Does History Show That All Roads Lead to AI?

A Primer on Each President's Involvement in Pushing Us Closer to Technocracy

Hello, Here Are The Headlines, community. This is another important article from Shelby Lancaster (whom I affectionately have dubbed our “in-house AI correspondent.) I encourage you to read and share. This is another piece we published here re: AI.

You can find Shelby’s work on her Substack or on Instagram.

- Rachel

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A question I continue to ponder: How did AI become intertwined in our government?

As I have been researching the rise of AI, I realized I needed to go back in time to see what has been done to advance the technoocracy movement. Studying history is a valuable tool, one that we must use to understand the past and, in turn, the future. In this article, we will look at some key policies and government organizations that have been formed in the last 90 or so years that directly impact and/or facilitate the rise in artificial intelligence.

Some assume that because I am speaking up about AI and how Trump’s administration is bringing in a lot of it at warp speed, it must mean I am a democrat or, as one commentator proclaimed, “a liberal lunatic!” I’m neither. I’m quite conservative, but I don’t think I fall in the camp with Republicans.

Joel Salatin describes his political stance as: “Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer.” That’s similar to my beliefs; I want freedom, autonomy, justice, affordable living, and a place where Americans can thrive - not one dominated by corporate monopolies. In all honesty, I think most Americans want that. They want a fair opportunity to have a peaceful and thriving life.

The ideals of technocracy are a threat to these ideals. Technocracy is similar to the “New World Order” concept, but more precisely, it is a well-documented group of scientists, engineers, and technical experts who believe technology should be in control of our government. They were not a political group but more of an ideological one. Much of what they dreamed of in the 1930s is now coming to fruition.

One can theorize that they made their way into the US government, influencing policies. To see if this theory is possible, we are going to travel back in time to see how each U.S. President has influenced the growth of artificial intelligence through policy. If you follow money and legislation, you’ll learn quite a bit.

A disclaimer: There is no credible evidence that the original leaders in the technocracy pursuit made their way directly into the government, but it did have over 500,000 private members.

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the 32nd President of the United States. He introduced the New Deal, which was a whole-of-government response to the Great Depression, but it drastically changed our government and began centralizing government programs and collecting data from citizens through programs for public works, social security, the FCC, SEC, and National Income Accounting.

In 1930, the first Technocracy meeting took place, bringing together scientists, engineers, data analysts, amongst others who believed technology could solve society's problems by advancing technological solutions. They were less of a political party and more of an ideological one.

Franklin’s New Deal focused on what he called the “3 R’s”: 1.) relief for the unemployed and for the poor, 2.) recovery of the economy to normal levels, and 3.) reforms of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression.

While on a surface level, those are good ambitions, the formation of these goals opened the doors for more data collection and oversight.

While Harry S. Truman was the president from 1945-1953, the first computer, UNIVAC 1 was used by the US government for analyzing population data and collection. It was the first digital system to begin compiling data in a sophisticated sequence. In 1950, the National Security Council Paper Number 68 (NSC 68) was introduced. It was a new strategy for the Cold War; it increased spending in the military and more use of technological advancements.

Also signed during Truman’s tenure was the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, which privatized classified information about atomic energy to a non-government company. As could be predicted, this led to more private companies seeking government contracts. Also in 1946, the CIA was formally created. Through Truman’s presidency, the American government enhanced military spending, began mass data collection, created the CIA, and private companies now had classified information–this laid the groundwork for much, much more. In 1952, the NSA, National Security Agency, was founded. This was the first intelligence agency to use data and technology to analyze communications.

Truman is quoted as saying:

“I never would have agreed to the formulation of the Central Intelligence Agency back in forty-seven, if I had known it would become the American Gestapo.”

From 1953-1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower's creation of DARPA rapidly pushed technological innovation. Created in 1958, formally known as ARPA, it was formed as a response to the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik Satellite. The U.S. wanted to strengthen national security through sharper and more effective technology, and rightfully so. It’s no grand conspiracy that the way wars were being fought required new technology. With America wanting to be a superpower, it had to create new strategies.

DARPA is credited with creating:

The internet (DARPA essentially laid the foundation for the creation of the internet through its development of ARPANET in the late 1960s/early 1970s. It was one of the first networks to use packet-switching technology, a core concept of what we think of as the modern internet. DARPA-funded researchers (Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn) developed the TCP/IP protocols, which are essential for internet communication.)

GPS (DARPA funded research into satellite-based navigation systems, including the “TRANSIT” system, which was a precursor to modern GPS.)

