I finally had time to watch all of this and am disappointed in it. Webb brings up many good points and it is worth viewing but she is also missing the deep framework of what is truly going on. I will touch on that by describing what Eris Schmidt says and how she responds.

Schmidt is talking about a geopolitical conflict that presents questions such as: How do we deal with China? On Chinese AI and technological advancements, Schmidt says: “China is not a near-peer. It is a peer competitor. They are also now demonstrating quantum capabilities that we did not expect…” He goes on to list several other major Chinese tech advancements. What Schmidt is referring to here is our inevitable ineluctable competition with China across virtually all domains. This is the fundamental “game theory” of great powers. “Game theory” does not mean it is merely a “game,” or that it is something we can choose to participate in or not. This fundamental game theory is inescapably basic to top world power competition. This game/competition is extremely dangerous. Whoever wins will control the world. Schmidt asks, “How do we manage this?” meaning how do we manage competition with China. He answers by saying, “We don’t have a good answer but… we need groups to get together to agree on what the ethics in these areas should look like…. If we don’t do this, those decisions will be made by computer scientists like me… We need to make these decisions with the best minds that include non-computer scientists.” Webb misquotes and misconstrues what Schmidt is saying and then digs deep into the past to smear his ethics when Schmidt himself clearly said he wants to avoid having people “like me” making these decisions. Webb does not understand that increasingly advanced AI is inevitable and that someone will control it. That someone will be some sort of configuration of people (and gangs) in the West, in China, in Russia or India or some other place. No one has a choice in whether this happens or not. Each player must strive for total control because there is no other option. Right now, in Schmidt’s implied view if the West loses, China wins. Beyond this fundamental frame, which is all-important in this discussion, I share many of Webb’s fears about governmental totalitarian control. ABN