David Brin Quotes
Secrecy is the underlying mistake that makes every innovation go wrong in Michael Crichton novels and films! If AI happens in the open, then errors and flaws may be discovered in time... perhaps by other, wary AIs!
Brin, David. Contrary Brin, davidbrin.blogspot.com, 2014.
The Scientific Project that developed the Atomic Bomb. Oppenheimer was the great physicist who directed the successful development of the atomic bomb so as to build the weapon before Hitler did in World War II. However, as the technology evolved, he had doubts as to the wisdom of creating even more powerful hydrogen weapons. His viewpoint was hurting the administration’s policy of rapid unlimited nuclear weapons development, and he was the victim of a character assassination whereby his security clearance was withdrawn. The “father” of the atomic bomb was the first American casualty of atomic weapons development.
He was very aware that there were three factors inhibiting staff members from speaking up to criticize a plan: Junior officers a reluctant to take a position that is in opposition to their superiors; many attendees see themselves as institutional representatives of their organization or sub organization and are reluctant to take a position different from that which was taken by the organization; after months of planning and the vast majority of other staff in support of a plan, most people are intimidated from raising a dissident point of view especially if they are the only one in the group with that view. Presidents, agency heads, commanders, and other leaders all face this problem. However many do not want any dissident opinions at the late stages of a planning process. The better leaders however do want those outlier opinions especially at the later stages. Eisenhower usually went out of his way to emphasize his desire for honest criticism and chided others who did not like criticism—see {637081} ,
This quotation illustrates that government use of censorship and classification to cover up errors and mistakes in not just a modern phenomenon. It is a technique that government’s will gravitate to whenever they have the chance.
Glen David Brin is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards. His novel The Postman was adapted into a 1997 feature film starring Kevin Costner.
