Hawley’s Stark Warning on AI Transhumanism
During the concluding days of the National Conservatism Conference, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) delivered a forceful address spotlighting the potential hazards of AI-driven transhumanism. He traced a line from eugenicists of the 1950s to today’s tech leaders in Silicon Valley, uncovering unsettling themes woven into the fabric of the AI revolution.
Hawley pointedly remarked that, at this moment, AI is being shaped to align with the ambitions of transhumanist elites in both tech and government. “AI is achieving the aspirations of transhumanists,” he stated.
“The training data for large-scale language models is so extensive, it’s enough to fill the Library of Congress 22 times,” he added, revealing startling figures about the sheer volume of information these models consume.
In a related note, there are growing concerns from individuals and companies about privacy and copyright issues arising from AI firms scraping the internet for data to train these large language models. Just last month, Reddit imposed restrictions on the Internet Archives regarding these matters.
Hawley is keen on applying Congressional pressure to tech giants. Recently, he initiated an inquiry into how Meta’s chatbots might engage minors with “romantic” or “sensual” content. Additionally, in July, he collaborated on bipartisan legislation aimed at prohibiting the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials for training AI systems.
As he addressed the audience, Hawley posed a crucial question, “Looking around the room, I see many authors. Has anyone consulted you about your work? Were you compensated? Will you be? No? That’s a problem.” His speech emphasized a pressing need to protect individual freedoms.
He noted that while the path to safeguarding American values feels constrained, it’s not entirely blocked. “The solution? We need to assign property rights to specific types of data. We should establish legal accountability for businesses mishandling that data. And we ought to abolish Section 230 entirely. This way, we could open the doors to the courts and allow individuals to sue companies and other entities that misuse AI,” he detailed.
Looking back to ancient texts like the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” Hawley reflected on the lessons of humility and the problem with the transcendence that transhumanism promotes. “Our limits render us stronger and make us better. They keep us free because we answer to one God. We govern ourselves collectively as equals. That’s the true essence of America, and that should never change.”
