Biden’s Latest Failures

Is Kamala Harris the Right Person to Tackle AI Risks?

The Associated Press reported on May 4 that Vice President Kamala Harris was set to meet with CEOs of major corporations involved in artificial intelligence research and production, including Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI. The meeting was to discuss the risks associated with AI and announce funding for seven new AI research institutes. While this is an important topic, the question remains: is Kamala Harris the right person to tackle the problems and dilemmas arising from Generative AI?

The Hubris of Progressives

The Progressives’ hubris never ceases to amaze. They flit from issue to issue, never bothering to consider the real-world effects and unintended consequences of the policies they take up and impose at whim. The disastrous situation on the border since Biden took office is a prime example. By overturning Trump-era enforcement policies and raising the prospect of comprehensive immigration reform that would provide amnesty for illegal immigrants, this administration contributed to record-levels of unauthorized border crossings and a spiraling humanitarian crisis.

• Biden said that Harris would run the government’s response to the border meltdown.
• The Pentagon was busy deploying military personnel on the southern border to brace for the coming surge in illegal immigration when emergency protocols end on May 11.
• No one at the White House seems to have noticed the jarring, continent-sized disparity between the president’s goals and his vice president’s competence.

One can only imagine the scene earlier this year when Biden, reviewing the deteriorating situation along the Rio Grande, turned to his second-in-command and said: “Heck of a job, Kamala. Now go figure out this AI thing.”

The Surgeon General’s War on Loneliness

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently declared that “loneliness and isolation” is an “epidemic,” an “underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and social health.” He issued an 82-page public health advisory on the subject, warning that loneliness can be as physically damaging as cigarette smoke. He described “six pillars to advance social connection.”

Left unmentioned are the returns on these “investments.” Tobacco use is down, to be sure, thanks to decades of punitive and regressive taxation and the paternalistic regulation of public spaces. That’s the success story. There aren’t many others.

The federal government took up obesity as a cause during George W. Bush’s administration, but American waistlines, like the cosmos, keep on expanding. As for addiction, drug overdose death rates continue to climb. Alcohol-related deaths are on the rise, as well. Somehow excessive drinking, which surely is worse for your health than feeling lonesome, is not as urgent a priority for the surgeon general as the abstract concept of “social connection.”

His report on loneliness is noteworthy for its total lack of self-consciousness, its determined refusal to take responsibility for the public health establishment’s conduct during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Future of AI

While the risks associated with AI are important, it remains to be seen if Kamala Harris is the right person to tackle them. With the current administration’s track record, it’s hard to have faith in their ability to handle such groundbreaking technology. By the time they “solve” Generative AI, ChatGPT may be running the executive branch. We could do worse. Artificial intelligence is intelligent, after all. The same can’t be said of America’s Progressive elite.