In the past I’ve written about the risks posed by personal empowerment. Now the RAND organization sees them, too. From Colin P. Clarke at The National Interest:
Individuals and small groups have the potential to use an array of new and emerging technologies, including drones, virtual currencies, encrypted communications and artificial intelligence (AI). Additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, has already been used by individuals to print workable firearms. Given that, there is a steady drumbeat of warranted concern over the potential use of specific technologies by nonstate actors. But it is not simply the use of technologies in isolation that presents the most significant challenge going forward, but rather the combination of these technologies—as evidenced in the Saudi scenario, where a drone was used in conjunction with a deliberate disinformation campaign perpetrated through social media.
The future is one in which an individual actor can kill millions and there is no way to put this jinn back in its bottle. The way to mitigate the risks posed by personal empowerment is with countervailing personal empowerment. I think we’re in for a bumpy ride.
