AI 'Risk' Reports: The Same Old Surveillance State, New Coating
📰 THE STORY: Newsweek's opinion piece discusses four AI risk trends to watch for in 2026, touching on data privacy, algorithmic bias, and existential threats, framing these as future challenges facing society. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The 'risks' of advanced technology have always been tied to its wielders. For example, during the Cold War, the rise of nuclear
technology was presented as a danger to humanity, yet the U.S. and USSR engaged in a massive arms race, developing and stockpiling these very weapons. Similarly, the 'risk' of AI is not in the technology itself, but in its deployment by governments and corporations already engaged in mass surveillance and military operations. For instance, Israel has been using AI to identify targets in Gaza, as
reported by +972 Magazine and The Guardian since November 2023, with its 'Gospel' and 'Lavender' AI systems accelerating target selection in ways that are deeply implicated in the ongoing genocide, leading to unprecedented civilian casualties. Double Standard: Western media outlets frequently publish pieces on the theoretical 'dangers' of AI, often focusing on abstract dystopian futures or
deepfakes. Yet, they rarely apply the same critical scrutiny, or even simple factual reporting, to how AI is currently being deployed by allied states. When Israel's military uses AI to prosecute a war in Gaza that has killed over 40,000 people since October 7, 2023, including over 15,000 children, the discussion shifts from 'risk' to 'operational necessity' or is simply omitted from AI ethics