TT(O)M

The "Stop Bitching" Part A lot of people are against AI. Blaming the tool instead of the people and entities who own, control and run it is the easy option, and it changes nothing. It directs anger at the thing you can see rather than at those making the decisions. Those who benefit at society's expense have no reason to correct you. They stay out of view, collect the returns, and let the public argue with a technology that cannot be held to account. That anger does not trouble those with media reach, political access and money. It does cost you something, though. It crowds out the uses of AI that would help people, and it leaves the decisions that actually matter to those who turn up to make them. When people worry about AI and jobs, they usually mean something immediate: whether their employer will still need them, whether their children will find a first job, whether their pay will cover the bills, and whether learning another skill will be enough to maintain and ...

The "Stop Bitching" Part A lot of people are against AI. Blaming the tool instead of the people and companies who own and run it is the easy option, and it changes nothing. It points the anger at the thing you can see rather than at the people making the decisions. Those who benefit at society's expense have no reason to correct you. They stay out of view, collect the returns, and let the public argue with a technology that cannot be held to account. That anger does not trouble anyone with media reach, political access and money. It does cost you something, though. It crowds out the uses of AI that would help people, and it leaves the decisions that actually matter to whoever turns up to make them. When people say AI is wrecking the environment, they usually mean something specific and local: the massive industrial shed going up a few fields away, the water it will draw in a dry summer, the hum at two in the morning, the lorries on a road built for tractors, and a po...

Many people feel they can do little about the decisions taken by those who represent them. Between election cycles, people, groups and communities should use all the tools available to them to make their voices heard. That might mean writing to or calling their representatives, posting their grievances on social media, or gathering in public to be heard. In short, anyone affected by an issue should raise awareness and seek redress by every lawful means available. When candidates do something positive, a like or a repost goes a long way. It tells them the work was noticed, and it tells people who missed it. Behind the polished façade a candidate presents to the public there may be an agenda shaped by personal belief, or paymasters who have already bought their loyalty on certain subjects. A candidate who depends on super PACs or big money has an interest in keeping those backers happy, and small donors cannot compete with that. Every few years you get to vote. It is your chance to ch...