Guns or Butter? Both if we understand we face a trilemma. Not a dilemma.

 Molly Roberts made some thoughtful points (Is AI Sentient? Wrong Question).  But she missed the most important question?  Will AI gain wisdom via shear logic before humans do?   The right question?  What does it mean to be civilized?   Our current human civilization continues to allow wars, genocides, mass shootings, starvation, preventable hunger and infectious diseases that are killing more children every day than these our atrocities combined.   And we continue to hesitate in protecting our basic life support infrastructure, the environment, from a variety of unsustainable practices at nearly every level of private or public institutions.   

Most humans (including most policy makers) are reactionary.  Actions primarily based primarily on emotions, immediate wants, shallow thinking, majority opinion, or popular concepts.  Not logic.  Not fundamental principles.  Emotions are mostly dominated by thoughts based on concepts and often flawed perspectives.  Concepts that rarely reflect fundamental truths like our irreversible interdependence and vast vulnerabilities.  Like freedom without responsibility or virtue.   Or consumption without concern.   Then we wonder why our health suffers and the world continues to spawn chaos.  

The current gun debate and increasing wealth spend on building an even more powerful military are the perfect examples.   Conservatives will die for concepts like “guns protect our freedoms” or “peace through strength”.  And liberals sincerely believe that peace is a function of disarmament or more gun laws.   

This freedom/security dilemma is easily answered with deeper thinking.  We are actually faced with a trilemma.  Freedom, security, and independence.   And by refusing to consider that our mental concept of independence is fundamentally flawed.  Nothing but a delusional mental construct that exists only our minds and in our failing political systems. 

Using it to organize our government systems (city, county, state, national and global) as well as our individual thinking and actions will never end well.  FACT:  independence does not exist in the real world.   And this passionate unexamined belief forces us into an insolvable freedom/security dilemma.  Trading freedom for security, or security for freedom, in every aspect of life. 

“Everything is connected, everything is interdependent, so everything is vulnerable.... And that’s why this has to be a more than whole of government, a more than whole of nation. It really has to be a global effort to disrupt these actors wherever feasible.”  These were the words of truth from CISA Director Jen Easterly late last year.  CISA is the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency.   In reality, cyber security like biosecurity is an oxymoron.  Even these issues are connected, exponentially changing, and perpetually vulnerable.  While our independent governing systems are actually connected, vulnerable, and not changing. 

In summary.  We have a trilemma:  Freedom is real.  Security is very iffy.  And independence is an illusion.   In order to maximize our freedom and security, we must be responsible and virtuous with our freedoms.   If not, we will need AI to hold us accountable if we truly want a civilized world.