A lot of big claims are made about the transformative power of artificial intelligence. But it is worth listening to some of the big warnings too. Last month, Kate Crawford, principal researcher at Microsoft Research, warned that the increasing power of AI could result in a “fascist’s dream” if the technology were misused by authoritarian regimes.
“Just as we are seeing a step function increase in the speed of AI, something else is happening: the rise of ultra-nationalism, rightwing authoritarianism and fascism,” Ms Crawford told the SXSW tech conference.
The creation of vast data registries, the targeting of population groups, the abuse of predictive policing and the manipulation of political beliefs could all be enabled by AI, she said.