• Katana314@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    The other important point to make:

    It’s normal to view wild ideas like troves of automated users with some skepticism. But consider: Foreign entities would likely have a huge incentive to destabilize domestic elections. If you were them, and had plenty of spare personnel, and A.I. resources…what would you do?

    • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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      6 months ago

      If I were Russia or China and I had the ability to influence US elections, I would try to stabilize the country. I’d want someone predictable who I can negotiate with and reasonably expect to have agreements last more than 4 years. This is what Putin said to Tucker, by the way, explaining why he’d prefer Biden over Trump, so that he can negotiate a lasting treaty. China, with all its economic ties to the US, would likely feel the same (though with all of Biden’s jingoism and saber-rattling, I don’t know that there’s much difference from that perspective).

      Geopolitics is not a zero-sum game, and the world is more complex than moustache-twirling cartoon villains. Destabilizing the US means the most militarized country in the world acting completely unpredictably and lashing out randomly to distract from problems at home.

      Also, like, it’s easy to make a bot but it’s harder to make a bot that actually sounds like a human being and is able to make coherent arguments. Throwing around accusations based purely on a person’s stance, even when the format isn’t bot-like at all, is pure paranoia. It’s just a way to categorically dismiss everything you disagree with without consideration.

      Also also, what about the US intelligence community? Surely they’d have both means and motive to influence political discussions, moreso on both than foreign governments. Why aren’t you concerned about that? Or what about the possibility of corporations hiring people to say stuff? Wouldn’t it be way easier for entities that are based on America who could hire Americans directly?

      It’s really a nonsense belief that falls apart under scrutiny. But what it really is is a symbolic belief. It’s obviously not true but by saying it you can performatively demonstrate your loyalty to the US government and hatred of the Other. There’s no evidence for it and it’s unfalsifiable.

      • Katana314@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Russia already interfered with the 2016 election, so they disagree with you.

        AI doesn’t have to be used as an autoprompter. Paid workers can still review their output or use them for prompting.

        If I were Chinese, I might suspect the US intelligence committee enacting foreign influence. But locally, they want functioning government so they get paid.

        Also, besides the over-the-top insults, note this guy’s account is new.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Russia already interfered with the 2016 election

          Unless you’ve got evidence that James Comey works for the FSB, I’m not sure how this miniscule ad buy sank Hillary ten points in the polls from October.

        • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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          6 months ago

          Russia already interfered with the 2016 election, so they disagree with you.

          Well, you asked what I would do. I don’t think it’s rational for Russia to destabilize the US right now which is consistent with Putin’s current stated position. Of course he could easily be lying, and he did support Trump in the past. It’s possible that he’s consistently pro-Trump, but it’s also possible that his priorities changed based on changing circumstances, or that his perception of Trump changed after seeing him in office. It’s impossible to know what’s going on in his head, but it is possible to speculate based on what would benefit him and what he’s said.

          AI doesn’t have to be used as an autoprompter. Paid workers can still review their output or use them for prompting.

          Convenient! That means that you can accuse anyone you disagree with of being a bot, regardless of evidence! I imagine that’s much easier than engaging with conflicting ideas.

          But locally, they want functioning government so they get paid.

          A government doesn’t have to be particularly well-functioning in order to afford to pay it’s spies. Unless we’re talking about total collapse and balkanization of the US, they’re still getting paid. In the meantime, they’re free to persue whatever agenda they want with no oversight, and even when they do get caught, not only are they not punished or stopped, but whoever exposed the crime becomes an enemy of the state and is hunted to the ends of the earth.

          Also, besides the over-the-top insults, note this guy’s account is new.

          My cashier at the grocery store was wearing reflective glasses (clearly this means they’re a lizard person hiding their slit pupils), my barber asked me how my day was going (clearly he’s an FBI agent collecting data about my life) and a person I disagreed with online had a new account (clearly a paid agent of a foreign government).

          Tell me, how long have you had these sorts of beliefs?