Though life under a global totalitarian government is still an unlikely and far-future scenario, AI is already enabling authoritarianism in some countries and strengthening infrastructure that could be seized by an opportunistic despot in others. In the past, surveillance required hundreds of thousands of people — one in every citizens in East Germany was an informant — but now it can be done by technology. Eighteen of the 20 most surveilled cities in the world are in China, but London is the third.
The difference between them lies less in the tech that the countries employ and more in how they use it. What if the definition of what is illegal in the US and the UK expanded to include criticising the government or practising certain religions?
The infrastructure is already in place to enforce it, and AI — which the NSA has already begun experimenting with — would enable agencies to search through our data faster than ever before.
In addition to enhancing surveillance, AI also underpins the growth of online misinformation, which is another tool of the authoritarian. AI-powered deep fakes, which can spread fabricated political messages , and algorithmic micro-targeting on social media are making propaganda more persuasive. This undermines our epistemic security — the ability to determine what is true and act on it — that democracies depend on. The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence report, written by Belfield and 25 authors from 14 institutions, forecasts that trends like these will expand existing threats to our political security and introduce new ones in the coming years.
Still, Belfield says his work makes him hopeful and that positive trends, like more democratic discussions around AI and actions by policy-makers for example, the EU considering pausing facial recognition in public places , keep him optimistic that we can avoid catastrophic fates. Davey agrees. If we're arming police with facial recognition and the federal government is collecting all of our data, that's a bad start. If you remain sceptical that AI could offer such power, consider the world before nuclear weapons.
Three years before the first nuclear chain reaction, even scientists trying to achieve it believed it was unlikely. We can do the same with AI, but only if we combine the lessons of history with the foresight to prepare for this powerful technology. The world may not be able to stop totalitarian regimes like the Nazis rising again in the future — but we can avoid handing them the tools to extend their power indefinitely.
Join one million Future fans by liking us on Facebook , or follow us on Twitter or Instagram. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc. Artificial intelligence. Share using Email. By Di Minardi 16th October What would it take for a global totalitarian government to rise to power indefinitely? This nightmare scenario may be closer than first appears. Are we on the road to civilisation collapse?
They went from democracy to concentration camps in fewer than ten years. And our democracy is too strong to be so easily dismantled. The second democratic illusion exploded by the totalitarian movements was that these politically indifferent masses did not matter, that they were truly neutral and constituted no more than the inarticulate backward setting for the political life of the nation. In many modern democracies, we can see evidence of indifference and pervasive feelings of helplessness.
There is low voter turnout and an assumption that things will be the way they are no matter what an individual does. There is pent-up energy in apathy. Arendt suggests that the desire to be more than indifferent is what totalitarian movements initially manipulate until the individual is totally subsumed. The disturbing factor in the success of totalitarianism is … the true selflessness of its adherents: it may be understandable that a Nazi or Bolshevik will not be shaken in his conviction by crimes against people who do not belong to the movement…; but the amazing fact is that neither is he likely to waver when the monster begins to devour its own children and not even if he becomes a victim of persecution himself….
How does totalitarianism incite this kind of fanaticism? As Arendt demonstrates, both Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia capitalized on tensions already present in society. There was essentially a massive rejection of the existing political system as ineffectual and self-serving. The fall of protecting class walls transformed the slumbering majorities behind all parties into one great unorganized, structureless mass of furious individuals who had nothing in common except their vague apprehension that the hopes of party members were doomed, that, consequently, the most respected, articulate and representative members of the community were fools and that all the powers that be were not so much evil as they were equally stupid and fraudulent.
How does a totalitarian government harness this attitude of the masses? This feeling is what totalitarianism figured out how to manipulate by random terror that severed any form of connection with other human beings. Totalitarianism does not have an end goal in the usual political sense. Its only real goal is to perpetuate its own existence. There is no one party line that, if you stick to it, will save you from persecution.
Remember the random mass murders. Stalin repeatedly purged whole sections of his government — just because. The fear is a requirement. The fear is what keeps the movement going. This battle with truth is something we see today. Opinions are being given the same weight as facts, leading to endless debates and the assumption that nothing can be known anyway. It is this turning away from knowledge that opens the doors to totalitarianism.
These fabrications form the basis of the propaganda, with different messages crafted for different audiences. What does totalitarian rule look like? These states are not run by cliques or gangs.
There is no protected group getting rich from this control of the masses. And no one is outside the message. Why no clique?
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