On 30 and 31 August 2024, the Chinese metropolis of Chongqing (population 18 million) hosted the New Silk Road Global Journalism Forum, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, which included a conference on aspects of artificial intelligence in today's world. More than 100 journalists, editors and members of journalism associations from around the world attended the forum, which was divided into several sessions. Slovakia was represented by Tibor Eliot Rostas, publisher and editor-in-chief of Zem&Vek and the Association of Independent Media, who was invited by the Chinese committee together with Zem&Vek editorial photographer Matúš Plech.
Rostas warned very strongly about the risks associated with the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies. Speaking at a conference on artificial intelligence and its impact on our society in Chongqing, a metropolis on the Yellow River, Rostas recalled that about a century ago the world entered the nuclear age, when science and scientists split uranium and penetrated further in knowledge.
"I put it in the context of today's time of dynamic development and colossal changes. I dare to say that we have not yet properly explored our own consciousness, we don't have the answers to what consciousness is, but we are on very thin ice, trying to create something like artificial intelligence.
There is no doubt that there are huge and previously unsuspected opportunities within the field of artificial intelligence that have the potential to significantly improve the quality of human life in a huge number of areas.
In this context, however, it is up to us, philosophers, journalists and thinking people, to warn in time of possible threats that could reverse the good intentions towards outcomes that directly threaten humanity.
I am writing another of our books on this important topic together with one of the most renowned professors in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Professor Petr Stanek, and we have been publishing articles on artificial intelligence in our journal for a long time.
It is our job to ensure that what has been designed to improve our lives is not used against the individual, which could lead to a fatal spiral that could spiral out of control.
In this context, let us recall the letter of the geniuses Albert Einstein and Theo Szilard, in which they urged President Roosevelt to develop an atomic weapon - ostensibly on the grounds that the Nazis and Heisenberg already had the atomic bomb.
Please remember Oppenheimer and his Thousand Suns of God Krishna, with which he burned Hiroshima, Nagasaki and life in peace.
It seems that global threats are increasing rather than decreasing, and therefore the intelligentsia and the media should learn a lesson about the misuse of science against man himself: none but renaissance men who perceive the totality of existence can avert the threats stemming from the irresponsible decisions of politicians around the world. I am happy to say these words in China, which is one of the leaders in the development of artificial intelligence.
No one but thinking people, journalists and the media should be the first to guard the preservation of originally good intentions for the sake of our future and the future of our descendants," said T.E. Rostas in China.
At the same time, he made unexpected connections in front of top Chinese officials of the Belt and Road Initiative, gaining a lot of attention from the audience.
In his next speech, Rostas presented the following ideas to an audience of intellectuals from around the world:
"Dear colleagues and friends,
we must realize that what unites us is our difference. If we understand that, we can remain friends forever.
Let us develop our uniqueness so that we never invest our precious energy in conflict, hatred and war.
We live in one single world, which ancient Greece called Kosmos oinos. We have become accustomed to the idea that the world must show itself to us only in its power, through the will to power, as the German philosopher Nietzsche used to say - wille zur macht.
But this endless race to see who has more, who is better, who has more power, who has more money, who has more weapons, who has more soldiers, who controls the world better, can never bring us to peace, tranquility and harmony.
Dear friends and colleagues, believe me, it is we, the people of Central and Eastern Europe, who have the historical experience that we wanted to turn the enthusiasm of our peoples into a common destiny, but in the end we succumbed to the struggle of hidden forces.
What has come since 1989? Coups d'état, colour revolutions, rules imposed by force and humanitarian bombing of innocent victims in Yugoslavia and innocent victims in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Libya, in Syria, just because they had a different idea of a fair distribution of power everywhere.
Therefore, from this place I appeal to the good and wise people before you all: we do not need more and more and more, because having more and more must inevitably lead to a catastrophic collision somewhere, because it cannot last forever. Rather, we need less and less waste, less greed, less fighting and, on the contrary, more understanding that we are all part of one creation. We were brought into this world by lightning, as the ancient Greeks say, pánta oiakidzéi kérainós, which means that everything is controlled by lightning.
Neither artificial intelligence nor satanic transhumanism created us for this world. We are all beings descended from a man and a woman, we are not misguided transgender mutations or children from laboratories. We are human beings, and yes, fallible human beings, because mistakes and imperfections make us human. We must not fear or make mistakes. Without mistakes we would never understand this world and this universe and being in it. We must not be proud and tell ourselves that we are the masters of creation, because that is not true. And truth, it shows itself in its simplicity," said Tibor Eliot Rostas, among others, to the applause of newspaper editors and presidents of journalists' associations and intellectuals from all over the world.
Source: https://zemavek.sk/
PHOTO / Matúš Plecho
English 
Czech