Robot for President

I wrote this blog in November 2017. It’s interesting how my predictions were all wrong. Welcome, A.I., to the world.

Could a computer run the United States?

Let’s suppose we’re not that far off from this. I probably won’t be alive and neither will Donald Trump (fortunately) but it could happen. (Consider WestWorld—or is it Disney World?) Today’s political arena is a lot like a Disney ride.

I ask you, would we feel any more insecure that we do now if a computer were president?

I imagine she would be a bit of a mix between the Wizard of Oz with an intimidating and emphatic speaking interface and a hologram. Depending on the political or diplomatic tangle at hand, she would assume any number of personae—mainly the hologram so she could shake hands with world leaders.

That would be pretty cool. Life is messy. No one has a cure for that. Imagining one is the road to insanity. But anything is better than what we have now.

Except there are people who think what we have now is better already. Let’s not go down that road. Maybe I should just write about the Thanksgiving holiday. Are you all doing a turkey?

I get this question a lot in the days before this holiday, a day that I always thought ended uncomfortably. Turkey is ok. Pumpkin pie is meh, cranberries not my favorite berry, and stuffing tastes like thick, mucky, well, let’s just say I don’t care for it much.

The every day information feed is a lot like the big feast. It smells so good, and the finding/making of it an exciting game, but after the bones are picked and the crumbs dusted up, it’s just heartburn and sleeplessness and guilt. It’s interesting that information we get is called a “feed”. Do you feel a little like a chicken in a cage?

Often my friends and I, comfortable or rather uncomfortable in our blue silos on the West Coast, speak of PTSD symptomology post the 2016 election. It’s a lot like consuming an apple fritter, tiramisu and a bowl of fettuccini Alfredo all in one sitting. The lead-up to the election was the both the expectation of the delicious, but tasting the delicious as well. However after such a meal, one’s digestive system is never the same again.

That’s why I think we should elect a robot for president. Again, I ask, how could it get any worse than what we have now? Nothing is foolproof, especially humans, but computers can be repaired if they send out an offensive tweet. Computers can also be hacked, but they can be re-programmed. Changing the opinions of a self-entitled, narcissistic, misogynistic – do I need to complete my thought or do you get it?

Happy Thanksgiving.

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