AI is the fastest-rising issue in American polling, even if it still ranks behind cost-of-living concerns. Jasmine Sun observes that savvy politicians are already tying AI to pre-existing platforms. Bernie Sanders uses it to attack billionaires, while others use it to demand stricter speech regulations. It is an all-purpose justification for policies that have stalled for years.
"AI serves the same role that China played in the last decade - a massive, alien force that justifies any policy a politician wants to pass."
- Jasmine Sun, Bankless
This differs from the anti-crypto push because the stakes are higher. Most Americans never used crypto, but they use ChatGPT. The technology is already driving significant GDP growth and appearing in physical neighborhoods through data center construction. Kevin O’Leary’s $15 billion data center project in Utah is facing a populist wall, driven by utility providers informing residents they will stop servicing homes to redirect power. This has driven a 70% disapproval rating for local data center construction.
The industry knows its technology is designed to substitute for human work, not just augment it. Sun reports that while executives pivot to talk about "small business empowerment" during interviews, they privately describe the median person as screwed. They see a future where capital no longer needs humans to produce value.
Public anger is moving from town hall meetings to physical violence. Sun points to recent attacks on tech leaders as a sign that the democratic system is failing to provide an outlet for frustration. When people feel they cannot vote on a technology that changes their life, they resort to direct action.
"If AI can perform any job currently done on a computer, the traditional link between labor and capital breaks."
- Zach Exley, Breaking Points
This radicalization thrives in niche online communities. Young, nihilistic people spend their time in Discords reinforcing the idea that tech leaders are gambling with their children's lives. They believe they are stopping a future catastrophe by acting now.
Sun argues that even a self-interested capitalist should be worried. If a significant chunk of the population feels disempowered and ignored, the threat of riots and political violence grows. Without a new social contract, the only power left to the displaced is the power to break things.
