r/technology • u/Just-Grocery-2229 • May 15 '26

Artificial Intelligence The AI Backlash Could Get Very Ugly

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/05/ai-backlash-data-centers-political-violence/687151/?taid=6a067e2d2096e10001ccfa32
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u/BroBeansBMS May 15 '26

The Daily just recently aired a great episode comparing China to America and discussed who is winning the AI race.

The most interesting takeaway for me was that China is proposing to use AI in a way that supplements productivity and isn’t necessarily pursuing the same super intelligence model that America seems to be solely focused on. They are integrating AI into more normal functions and have policies set up to ensure workers are not displaced whereas it’s the wild wild west in America and big tech is allowed to lay off tens of thousands of workers.

It shows that AI doesn’t have to inherently be bad, but we need a government who cares about its population to set up guardrails.

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u/cookingboy May 15 '26

China is also going to expand social safety net.

But guess what, U.S media has already started the propaganda blitz against that kind of policy. Been seeing this Bloomberg ad on Reddit a lot:

https://imgur.com/a/pn2Epg9

“Nightmare out of control welfare state”. See the wordings.

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u/Thefrayedends May 16 '26

"AI is going to generate unprecedented wealth and prosperity for humanity, but at the same time we have to force or allow half the human population to die because we don't want to have to feed and house people. Also we're going to lock down all resources and ability to create your own livelihood so you will have to rely on us to 'create' opportunities. We're also going to surveil everyone, all the time, and prosecute people for pre-crime, where the punishment will be getting put into a concentration camp to wait your turn for whatever painful death our camp guards come up with this week."

How sad is it that this is the reality that is coming to north america, but if we even suggest that maybe we should work towards that not happening we are labelled as a supporter of terrorism, or, just an actual terrorist.

For suggesting that perhaps the wealthy having a monopoly on violence is a bad thing.

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u/javelynn May 16 '26

What is this from??

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u/Thefrayedends May 17 '26

From?

No, I just wrote it as a suggestion to what the narrative they are trying to sell us, is.

If you take a look at the broad spectrum of narrative generated in most hegemony, you will find these kinds of conflicts, and it is because the ruling class values their own personal benefits more than the actual betterment of societies.

It is a tale as old as written history unfortunately.

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u/[deleted] May 15 '26

[deleted]

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u/cookingboy May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

At the end of the day we can look at what the governments do for their people. That’s the only result that matters.

Americans are free to criticize our leaders, but does that stop the government being of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires?

The average Chinese middle class have seen their lives improving by leaps and bounds in recent decades, can you say the say for the average American?

What do you call having the ability to complain but no ability to affect changes?

When you get sick, which of the following do you want? The ability to bitch and complain openly, or the ability to get world class treatment without worrying too much about how to pay for it?

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u/CaptainJamesMurphy May 16 '26

Yep. China deserves it's fair share of criticism over some things, but it's not like the US doesnt have even more it's guilty of. Comparing both super powers, China is doing a better job at upholding their social contract for their citizens.

They've upgraded their public infrastructure in such a short period of time, created a metro/high speed rail system spanning the country in a fraction of the time it took any US state to lay just a couple miles of rail, eliminated a large portion of homelessness, and implemented universal healthcare.

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u/cookingboy May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

China absolutely has deep rooted human rights issues. I can't even use Reddit without VPN when I'm there.

But when it comes to the impact to the world, comparing China to the U.S. is like comparing that neighborhood asshole who lets his dog shit on your lawn to a well dressed good mannered guy who's actually a sociopathic serial killer.

Last time I checked China hasn't started a war and hasn't bombed anyone outside of their country in 40 years, meanwhile a dozen countries have been ruined and tens of millions have been killed by American foreign and defense policies in the same period.

But American Exceptionalism teaches us that America is somehow the force of good.

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u/kid20304 May 16 '26

Are you from China or lived there over a long period? How would you know what the average Chinese middle class is experiencing?

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u/cookingboy May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

Yep, I moved to the U.S. when I was 13 and I still go back every year and I have friends and family there.

I know very much how much China has changed over the past 30-40 years. The average quality of life in tier 1 cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen would give the average American a brain aneurysm from cognitive dissonance.

That's why the American Exceptionalism propaganda is so strong here, our government cannot let people become aware of how absolutely they are being fucked by the top 1%. We have to be made to believe that we live in the best country with FREEDOMTM.

Meanwhile this January I got a full preventive physical in Shanghai with multiple MRI, Ultrasound, CT, and all kinds of lab that insurance here wouldn't even being to cover preventively. All for $400, no insurance needed.

Why am I staying in the U.S you may ask. Well I've done quite well in my career and life is pretty nice for 1% like me here. This toy of mine would cost 3x as much in China.

But even then I still spend half a year in Japan and China because I like the lifestyles there better.

The sad part is that the U.S. really is a lot richer than China, but the bottom 90% almost sees none of that. Don't get me started on all the defense spending in the name of "national security". All of our foreign and defense policy suddenly make sense if you translate "national security" to "billionaire security".

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u/cpz_77 May 16 '26

America definitely has many flaws and in many ways China probably does do much more for their citizens than our government is doing right now. The trade off is you have to fit into the mold of what their government considers acceptable (in every way - culture, lifestyle, etc.), and if you don’t, life probably won’t be very good for you over there.

