Welcome to Dispatch #46! This week we're diving into how AI technology is changing the way we find and verify information in the world, and how that will impact our politics. In addition, a great story from North Macedonia where activists used creativity and humor to fix their crumbling infrastructure, and a new theory of domination called psychopolitics. Plenty of juicy stuff - let's get into it!
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Easy Actions to Take
⏱~3min | (US Only) Tell Congress: Ban Lethal Autonomous Weapons
Why: Trump's "AI-first" military¹ could allow a lethal autonomous drone to decide where and when to drop a bomb. An AI-equipped autonomous weapon could easily misidentify a civilian as a soldier, or a family vehicle as a military vehicle, then kill innocent people in droves. And such autonomous weapons will inevitably end up in our local communities too. Organized by MPower Action
⏱~3min | (US Only) No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands!
Why: AI data centers bring noise, light, air, and water pollution, and can increase energy costs by astronomical amounts. It’s why 63% of Americans oppose AI data centers being built in their communities. But destructive data centers could soon be popping up on federal lands and military bases across the country if the Pentagon gets its way. Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands Act would BAN data centers and associated infrastructure on land owned or managed by the U.S. government, including on military bases. Organized by World Without War
Why: Ali G is a retired character by the actor Sacha Baron Cohen that Black comedians have called an alibi for racism. Similar racist characters have been depicted by Cohen in movies such as Borat (which mocked Kazakh people) and The Dictator (which mocked Arabs). Cohen has also an outspoken Zionist who portrayed a Mossad agent in the TV show The Spy. Amazon MGM has revived Ali G and secretly filmed a new movie, but we can show that this type of minstrel racism is unacceptable by demanding cinemas to refuse screening the film. Organized by Newscord
Little (Movement) Wins
How Macedonians Used Humor to Fix Their Streets
Activist History
