Gary Marcus disputes AI czar David Sacks' warning, arguing private tech companies already censor and surveil the public

👇@davidSacks raises some interesting points here, which deserve an answer, but arguably gets the solution exactly backwards.

Are we not now already leaving unelected private companies precisely the ability to censor surveil and control citizens, and even sanctioning private companies for refusing to commit to using their systems in the service of government surveillance?

@DavidSacks The most important AI risk is concentration: of power, capabilities, and economic gains

So the answer to government overreach is… handing ultimate power to a handful of egotistical billionaire tech elites? 😂

They want us to trust them because they claim to be the “ethical” ones.

Give me a freaking break.

I’d rather answer to elected officials I can vote out than unelected AI Gods I never chose.

1984? 🤣

Y’all ARE Big Brother.

while not disputing concerns over potential government excesses aren’t we leaving unelected private companies the ability to censor surveil and control citizens, and even sanctioning private companies for refusing to commit to using their systems in the service of government surveillance?

@tyler_johnston @DavidSacks We believe that this document is fully AI-generated

https://www.pangram.com/history/2ce6844d-61d5-4571-adae-cf701b4920bd

@DavidSacks Reminds me of that onetime Sam Altman quoted me 1984, we cannot entrust things to not go wrong with a few “big brothers” in charge

Opensource AI MUST WIN

This is why I am worried about Palantirs ongoing full on symbiosis with our government, and our personal records ranging from profisssional to personal information. Many would say that Orwellian system you speak of already exists in the United States in the shadows. Some of it may be used selectively by three letter agencies with good reason when needed (to find bad guys), but the system exists and the data has been uploaded. Please do something to stop this madness.

@DavidSacks Here's a summary.... https://youtu.be/YhlQFXFz6BU

@DavidSacks You mean the way the Vatican 🇻🇦 tried to sensor the Bible and other books?

You better believe what they are really after is limiting the accessible truth about their wicked church history.

the framing assumes the alternative to government control is freedom. in practice, the alternative is corporate control. openai, google, anthropic, and meta are already making alignment decisions about what 500M+ users can and can't do with AI. no election involved.

the real question isn't government vs freedom. it's which unelected power structure you'd rather trust with the guardrails. the custodes problem applies equally to regulators and to four companies in san francisco.

@DavidSacks Why does everyone have a negative view on inventions that raise our quality of life?

@DavidSacks There is a much greater risk in this country that AI becomes a way for more government control/power than AI taking jobs or causing any harm

@DavidSacks Tyranny always starts with safety

@DavidSacks If the Pope’s concerned about losing his job to AI then shouldn’t we all be?

David Sachs has impressed me a lot lately, for being able to stand up when a lot of forces conspired to push people back down on this

@DavidSacks Thank you for pointing out the Orwellian nature of the @Pontifex’s rhetoric.

@DavidSacks Agree - NOBODY should have "sweeping power" over the American people.

We fought too hard for our Independence, Sovereignty, Liberty, Justice, and Freedom - - to be dominated by a Tyrannical AI with no Soul

So thankful to @DavidSacks for oppposing AI dominance. A solution next?

The solution is decentralized AI development: open-source models, fierce private-sector competition, and voluntary standards. This spreads power, fosters innovation, and minimizes single-point capture by governments or corporations—while strong rule-of-law protections guard individual rights against abuse. Centralized "safety" regimes risk the very domination they claim to prevent.

@DavidSacks Respect to His Holiness. He’s a vital global voice, but he needs to stay in his lane here. Programming AI for moral "aspirations" is exactly how we get Woke AI. We need an intelligence that calls balls and strikes, not one that preaches from a digital pulpit.