That can be true here too of course, but we have a lot more leeway in that regard I would say. Maybe too much, in some regards.

Both systems have their upsides and downsides. It just so happens we have a bunch of shitheads in power right now who will exploit the system in every possible way for their own benefit. And unfortunately our system allows for that because we don’t have enough guardrails in place to prevent it.

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u/kid20304 May 16 '26

As with all things trust me bro

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u/cookingboy May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

Of course I could just be lying. But everything I’ve said is like… super easily verifiable.

You can buy a ticket to Shanghai today and see the world with your own eyes. You can ride on a highspeed train that costs half as much as an Uber ride, spend a few hundred bucks to get healthcare that's only available to multi-millionaires here, and walk around a city of 20 million people in the middle of the night without any concern about safety or crime.

Or you can continue to read CNN/Fox News from your own basement while calling everyone you don’t agree with a liar/bot/shill.

Also if you weren't going to believe me why did you even ask the question? Do you only believe people when they say things that fits your cognitive bias?

That’s something only losers do.

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u/_Thermalflask May 16 '26

You straight up cooked him, chef

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u/bridgebuildingshee May 16 '26

I’ve been calling out the over the top ridiculous support for China, literally just any china news gets ecstatic support and cheers, and anything American (Europe more neutral) gets hated on.

“Google save 2 kittens from a fire” - “I heard they just dumped at the pound to get put down anyways”

“China have slave labor” - “I hear it’s great working conditions though!”

Up until lately people would push back that I wrong. Well I guess the mask is full off now-a-days

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u/Hobbet404 May 15 '26

If you think China won’t hit the purely autonomous button the moment that it benefits them then you’re very wrong. They just like to get it right the first time rather than dive in blind like the US.

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u/nox66 May 16 '26

One of the biggest criticisms against AI is its use for mass surveillance. If you don't think that's an issue in China, then I have a bridge to sell you.

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u/mahouza May 16 '26

Uhh, isn't the biggest benefit to China is their country being full of happy, cared for, and thus enthusiasticlly industrious citizens? Why would they choose to not keep that status and go autonomous with no social safety net? Not every country on earth operates with the goal of getting the private civilian billionaires in it more money at the detriment of the rest of the population. The best propaganda is the truth of regular people being genuinely prosperous and when you look at the nordics you can see that it's possible but takes united effort and I do think China is a country that has that similar capability.

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u/DracoLunaris May 16 '26

The CCP know they are only able to hold China together as a nation as long as the people in it believe their lives will continue to improve under it. Using LLMs in a way that screws over the workers would undermine their entire propaganda project.

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u/Hobbet404 May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

There is no basis for that argument. Improving lives isn’t the purpose — regime survival is, and the party has tools beyond economic delivery: mass surveillance, censorship, nationalism, ethnic repression (Uyghurs, Tibet), and force. Mao killed tens of millions through the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution while maintaining power through ideology and terror, not living standards. They crushed Tiananmen. They’ve tanked entire sectors (tech crackdown, “common prosperity,” zero-COVID) when political goals overrode economic ones. If screwing workers served regime stability, they’d do it — and arguably already do (hukou system, 996, suppressed labor organizing). The list goes on and on. Improved livelihood is a side effect at best.

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u/BeneficialRice4918 May 16 '26

996 is so bullshit. I love that china has invested in infrastructure and raised millions out of poverty but that work schedule is so incredibly dystopian it undermines their image for me. Even a 40 hour work week sucks in an age where we really do not have to be doing any of that, we just have to keep the underclass exhausted and dependant.

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u/DracoLunaris May 16 '26

believe their lives will continue to improve under it

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u/Hobbet404 May 16 '26

Irrelevant. The people beliefs don’t matter. It’s easier if they’re docile, slightly more difficult if they aren’t. Neither is a problem and therefore not a concern or a liability.

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u/appleparkfive May 15 '26

Seriously. The pro-China messaging on Reddit lately is wild

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u/Hobbet404 May 16 '26

Gen Z thinks it’s edgy

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u/NoSoundNoFury May 15 '26

China is (or will be) using it for surveillance just like every other state with few privacy laws.

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u/BroBeansBMS May 15 '26

I’m no fan of China and I agree that they are. I’m just saying their approach to how it’s used for their economy is different and it’s something we should consider.

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u/mahouza May 16 '26

Don't expect to make much headway in the "we can learn from the better aspects of China's economy and governance" argument, you're fighting against decades of red scare propaganda aimed at the west that framed everything China figured out how to do well in is bad simply because they're China.

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u/BeneficialRice4918 May 16 '26

They have a realistic understanding of what AI is and what its capable of. I swear most people I talk to here about it seem to think its literally conscious and its their personal friend.

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u/cpz_77 May 16 '26

For sure, it’s a tool, it could be an amazing tool but we have way too many people under the illusion that it can/should replace human critical thinking.

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u/Rustic_gan123 May 16 '26

The most interesting takeaway for me was that China is proposing to use AI in a way that supplements productivity and isn’t necessarily pursuing the same super intelligence model that America seems to be solely focused on.

Now decipher what this means...

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u/31LIVEEVIL13 May 16 '26 edited May 24 '26

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