The Heretic by Al Sikes

President Trump specializes in disunity, even though he holds a job, when done well, that encourages unity.

The night before, rather than addressing the nation on the collection and use of data going forward, he attacked once again those who handled data in the 2020 election. The 2020 election has been challenged and litigated by every conceivable organ of government. Individually and collectively, those governance bodies said the election of President Joe Biden was not in question.

Did foreign actors engage in deliberate efforts to persuade Americans one way or another, sure, but that has been going on forever. We live in a contested global civilization. Propaganda is not new, and we need to work to minimize its effects in this hyper-technological age. But, competition both above and below board is a fact of life.

Interestingly, President Trump’s address came at a moment when many think civilization, as we know it, is being challenged by a rapidly evolving contrived civilization, birthed by agentic artificial intelligence (AI) that few understand.

Let me pause, my spell check didn’t know the word agentic. Here is what my search revealed: “agentic, acting independently to achieve a goal.” If you are intrigued, here is a broader explanation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

Now would be a good time for the President to reassure the Nation that our institutions and laws are the equal of understanding and confronting the challenges from AI. What America got from the President was weakness—an attack on the integrity of our democratic processes. An assertion that our election institutions are not sufficiently strong to protect us from China.

Relatedly and unfortunately, the institution that needs to be strong, when the Executive is weak, is the Congress. It is not. President Trump and his Congressional collaborators have weakened the effective use of its power almost to the point of irrelevancy.

Finally, America’s foundation remains strong. Our institutions, while also weakened in the past, have always rebounded. The next election is important. Congress needs new leadership—an institution that, as intended, protects us all. Repeat: ALL.