George Soros' Strange Revelations About China
Source: (
https://bit.ly/3gdluHl)
Part of the answer is to be found in technological progress, most
of which is based on artificial intelligence, which was in its
infancy in the 1980s. The development of AI and the rise of social
media and tech platforms evolved together. This has produced very
profitable companies that have become so powerful that no one can
compete against them, though they can compete against each other.
These companies have come to dominate the global economy. They
are multinational, and their reach extends to every corner of the
world. We can all name them: Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft,
and Amazon. There are similar conglomerates in China, but their
names are less familiar in the West.
This development has had far-reaching political consequences. It has
sharpened the conflict between China and the US and has given it an
entirely new dimension. China has turned its tech platforms into
national champions; the US is more hesitant to do so, because it
worries about their effect on the freedom of the individual. These
different attitudes shed new light on the conflict between the two
systems of governance that the US and China represent.
In theory, AI is morally and ethically neutral; it can be used for
good or bad. But in practice, its effect is asymmetric. AI is
particularly good at producing instruments that help repressive
regimes and endanger open societies. Interestingly, the coronavirus
reinforced the advantage repressive regimes enjoy by legitimizing
the use of personal data for purposes of public control.
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George Soros also admitted that the statistics of the world's
population are overestimated.
The current situation doesnt look promising. Making matters
worse, China also faces a serious demographic problem. The birthrate
is much lower than the published figures indicate. Experts calculate
that the actual population is about 130 million lower than the
official figure of 1.4 billion. This is not widely known, but it will
produce labor shortages, slow the economy, aggravate the real-estate
crisis, and heighten fiscal strain.
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