AI doesn’t just automate oppression—it might also destabilize the very regimes that rely on it.
In this episode of Thinking on Paper Book Club, we break down Chapter 10 of Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari and explore the uneasy relationship between artificial intelligence and authoritarianism.
Will AI give dictators absolute control, or will it expose the cracks in their systems?
AI changes the game. Unlike humans, algorithms don’t fear imprisonment or execution.
What happens when an AI trained to support a regime starts questioning its own instructions? Could the same technology used for censorship and surveillance ultimately turn against its creators?
In this episode, we cover:-
- The AI alignment problem in totalitarian states
- Damnatio memoriae in modern politics
- The collapse of self-correcting mechanisms
- Algorithmic takeovers
- The Russell-Einstein Manifesto
Mark and Jeremy break down the risks, contradictions, and unintended consequences of AI in authoritarian states.
Will AI strengthen dictatorships or accelerate their downfall?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Subscribe for more deep dives into technology, history, and power.
Please enjoy the book club.
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CHAPTERS
(00:00) Disruptors and curious minds
(00:21) AI spectrum of doom - utopia
(02:10) Damnatio memoriae
(04:28) The Alignment Problem Russian Style
(06:45) Self correcting mechanisms for totalitarian nut-jobs
(09:05) Super Machiavellian AI
(09:51) The Russell-Einstein Manifesto
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