( A six-minute read)

Are we all stupid?

This is the door which Artificial intelligence is walking through –  human stupidity, not ignorance.

Why?

Because stupidity is not wanting to acquire knowledge but to Google it.

Intelligence may well be primarily biological property. Wisdom, however, is knowing and recognizing the limitations of one’s knowledge which is disappearing into the Google cloud.

IT TAKES CONSIDERABLE KNOWLEDGE JUST TO REALIZE THE EXTENT OF YOUR OWN IGNORANCE.

So it’s reasonable to say that most of us are grossly ignorant about the world in which we live but why are we in such a rush to sacrifice our humanistic qualities such as navigation, long-term planning, working out the solutions, finding a partner, protecting our privacy.

Perhaps it, because we are all so naive, about our ignorance that we are allowing algorithms to feed on this new uninformed and unaware stupidity.

MASS STUPIDITY HAS UNDERMINED DEMOCRACY SINCE ITS INCEPTION WITH THE MISGUIDED MEANDERING AND THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY.

This is not going to change soon however if democracy is to survive the electorate need to be informed to make evidence-based decisions. Not by Facebook, Twitter, and Social Media that are creating mass delusion overwhelming good sense.

Deliberation requires intelligence and knowledge.

IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND A TOPIC THEN YOU SHOULD NOT VOTE ON IT AS IT MORE THAN LIKELY THAT YOU HAVE LITTLE COMPREHENSION OF THE CONSEQUENCES, AS THERE IS NO TRUE MEANING IN WHATEVER COURSE OF ACTION YOU CHOOSE TO TAKE – TAKE BREXIT FOR EXAMPLE.

The electorate is now voting on sound bits, on one line twits, on the sensationalist of false news, and anecdotal evidence.

The result is post-truth direct politics driven by a media that is more interested in promoting trash as it sells.

The arguments are that free requires knowledge but the mere fact of having a choice is not a basis on which to judge the influence of Algorithms run by platforms that have no culture base, and are void of any knowledge of the consequences.

WE NOW IN A CATCH-22 SITUATION.

THE ELECTED GOVERNMENTS IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN DEMOCRACY MUST KEEP PEOPLE VOTING.

CAMPAIGNS ARE SHALLOW AND DUMPED-DOWN FOR THE MASSES SO THAT THE ISSUES ACTUALLY BEING VOTE FOR ARE IRRELEVANT TO WHAT THE POLITICIANS WANT TO DO.  ONLY A SHALLOW, ALMOST FAKE, DEMOCRACY IS UPHELD.

RESULTING IN A FORM OF POPULISM GOVERNED BY SMARTPHONE/SOCIAL MEDIA ALGORITHMS.

ALL CREATING A FORM OF POLLUTION OR MALIGNANT INFECTION OF THE HUMAN MIND. SUPPORTED BY MULTINATIONAL PLATFORMS PENETRATED BY PROFIT AND FALSE NEWS.

Elizabeth Warren D -Mass is endeavoring to introduce legislation in the USA to make the largest the USA accountable to employees and their local communities, not just shareholders. THE ACCOUNTABLE CAPITALISM ACT.

She rightly says, that in the twenty-century companies started operating in a way that made them slaves to shareholders.

Between 2007 and 2016, large companies dedicated 93% OF THEIR EARNINGS TO SHAREHOLDERS.

IF WE WANT TO SAVE DEMOCRACY WE SHOULD ALSO DO THE SAME ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND, ALONG WITH AN ACCOUNTABLE PLATFORM ACT. THAT LEGALLY REQUIRES GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, WHATS IT AND ANY OTHER PLATFORM TO VET ANY CONTENT PRIOR TO ALLOWING IT BE POSTED. 

ALSO, IT WOULD NOT GO AMISS TO PASS A  GOVERNMENT MINISTERS ACCOUNTABLE ACT AND TO INTRODUCE STRATIFIED VOTING WHEN IT COMES TO GENERAL ELECTIONS.

It all shows how little we really know about what we imagine an ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT WORLD WILL LOOK LIKE. NOSEDIVING INTO RASH POPULARISM.

IF WE DONT SOON START VOTING WITH DELIBERATION THE ENTIRE DEMOCRATIC PROJECT RUNS THE RISK OF FAILURE.

TO GOVERN WELL, LONG TERM STRATEGIES NEED TO BE ADOPTED BEYOND THE NEXT ELECTION THE NEXT GENERATION  – CLIMATE CHANGE,

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks chucked in the bin.