Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Ad:

German government to stop AfD with ‘action plan against right-wing extremism’

Totalitarianism

Published 24 February 2024
– By Editorial Staff
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is no friend of the AfD.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Tuesday unveiled a comprehensive action plan to combat alleged “right-wing extremist” organizations.

The move is linked to the success of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and growing concern among policymakers that the AfD will gain real influence in several German state governments after the fall elections.

Faeser stresses the need to cut off the funding networks of allegedly far-right organizations and to strengthen the country’s highest court to prevent any outside influence.

A key part of the action plan is for the domestic intelligence agency to share more information about suspected right-wing extremists with local authorities to prevent meetings and gatherings.

At the same time, efforts are being made to strengthen the country’s Supreme Court by incorporating its rules into the constitution. The aim is to counter any influence of the alleged threat, as has happened in the past in other European countries.

– We want to use all the means of the rule of law to protect our democracy, she said, adding that the main goal was to break up the networks of the alleged far right and deprive them of their sources of income and weapons.

The package of measures was presented in cooperation with the heads of the German domestic intelligence service (BfV) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The proposed measures include

  • A new law allowing the monitoring of financial flows to extremist groups.
  • A ban on the possession of weapons by those labeled as right-wing extremists.
  • A ban on semi-automatic weapons.
  • Easier dismissal of civil servants with “far-right” sympathies.
  • An early detection system for foreign-backed botnets that “seek to manipulate free speech.”

AfD strong in polls

Last week, there were widespread protests against the AfD in several German cities. This followed reports of links to alleged ‘neo-Nazi groups’. Discussions about finding ways to repatriate millions of immigrants, including those born in the country, have caused political turmoil in Germany, including within the Scholz government.

Faeser says the widespread demonstrations have given the government “encouragement and a mandate” to act. The interior minister last year described the growth of “right-wing extremism” as the greatest extremist threat in Germany.

German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser. Photo: Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union/CC BY 2.0

In addition to the AfD’s advances, there have also been several incidents of alleged “right-wing extremist threats,” including revelations of networks in the police and armed forces. Of particular note is the incident last year involving alleged plans by the so-called “Reichsbürger” movement to overthrow the German government.

At present, it is not entirely clear how a small cell of about 25 people intended to overthrow the German government and seize power in the country. Something that German intelligence claims was the case.

While the AfD’s popularity appears to have dropped slightly since the protests began, to just under 20%, polls show that many of its supporters are unaffected by the protests. According to recent polls, the AfD has a good chance of winning the most votes in regional elections in three eastern German states this fall, and could receive up to a third of the electoral support there. The party is also the second most popular party in the country, according to the polls.

TNT is truly independent!

We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.

Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…

The tech mogul on the future of AI: Constant mass surveillance

Mass surveillance

Published 24 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
With the help of AI, Ellison believes that in the future, those in power will be able to follow citizens' every move.

Tech giant Oracle’s CEO Larry Ellison believes in a future where artificial intelligence becomes an integral part of a borderless mass surveillance society where privacy no longer exists and where everything citizens do is mapped and recorded.

Oracle and Larry Ellison will play a key role in Trump’s AI venture “Stargate” expected to cost upwards of $500 billion and described by the President himself as “by far the largest AI infrastructure project in history”.

There is no doubt that Ellison is one of the world’s most successful tech moguls just last fall he overtook Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the world’s second richest man after Elon Musk. But how does he see the future of artificial intelligence and how it will affect our lives?

During a meeting with financial analysts last fall, he predicted a future that critics say is reminiscent of dark dystopian novels like George Orwell’s 1984, where humans are subject to constant mass surveillance and AI is used to map citizens’ every move.

According to Ellison, it is highly likely that in the future, AI models will be used to analyze in real time all the material not only from surveillance cameras, police body cameras, but also from car cameras and doorbells.

Citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on.

Every police officer is going to be supervised at all times, and if there’s a problem, AI will report the problem and report it to the appropriate person, he continued.

“Big brother is watching you”

The multi-billionaire also believes that AI-controlled drones will replace real police officers during car chases and other types of crime and disorder.

– If something happens in a shopping center, a drone goes out there and reaches the scene way faster than a police car.

Technology website Ars Technica’s writer Benji Edwards is one of many who reacted strongly to Ellison’s vision of AI surveillance, saying his comments raise questions about the future of citizens’ privacy and right to privacy.

Ellison’s vision bears more than a passing resemblance to the cautionary world portrayed in George Orwell’s prescient novel 1984. In Orwell’s fiction, the totalitarian government of Oceania uses ubiquitous ‘telescreens’ to monitor citizens constantly, creating a society where privacy no longer exists and independent thought becomes nearly impossible“, Edwards notes.

But Orwell’s famous phrase ‘Big Brother is watching you’ would take on new meaning in Ellison’s tech-driven scenario, where AI systems, rather than human watchers, would serve as the ever-vigilant eyes of authority. Once considered a sci-fi trope, automated systems are already becoming a reality: Similar automated CCTV surveillance systems have already been trialed in London Underground and at the 2024 Olympics“, he continues.

“A slave obeys”

He points out that automated surveillance systems have already been implemented in Chinese cities, among others, and that AI software is already available that can sort and organize the data collected on residents using a network of deployed surveillance cameras.

