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PaperclipPerfector  17hr ago (text post)   2878 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 19, 2026

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MAD works because of second strike capabilities

You don't necessarily need second strike if you have launch on warning.

AI capabilities continuously enable dominance of your rivals.

And this is why we will never have an AI that becomes more powerful than the US government wants it to be. You see, the US has had a continuous advantage in AI technology over its enemies since the 1950s, with an escalating advantage in the 1980s. Over the past four decades of continuous advantage, it has continually dominated its rivals, and will use its continuing edge to retard hostile AI development to exactly the level of development that it deems acceptable. This also means that the US will be able to safely stop developing AI well before reaching the area where AI is dangerous, since it can simply decide to retard the progress of hostile AIs using its considerable AI capability advantage in such a way as to leave its own AI capabilities considerably more powerful. You're already living in the world with the Maxim Gun, it's just not polite to advertise it.

Or...perhaps an advantage in AI isn't everything.

This also means that the US will be able to safely stop developing AI well before reaching the area where AI is dangerous, since it can simply decide to retard the progress of hostile AIs using its considerable AI capability advantage in such a way as to leave its own AI capabilities considerably more powerful.

This doesn't make any sense. America has stayed ahead in ai development by just developing it faster, this does not in any way imply the ability to flick an off switch. They'd need to be at the point over being able to overthrow the CCP to do this. It's just another form of one world government.

I agree that an edge in AI does not translate over to dominating your rivals.

you prevent an edge from turning into an overwhelming power imbalance by developing your own capabilities. Which means your theory that they might develop AI just up until the point where it can control the population and no further cannot occur in any multi-state system.

My theory? This is your theory!

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