Data centers #3

Data Centers and Artificial Intelligence are changing the essence of warfare. Detroit is being positioned by corporate interests as central in the development of AI-generated weaponry.

Since the end of WWII warfare has been dominated by technologies capable of mass destruction. The atomic bomb gave us the capacity to end life as we know it. The possibilities of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) provided some check on nuclear powers.

The fear of mass destruction did not prevent conventional and less conventional warfare, but the potential of global catastrophe limited the use of the worst weapons of mass destruction.

This was not a limitation welcomed by governments, but was the result of persistent, insistent movements for disarmament, arms control, and the end of military conflicts. Antiwar movements, if not peace movements, served as a powerful check on the ambitions of empires.

But in the post 9/11 world, the forces for peace lost much of their power. After decades of war, and with mad men holding the nuclear trigger, we are closer now than at any time since the dropping of the atomic bombs to destroying life for much of the planet.

The nuclear threat is only one part of the problem. Equally as dangerous is the combining of weapons of destruction with AI and small, robot drones capable of delivering death quickly and cheaply. A recent article in the Guardian noted:

“We should stop calling these technology companies and start calling them what they are: defense contractors.

The largest AI firms are not neutral infrastructure providers who happened to find a military customer. They are being integrated into the targeting architecture of modern warfare. Their systems sit inside the kill chain, their engineers hold security clearances, their executives rotate through the same revolving door that has always connected Silicon Valley to the Pentagon.

This push for AI-backed autonomous weapons is in direct response to what the US perceives as increased military threats from China. The New York Times recently explained that A.I.-backed autonomous weapons and defense systems are

“Designed to operate by themselves using A.I., the technology reduces the need for human intervention in decisions like when to hit a moving target or defend against an attack.

In recent years, many nations have quietly engaged in a contest of one-upmanship over these arsenals, including drones that identify and strike targets without human command, self-flying fighter jets that coordinate attacks at speeds and altitudes that few human pilots can reach, and central systems run by A.I. that analyze intelligence to recommend airstrike targets quickly.”

Michigan is playing a key role in the rush to develop self-directed weaponry. Powerful economic and political forces recognize that there is money to be made in developing a future that fosters killing machines. Detroit is being touted as a new “arsenal for drones.” With friendly state legislative tax policies, data centers and drone manufacturers are being presented as a way to the future. For example, Dan Gilbert offered the former UAW training center on the river to a new drone manufacturing company and has been key to encouraging both manufacturing and research in the city.

This military buildup is often compared to the dawn of the nuclear age in the 1940s, but there are some important differences.

Perhaps most important is the lack of public awareness or understanding of A.I.’s military capabilities. These new technologies exponentially expand the destructive powers of weapons. And their production, development, and deployment are making a few people very rich. Billions of dollars are being poured into these efforts, with little or no public oversight. The Pentagon requested more than $13 billion for autonomous systems in its latest budget and has spent billions more over the past decade.

As a result, we are building an arsenal of weapons that are capable of making life-or-death choices without human intervention. A recent study in the NY Times emphasized that the dangers inherent in A.I. are much more than the unchecked deployment of bombs. A.I. is opening new possibilities of cyber and biological warfare. Yet we have neither the legal nor the ethical frameworks to control these machines.

We have moved beyond Dr. King's warning that we are approaching “spiritual death” because we had guided missiles but misguided men. Now we are a misguided people with unguided missiles. 

The struggle against data centers, to place limits on AI, and to move toward peaceful international relationships are essential if we are to have a future that honors life. We face the reality of two very different paths: one built on weapons of death or one constructed in communities that embrace care for each other and our earth. We are making these choices day by day across this country.