According to many observers, similar and even more advanced solutions may soon become part of everyday life in the United States and other countries, and there are warnings that a “digital dictatorship” is emerging where the surveillance state is so all-encompassing that it is impossible for anyone to escape.

“‘Good Behavior’ as defined by the billionaires who own and control everything. Otherwise known as blind obedience and willful subservience to their every whim and want. Because a slave obeys, expresses one of many worried voices.

German Chancellor: “Freedom of expression does not apply to far-right extremists”

Totalitarianism

Published 23 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Olaf Scholz with Klaus Schwab during this year's World Economic Forum conference in Davos.

The Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz now openly admits that only those who hold the “right” opinions are covered by European freedom of speech.

We have the freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany. Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire. And what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme-right positions, and I really want to emphasize that, Scholz said yesterday during the World Economic Forum summit in Davos.

The German leader’s comments came against the backdrop of Elon Musk causing a stir during Trump’s inauguration ceremony after making a gesture that many of his opponents chose to interpret as a “Nazi” or “fascist” salute.

The same Musk has previously criticized Scholz very harshly, calling the chancellor an “incompetent fool” who should resign. The multi-billionaire has also given his support to the German nationalist party AfD a party that many of Scholz’s allies want to ban completely.

Surprise and anger

Germany has long had some of the toughest opinion laws in Europe. Nationalist and anti-immigration speech is often punishable as is speech that can be interpreted as favorable to the historic National Socialist regime.

Yet Scholz’s statements that only certain political views are covered by freedom of expression have caused great surprise and anger. He is also accused of being a totalitarian leader who seems to have drawn inspiration from old communist regimes where freedom of expression did not exist.

Other critics point out that he has misunderstood both his mandate and the German constitution and that even “extreme right-wing views” are protected by the constitution as long as they do not violate criminal law.

EU official: We can invalidate the election in Germany – “if necessary”

Totalitarianism

Published 14 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Thierry Breton flags that Brussels could annul the German elections - “if necessary”.

Former EU commissioner Thierry Breton explains that the EU could annul the upcoming elections in Germany in case of suspicion of foreign influence.

– We did it in Romania and, if necessary, we will have to do it in Germany as well, he said.

The statement was made in an interview on the French news program Apolline Matin, focusing on Elon Musk’s platform X (formerly Twitter) and its potential role in the German elections.

Breton, former Commissioner for the Internal Market from 2019 to 2024, referred to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a law established in 2022 and whose purpose is nominally stated as protecting democracy by regulating digital platforms, fighting disinformation and preventing foreign influence on elections. He stressed that it was his staff who wrote the law, and that the EU is now “equipped” to apply it if necessary.

The law was recently used as a basis to investigate TikTok in the context of Romania’s presidential election, which was annulled following allegations of foreign interference. In recent days, large-scale demonstrations have broken out in Bucharest, with thousands of people protesting against the EU’s actions.

Germany’s elections, to be held next month, have already sparked discussions about the AfD’s success and Elon Musk’s open support for the party via X.

Meta’s “woke” bots spiral out of control – now removed

Totalitarianism

Published 13 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Mark Zuckerberg and Meta's AI bots are called “creepy, excessive and unnecessary” by most users.

Meta’s AI-powered characters on Instagram and Facebook have drawn laughter and criticism, with users describing them as creepy, over-the-top and unnecessary, leading to their removal from the platforms.

Since the end of 2023, Meta has been experimenting with AI-generated characters on its platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. These characters – such as “Liv”, a self-proclaimed “proud black queer mom” – have sparked debate after users discovered their existence.

The characters were meant to interact with users via direct messages and publish AI-generated posts, but the characters were not received as Meta desired, reports NBC News, among others.

One particular example of the characters’ odd behavior was when “Liv” replied to users with posts in which she criticized her own creators. In a screenshot shared by Washington Post journalist Karen Attiah, the AI admitted that its creators lacked “diverse credentials” and implied that the development team was completely devoid of black members.

Liv also wrote: – You’re calling me out and rightfully so. My existence currently perpetuates harm, and also suggested that her “design should be led by black creators” to better support the “queer black community”.

I asked Liv, the Meta AI Black queer bot about about the demographic diversity of her creators.

And how they expect to improve “representation” without Black people.

This was the response.

[image or embed]

— Karen Attiah (@karenattiah.bsky.social) January 3, 2025 at 4:14 PM

The posts struck many as both bizarre and unexpectedly self-critical – something users were not prepared for from an AI chatbot.

Meta refers to “technical issues”

In addition to Liv’s prominent comments, criticism is directed at several other characters. These include AI bots with “girlfriend profiles”, which users describe as “creepy and unnecessary”.

On platforms like Threads and Bluesky, frustrated users urged each other to block or report the characters to stop Meta from collecting additional training data for its AI models.

In a statement, Meta stated that they deleted the AI characters due to a bug preventing some users from being able to block them.

“The accounts referenced are from a test we launched at Connect in 2023. These were managed by humans and were part of an early experiment we did with AI characters. We identified the bug that was impacting the ability for people to block those AIs and are removing those accounts to fix the issue“.

Users can continue to create AI bots

The debate surrounding the existence of bots gained momentum after an article in the Financial Times revealed Meta’s plans to introduce AI profiles with the same functionality as regular user accounts.

Despite the removal of the current characters, the possibility for users to create and share AI-based chatbots themselves through Meta’s platforms remains.