Anglo-Futurism is a philosophy and cultural movement which takes the modern world, with all its technologies, and places pre-Modern ideas of personhood, family and community over it.
It’s not a merger of cultural heritage and modern technology, but uses the values of that older period to act as the restricting guard rails. This ensures modern technology is used for human flourishing within a physical location, helping to build local communities and eventually provide a platform to construct a pathway ‘To The Stars’.
With respect to Artificial Intelligence (AI), there are many stories published in the mainstream media expressing concerns about the dangers, but also the great benefits of such a technology.
Some AI developers have whistleblown and highlighted about the problems it might cause in the future. While others see they are making ‘god’.
Creative types who use digital formats, like artists and writers, feel they may be out of business as AI might eventually create superior work. AI is even writing music.
White collar workers may be replaced as it could master complex areas of work, give appropriate advice and even write detailed reports.
My personal feeling is AI will fail to deliver the expectations, both the promoters and detractors have assumed. Though having said this, we do need to ensure there are strict guidelines as AI continues to be rolled out across the whole of Western societies. And at present there doesn’t appear to be a comprehensive arguments for what these policies should be.
Anglo-Futurism is focussed on using technology in the local physical space, giving less priority to the online world. This means technology which encourages people meeting together and speaking face to face is preferred over online interactions.
Technologies which connect to a real world activity, like playing at a local sports club, is encouraged over an app which solely exists online and keeps the participants engaged without connection to the local community.
Anglo-Futurism asks this question of all technology, “How does this help local communities flourish?” So with any AI product, we must ask how will it help local communities grow together and become more resilient?
Not all AI products are the same. Some are more invasive to the human experience than others. Under Anglo-Futurism, these technologies will be restricted in their application as their use will be dependent upon the values of English Cultural Heritage; personhood, family and community.
If an overwhelming positive argument can be made, then it would make sense to use it. But if the AI would not bring people together and strengthen the relational bonds between the person, the family and the local community, then the AI should be treated with caution or even rejected.
For example, a transnational AI which takes user information and repackages it for sale to international corporations would be rejected under the policies of Anglo-Futurism. There is no real world benefit for the local community. While a local AI used to manage bookings at the town leisure centre would be welcomed.
Anglo-Futurism places AI in a bounded cultural and physical community space. The decision to use it, is connected solely to that community, where it can be managed locally. National and transnational AIs does not have the suitable local community oversight which Anglo-Futurism can provide.
Hi BA
This concept is great, but AI is not something that will be controlled by nice ideas about "humans being the most important beings on the planet."
The name tells it all.
It claims that it is 1) Artificial and 2) Intelligence
It is neither.
It is made by humans and it has no intelligence of it's own.
By embracing it in any way you are giving in to the "New Speak" of those who want to control the world, as you are agreeing with its own definition, which is a lie.
We should call it what it is BDC: Big Dumb Computer.
AI is one of the most powerful totalitarian tools for controlling people.
AI is nothing more than a major step in controlling how people think and act, as it tells you information that you don't need to think about, or can't actually prove if it is valid or not, upon which you act.
We should not be writing protocols on AI use but be telling people to think about what they are doing, and if they can't prove the data to be correct then DON'T DO IT!!!!!
AI is a black box, not a magic black box as it is promoted as.
It is Pandora's Box from which all the evils of the world will be promoted to gullible and stupid people who are unwilling to think.
Teach people to think, not to use AI to think for them.
Two main problems with this:
1) The above priotization can't happen within a consumerist capitalist system. We were already getting away from community and meeting together for over a century, before AI was a thing, and before online was a thing - precisely so we can be better, interchangeable, consumer units, without culture and without political concerns and vigilance.
2) Technology is by its very nature alienating - it has its own telos. Developing technology to the point of getting "to the stars" is not just a goal that can be pursued independently of whether we have a community or not. It's in direct opposition with community (for example it involves community-breaking concentration of economic, industrial, and technical power, high tech factories and industrial discipline, the unnatural dependence on rigid time schedules, worker alienation with extremely high separation of labour, and so on).
So to combine them is a little like considering how to combine chastity and purity of thought, while participating in orgies and working in the porn industry.