Mutually Assured Destruction 2.0

by C. A. Matthews

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) --The threat of massive retaliation using nuclear weapons should a potential enemy use them first, both sides being annihilated in the event of war. --Wiktionary

Mutually Assured Destruction 2.0 (MAD 2.0)–The same as above, only this time artificial intelligence technology (AI) plays a dominant role in humanity’s self-annihilation. —C.A.M.

Growing up in the second half of the twentieth century had its challenges. I don’t remember where or when I first learned about the Cold War or the Red Scare, but I recall by the time I hit fourth grade I knew that the “Commies” were to be feared. Why? The Reds had weapons called nuclear bombs, and if they ever decided to drop one or more on the US, that would be the end of me and my family.

A little later in my schooling, I found out that the US also possessed nuclear weapons. In fact we were the first and only country to ever use them on another country, destroying the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This knowledge created a conundrum. Were Americans the “baddies” in this situation for dropping nuclear bombs on Japan—especially for bombing civilians?

I remember learning about “Mutually Assured Destruction” in a high school current events class. My teacher didn’t seem overly concerned, but he didn’t seem too excited about “MAD” as it was nicknamed, either. MAD really was mad or crazy, I came to realize. Who in their right mind would think stockpiling nuclear weapons in order to scare other countries from attacking you—while they in turn stockpile the same kind of weapons—is a good game to play? It makes no sense to me to this day.

Flash forward to last weekend. I attended a workshop entitled, “The AI War Machine: Traditional vs. AI Warfare,” at the Green Party’s Annual National Meeting. The Greens’ motto is “people, planet and peace.” So, what has AI got to do with people, the planet, or making and keeping the peace? Plenty!

If there were AI controlled fighter drones in 1945, would the US have stopped their nuke bombing after only two cities? One reason the US didn’t continued was because human beings flew the planes. Those who witnessed the atomic bombs explode over Hiroshima or Nagasaki found it an awesome experience—meaning they were filled with awe at the tremendous power they had unleashed. It brings up the thought, “Have we gone too far?” Over the decades, more and more have expressed fear, horror, sadness, and regret about what these two atomic bombings did to our fellow human beings.

That’s not a problem if you’re an operator of a “Fury drone”, an AI controlled fighter drone currently manufactured in Pickaway County, Ohio, just south of Columbus. In the 21^st century one lone operator can remotely operate an entire fleet of these “Top Gun” drones. Once over the target, the AI pulls the trigger or drops the bomb as programmed, causing massive death and destruction below.

Little to no guilt, fear, horror, or sadness is generated because there’s only one person handling all the dirty work. This person is more than likely located thousands of miles away from the war zone. They might never see video or evidence of the havoc they’ve wreaked. They might never feel the need to express regret or horror at their actions.

Isn’t advanced military technology great?

 

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Happy Birthday Vichy USA!

 

If everybody had a notion ’cross the USA

That everybody’s gone fascist—like Donnie Trump, oh yay!

 You’d see them wearing blond hairdos

Doing their sieg heils too

Everybody’s gone fascist! Vichy USA!

(Sung to the tune of Surfin' USA. The rest of the lyrics can be found at the Substack link below.)

by C. A. Matthews

The 1976 Bicentennial was really something. I remember fondly all the fabulous fireworks displays, huge parades, and special band concerts in the park. It was nice to think about how the United States had stayed together and made it a full two hundred years. As a child, I didn’t really understand what all had happened in those two centuries and how the US had played a major role in maintaining violence and oppression both at home and around the world, activities that would lead to the current fiasco Americans find themselves in fifty years later.

I would have never thought that the “land of the free” meant that we’d come to deny immigrants asylum based on their race, religion, or ethnicity. I probably would have laughed at the mere idea that well-to-do white South Africans would be considered deserving refugees, but that poor black Haitians who fled a disintegrating country (helped to fall apart by greedy Americans) would not.

I would have never thought that locking up thousands of non-violent immigrants was “freedom”, nor that sending young children out of the country without their parents was a compassionate thing to do. These weren’t the concepts of freedom and morality I was indoctrinated in at church and school.

Fifty years ago, I would have never thought that anti-fascist activists would be labeled “terrorists” and sentenced to harsh sentences by a federal judge for trying to point out the crimes of ICE. These are the sentences of the activists who protested at the ICE facility in Texas: Benjamin Song: 100 years, Marisela Rueda: 70 years, Cameron Arnold: 50 years, Savanna Batten: 50 years, Zachary Evetts: 50 years, Bradford Morris: 50 years, Elizabeth Soto: 50 years. What essentially are life sentences for daring to set off fireworks and wearing all black clothing to a protest, no less.

Meanwhile, the ICE agents who murdered Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Keith Porter have received a total of 0 years in prison. You read that right—the ICE agents responsible received sentences of zero years for their murders of Renee, Alex, and Keith. The similarities between ICE and the Nazi Gestapo are undeniable...

 

To learn more about Vichy USA (and how to shut it down), please copy or click on the following link: 

https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

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This article is the 577th blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another eleven years. Thanks! 

Feel free to make a donation at our Paypal or via Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi. Every little bit helps. Thank you.   

Conscientious  Objectors: Call the G.I. Rights Hotline at 1-877-447-4487 or the Center for Conscience & War at 1-800-379-2679.