I’ve noticed when the subject of Bill Gates comes up, conservative folks like to go straight to claims of his involvement in efforts to promulgate a one world order.
Gates is all over the place when it comes to politics, and it is easy to find many of his past commentaries with which conservatives should heartily disagree. But I don’t think there is anything wrong with paying attention to ideas presented by really smart people like Gates.
He has very interesting insights about disease on a global level, poverty and energy, in particular.
Like everyone in the world of technology… well, maybe even almost everyone in the world right now… he is also engaged in the conversation about artificial intelligence (AI).
On his podcast last month “Unconfuse Me with Bill Gates”, he talked with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. Altman is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on AI.
During the Jan. 11 episode, the duo discussed their disappointment with oversight in the past with social media and then talked about global regulatory bodies used to look at systems that have had global impact, such as nuclear energy.
This flowed into oversight of AI, when Gates made the comment:
“If the key is to stop the entire world from doing something dangerous, you’d almost want global government.”
And there it was. C’mon Bill. You’re exposing yourself.
That comment validated the one world order conspiracy theorists and was quickly picked up by conservative media for discussion. I’m glad they did!
Andy Kessler, columnist with the Wall Street Journal, was not having it. In his Feb. 5 column “Power Corrupts, Absolutely,” he pointed out the risk of giving more power to governments.
“Governments don’t like to govern, but they like to control. Human freedom always takes a back seat,” said Kessler
He also quoted the late journalist/satirist P.J. O’Rourke, “Government is just a form of bullying for weaklings. Politics is the art of achieving power and prestige without merit.”
I agree. We don’t need to discuss the possibilities of a global government. What we need to discuss are ways to dilute the growing power of the executive branch of the federal government (the President) and state government (the Governor). They are unworthy of wielding the power they have.
We also need to discuss how to shift power back to the local level and away from state and federal influence. For example, let’s give local school boards more oversight, rather than being at the mercy of state regulations or federal mandates.
Even if Gates’ intent was innocent and proper, in this scenario some sort of worldwide check on the power of AI, there is too much history to prove centralized power is rife for corruption. Why in the world would we want to allow our lives to be influenced by officials from other countries halfway across the globe?
Someone at Bill Gates’ level does not accidentally slip from a narrative. I believe he does truly want some sort of globally-affiliated government.
Freedom-loving Americans should vocally declare no quarter for talk of a global government, no matter the underlying subject.
Dan Thalmann is the owner/publisher of the Washington County News and is a Past President of the Kansas Press Association. He has won numerous journalism awards in many categories over the years, including multiple awards as the best mid-sized weekly newspaper in Kansas.
