The world's tech billionaires are starting to moderate their rhetoric on AI automation, but that doesn't mean it's all in good faith.

cross-posted from: https://kbin.earth/m/[email protected]/t/2771990

As data centers are shut down by angry mobs and AI surveillance cameras are ripped from their poles, the world’s tech billionaires and CEOs are waking up to the reality that the masses are, broadly speaking, not on board with their plan to automate the world with AI.

    • theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish
      52·
      3 days ago

      You don’t fund Genocide with your taxes. You pay taxes to the government and the government chooses to fund the genocide.

      If you vote for a candidate who wants to vote against genocide but that candidate loses and the winner votes in favor of genocide… did you support genocide by simply casting a vote?

      It’s a democracy (in theory). We pay taxes and we collectively decide what to spend one money on. It doesn’t matter how terrible the cause is. It changes nothing beyond how vigorously you need to oppose those who want to do terrible things.

      • Mulligrubs@lemmy.worldEnglish
        21·
        2 days ago

        You don’t fund Genocide with your taxes. You pay taxes to the government and the government chooses to fund the genocide.

        So, we fund genocide with our taxes. The least you could do is acknowledge it.

        • theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          Paying money into a pool from which good and bad things may be funded and having a specific bad thing (SBT) get funded is not the same as funding a SBT.

          If I refuse to pay my $1000 tax bill and the government decides to cut food aid to needy children by $1000 to compensate while still funding that SBT… was I funding the SBT or was I feeding needy children?

          If I pay my taxes to a government that doesn’t do the SBT, and they decide to start doing the SBT that fiscal year… did I fund the SBT?

          It’s simple - I was paying my taxes. The government chose to allocate some of that to do the SBT.

      • HasturInYellow@lemmy.world
        3·
        3 days ago

        If there is no way to forcefully avoid our government from participating in evils, why should I participate? Why should I not dedicate my every waking moment to dismantling that which aids evil? Do you feel that we, we the people, actually decide what our government does? Do you actually believe that the choices are free and open and reflective of the beliefs of the common American? That is the promise given in the contract that says I am to pay the government, and if the government is not going to fulfill its side, why should I?

        What other mechanism does the populace have to voice their displeasure with the actions of the people voted in? Because nothing stops people from doing an about face once in office.

        • theparadox@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          3 days ago

          Do you feel that we, we the people, actually decide what our government does? Do you actually believe that the choices are free and open and reflective of the beliefs of the common American?

          At this point in time, no and no. I’m not arguing against doing whatever it takes to stop the transparent corruption and greed that has taken power over the American government through the Trump administration. I’m arguing against the notion that, generally, not paying taxes is justified because you don’t like what those taxes fund.

          That is the promise given in the contract that says I am to pay the government, and if the government is not going to fulfill its side, why should I?

          This is what I said earlier:

          The only way to justify not paying taxes is to argue that you are being denied the ability to participate in the government system and have no legitimate recourse. Honestly, we are at that point now that the government is transparently corrupt. That’s just not the angle you were arguing.