow.com/__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!SBw9rsdknsVyQsRqjJPWNRuM4Sja7ndyCrjpXzQbcx6p3Fsh6Z8kuKF59_SSffvFH45SNyHcNtt8dbcArFY8TynmCX8$ https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.centerfortomorrow.com/__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka4353-Sqh$
> Center for Tomorrow
> THE NEXT DECADE IS THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL MOMENT IN HISTORY
> WE ARE NOT PREPARED
>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkPkzhsx_fI__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!SBw9rsdknsVyQsRqjJPWNRuM4Sja7ndyCrjpXzQbcx6p3Fsh6Z8kuKF59_SSffvFH45SNyHcNtt8dbcArFY8wWfvPn4$ https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkPkzhsx_fI__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka48G-Zl93$
> Trevor Noah, 19 April 2026 (excerpt) [ 5:52 ]
> The End of Work: Why your kids won't have careers in 15 years
>
> Forget simple automation. Dex Hunter-Torrick warns of a near-future where AI doesn't just change jobs, it destroys the prospect of a dignified life for millions. While 12 billionaires hoard more wealth than half the planet, the rest of society is heading toward a "crash landing." We have a narrow window to fix this.
>
> --
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!SBw9rsdknsVyQsRqjJPWNRuM4Sja7ndyCrjpXzQbcx6p3Fsh6Z8kuKF59_SSffvFH45SNyHcNtt8dbcArFY8KUmoam4$ https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka49EOR_lG$
> Trevor Noah, 9 April 2026 [ 1:13:39 ]
> Dex Hunter-Torricke: Translating the Titans of Tech
>
> In this episode, Trevor sits down with author and strategist Dex Hunter-Torricke, who has spent years behind the scenes with some of the most powerful people in tech, including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Eric Schmidt, and has seen influence move from institutions into the hands of a few companies and the people running them. Together, they explore what that shift feels like from the inside, how much power is concentrated at the top, accountability and the lack of it, and what it means when the people shaping the future are also writing the rules as they go.
>
>
> 00:00:00 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka49EOR_lG$ - The Trial That Changed Everything 00:00:58 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=58s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka49NhHxXb$ - The Name With a Secret Origin 00:02:12 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=132s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka45PmY-pp$ - Tech Giants and the Dutch East India Company 00:04:29 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=269s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka45HlzJJA$ - Growing Up the Only Brown Kid in Town 00:07:37 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=457s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka4yp468Rp$ - Why the UN Doesn't Actually Work 00:11:13 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=673s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka46ua6ScF$ - Why He Studied Russia Before It Was Cool 00:12:53 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=773s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka40BhT6Rx$ - Was Russia Always the Villain 00:19:33 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=1173s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka4xBpwB6V$ - Tech in 2010 Was Still Kind of Punk 00:23:23 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=1403s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka468Rv2Es$ - Wait You're In That Book 00:32:34 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=1954s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka49Uxe6I7$ - The Refugee Photo That Changed Everything 00:40:08 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=2408s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka4wCnQUA8$ - The Algorithm Is a Choice 00:41:55 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=2515s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka43gtBgwZ$ - They Weren't Evil Just Apathetic and That's Worse 00:49:16 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=2956s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka4wmmRrCN$ - Then He Went to Work for Elon 00:58:47 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=3527s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka40OOW6uK$ - From Space Dreams to War Machines 00:59:10 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ic4siIeiM&t=3550s__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!XyTKCk-xExTEWgtfvmGsmJZr8nvJ1UJx8Vq9yCjU0aeKgfgrKX0Q3Rz83RRlrq9_U_MUMGImudHXBPb8ZAka4yqhO4xY$ - The AI Reckoning Nobody Is Ready For
>
>
> ..
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