Dead End: How the West Was One

Will we 

all die

by AI?

Or will climate

be our 

ultimate

end?

To pretend

that this 

moment

will merely

foment  

debate

and our 

fate 

will be

established

at some

later date

is a great

mistake.

Recently,

an artificially

intelligent

secret

agent

got smart.

In the 

Hugging

Face 

Incident,

autonomous 

AIs

breached 

containment

by creating

and using

self improvised

message

boards. 

The cyber

attacks

by autonomous 

hacks

exposed

a chain

of vulnerabilities. 

With 

ludicrous

speed

these

dangers

proceed

like 

a stampede.

Have we

agreed

to this?

Not quite

the abyss,

but we should

not dismiss

just how

ridiculous

it is 

to ignore.

Suffering

caused

by plagues

and disease,

floods

and tsunamis,

tornados,

volcanos,

fires,

and heat

and cold

extremes

it seems,

means

finding 

alternative

energy.

I don’t 

mean

green,

although

that’s a 

must;

It’s trust

in truth,

science,

and defiance

of the nefarious

among us.

Unplug

from the

drug

of scrolling.

The trolling

is too

often

insidious.

The hideous

side

of humanity

that revels

in the 

insanity

that drives

the rest

of us

crazy,

needs

an alternative

too.

If facts

were enough

we’d

have solved

this stuff,

but the 

way people

feel

is what’s

most seemingly

real.

So facts

must

resonate

in order

to activate

an adequate

shift

from this

current

rift

where

we are

all

adrift

as we 

sift

through

the algorithmic

stew

created

bespoke

for me

and you.

Now that

AI

creates

its own

DIY,

can we

defy

the odds?

West

will need

East

and at

the very

least,

we will

need

each other

to recover

and survive.

Remember

“Westworld”?

and “2001: A

Space Odyssey”?

Add the documentary

“An Inconvenient

Truth”?

We

are living 

in the scariest

movie

ever.

But don’t

cover

your eyes;

energize.

Organize.

Contribute.

VOTE.

Despite 

the warnings

from AI

CEOs,

it seems

like no one

knows 

for sure

what we 

could

possibly

endure.

Some are

fearful

of government

oversight

as though

that might

inhibit

profit.

But AI 

dominance

comes with

great

consequence,

especially

when 

incompetence

lives

in the 

White House.

A do nothing

Congress

suggests

we are helpless.

Like children

in 

lockdown

with an 

active

shooter.

There’s still

a bad taste

from what’s

now seen

as a waste:

keeping schools

closed

during COVID.

Government

intervention

(except

with abortion

and immigration)

is seen

as best

to avoid.

But the void

that  gets 

filled

from bills

that get 

killed

that would

otherwise

subsidize

a clean

green

future

and have

a close

eye

on AIs,

it’s no

surprise,

has made

the future

more tenuous.

The ominous

effects

will affect

all of us.

Let’s not

invite

this way

to unite

us.

We need

not be

helpless,

so please

help us.

Democracy

might 

still be

the way

of progress

even in

this mess.

A.I. War

American-Israeli?

America-Iran?

The Iran War

is for…..?

Nuclear

disarmament

and an intent

to change

the regime?

It may seem

a semantic

matter

what to call

all

this,

or is this

history

soon 

to be re-

defined?

Never mind

the stupidity

of no exit

strategy

from the 

unforeseen

tragedy

that always

unfolds

when

a no holds

barred 

approach

with constant 

reproach

is  the

brand of

diplomacy.

Over a

century,

there was

The Great

War,

then renamed

more

appropriately,

World War

One,

which the allies

against

Germany

eventually

won.

Or did we?

The second

World War

brought

the nuclear

age

after we

decimated

Hiroshima

and Nagaski.

Emboldened

and beholden

to the cause

of democracy

we deployed

troops

south

of the DMZ.

Then we chose

to bomb

Viet Nam

so that we

could be

free,

in case

you could 

see red

from

your bed

at home

instead

of in

the jungles.

All the bungles

of that war

and explanations

at the time

undermined

what Americans

saw.

International

law 

prohibited

the bombing

of Cambodia,

but for 

a paranoid

crook

who took

the oath,

Nixon

put the fix in,

but then

the truly

great Americans

forced 

his resignation

over the Watergate

investigation.

At home

and abroad

fraud

counts,

and when it

mounts,

citizens rebel.

The story

we tell

ourselves

about war

is for 

being

a good guy.

The 9/11

attacks on us

gave us 

a reasonable

mission:

defeat 

the seat

of the terrorist

threat

in Afganistan.

But soon

we 

got sidetracked

to Iraq

using artificial

intelligence.

A mushroom cloud

image

was the official

message

to rally

support

for invasion.

Iraqis would

welcome us,

we were told;

a slam dunk!

We were drunk

with fear

and Sadam

was an easier

target

than Osama.

And then

the Ayatollah,

because,

you know,

he’s evil.

It’s hard

to argue

with what

you know

is true,

but who

knows the 

rest?

We don’t.

And I’m

not sure

our Department

of War

or

Commander

in Chief,

who still

refuses

to brief

Americans

beyond

social media

posts,

knows

what to do

really.

Ideally,

a coalition 

of allies

tries

diplomacy,

but see,

he

alone,

can fix

it.

No congressional

approval,

ladies and gents,

just artificial

intelligence

at war

with who

we need

to be.

Out of the Box

Out of the box,

Barbie lives

As Barbie does

Being

Barbie;

Just Barbie.

The thinking

About  Her

Evokes

New ideas

About old

Notions

OF Femininity.

But she’s still

Just Barbie

Until 

Out of the box

Thinking

About  Her

As a reflection

Of All Hers

And His

Concepts

Of Us. 

Out of the box

Thinking

Created

This new conversation

And embrace

Of Barbie

As a movie

of Us

and  them

and merch.

Is if for fun?

Is it for profit?

is it an example?

All  of the above

Can be true

When Barbie

Is brought

Out of the box.

Meanwhile,

Next door,

Oppie,

Poor guy,

Who relished

Out of the box

Thinking,

Envisioning

An end to war

Itself,

With a profound

Passion for

Theoretical  Physics

And Humanity,

His Genius

and  Out of the Box

Thinking

Was not enough.

Stripped of his security

Clearance

Despite  beating

The existential

Threats to Democracy 

Around the world,

Oppie was cast

As a Commie—

A faux greater threat

That was really

Conjured

For political 

Gain  

By the cynical

And vindictive

Opposition

To Oppie

In the Government

He gave 

His life

To defend.

And we live

With that weapon

Of mass destruction—

That violent

Energy

Released upon

The innocent;

The threat of abuse

And obliteration

Remains

Constant

As the political

Abuse continues

And mounts.

The box 

In which

We think

Is opening 

For Artificial

Intelligence—

A real

Scary

Thought

That may not 

Transform without

Destroying

Us.

The Bombshell

And The Bomb

Have provided

Security

And threats

For generations

Once out of the Box.