AI's Bad Reputation Is of Its Own Making

I am possessed by a fundamental conviction that geopolitical supremacy is built on cutting-edge industry. And I've been waiting for this moment, the moment when tech companies would cease being "agile" and built to pivot and start digging in the ground with major capital-intensive investments in hardware. Data centers aren't the main thing in geopolitics, but just as Ford's factory lines were put to use in World War II, so it may be that these data centers will be powering drone swarms and cyber warfare in the future.

And yet, despite spending like crazy in a way that is keeping the American economy humming and employing lots of blue-collar workers, an NBC News poll earlier this year found a net-favorability rating of "minus 20" for AI. Fox News polls have found a consistently growing "concern" about AI over the past year, with the sharpest increases among women. A Harvard Caps/Harris poll in July found that two-thirds of voters want to slow down AI development.