America Lost the Mandate of Heaven
6 hours ago
- #societal_values
- #AI_narratives
- #outsourcing_impact
- The outsourcing of manufacturing to countries like Taiwan, Vietnam, Mexico, and India has eliminated well-paying jobs and bargaining power for American labor unions, leaving many Americans worse off despite rising GDP.
- Tariffs could potentially force companies back to negotiate with American labor, but this would create an insular economy and be seen as a 'loser mentality', sacrificing global leadership.
- Export controls on American-made products like NVIDIA's, driven by apocalyptic AI narratives from sources like LessWrong and the Center for Effective Altruism, hinder global competitiveness while China focuses on practical, human-centric approaches.
- The apocalyptic AI worldview in America contrasts with China's belief in using educated humans for tasks like vulnerability finding, highlighting a difficulty in conceiving of doing things with people in the U.S.
- AGI is not an imminent threat; with 8 billion humans globally, machines are many doublings away from matching human computational capacity, suggesting job displacement won't happen suddenly.
- The point of society should be the flourishing of its inhabitants, as seen in functional societies like Hong Kong, not just economic metrics or corporate and military dominance.
- Rooting for America to win in AI currently implies job loss for Americans and increased global bullying through offensive military applications and manipulative corporations, rather than peace and prosperity.
- America lacks the 'Mandate of Heaven'—winning should mean societal well-being, but instead it's associated with negative outcomes for both its people and the world stage.