Drones (It funded early research into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) starting in the 1960s, such as the Ryan Firebee drone used for reconnaissance.)

Voice Interfaces like SIRI

Artificial Intelligence

And more technological advancements.

What we use today was because of what was done in DARPA. It begs the questions: Was it all created as a means of control or for leisure?

Source.

In 1958, NASA was formally created, which expanded research funding for advancements in technology, STEM, and more. In 1961-1963, John F. Kennedy grew research funding for computer science and cybernetics. He also initiated the Apollo mission, though he would unfortunately never see the moon landing due to his assassination

Following the assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson served from 1963-1969. Johnson created what was called the Great Society, which created the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, and created more government programs to tackle poverty and social injustice, all the while compiling more data using advanced data systems.

In 1965, the Information Processing Interagency Committee was created, which sought to create policies surrounding the increasing reliance of the government on computers. This is the part of the timeline when a national data center was proposed.

Project Cybersyn and Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

Project Cybersyn was seemingly identical to what the technocrats hoped to do: run a government by technology. This project, done in Chile by its president in 1971, created a system that would run the government the most efficiently (according to them).

A summary:

“Information from the field would be fed into statistical modeling software (Cyberstride) that would monitor production indicators, such as raw material supplies or high rates of worker absenteeism. It alerted workers in near real time. If parameters fell significantly outside acceptable ranges, it notified the central government. The information would also be input into economic simulation software (CHECO, for CHilean ECOnomic simulator). The government could use this to forecast the possible outcome of economic decisions. Finally, a sophisticated operations room (Opsroom) would provide a space where managers could see relevant economic data. They would formulate feasible responses to emergencies and transmit advice and directives to enterprises and factories in alarm situations by using the telex network.” Source

This project would go on to influence the Western world. Eventually, our CIA infiltrated the Chilean government through economic warfare, but they had a playbook. ARPANET was created by DARPA, which is the precursor of the internet that we use today. Is it possible that the technology was given to us only to be used as a means for control? This is my ongoing question.

Next up? The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-71 and similar policies began consolidating federal computing and standardizing data use in agencies. Gerald Ford (1974-1977) would go on to sign the Privacy Act of 1974. This began putting safeguards on public data as the general public became more aware of the mass data collection occurring.

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) introduced and passed the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act, which promoted technological innovation and economic growth by facilitating the transfer of technology from federal laboratories to the private sector and academia.

Ronald Regan (1981-1989) would go on to finish what Carter initiated, providing tax cuts for corporations that created innovation, laws that would allow the federal government to work with universities to develop new technologies, and an executive order to increase our technology innovation. Ironically, a lot of tech gurus come from Stanford, Harvard, and other universities. It is well documented that DARPA and other government agencies helped fund and oversee research in these universities. OpenAI founder, Sam Altman, attended Stanford, along with Peter Thiel, Snapchat Founders, and many more. You can read this article to see a 100 top tech founders that went to Stanford.

George W. Bush (1989-1993) would go on to sign the High Performance Computing Act, which would fund the National Research & Education Network (NREN), high-performance computing initiatives, and pave the way for the internet infrastructure and later AI research networks.

There isn’t much connection with Bill Clinton and technological initiatives; however, he did establish the President's Council on Sustainable Development, which is rumored to be the same as the 2030 agenda.

Spoiler: George Bush, Obama, and Trump would finalize much of what was done from the 1930s on.

From Bush to Trump: Technology Policy Evolution

President Bush signed the America COMPETES Act in 2007, a major law investing in research and development to promote science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and innovation. This act was later reauthorized by President Obama in 2010 (and updated again in 2022.)

After the horrific attack on our country on 9/11, Bush signed the first mass surveillance legislation—the Patriot Act—in response to terrorist threats. I’m sure most of you would agree that the Patriot Act has been a hugeinfringment on the privacy of American citizens. Obama later became known as the "digital president" and, wait for it, established the NUDGE Unit, a group of behavioral analysts who used internet strategies to shape public perception. Most recently, Trump prioritized ensuring America leads in AI development, working to integrate artificial intelligence into nearly every aspect of government operations (more on that here).

Recently, Trump signed the GENIUS ACT, which paves the way for digital currency. Some have speculated that being tied to the dollar is setting it up for a crash.

Could it be that there has been a real plan all along? Did technocracy live on and infiltrate our government? Could it be that all the political drama has simply been done to keep our attention elsewhere while this leap to technocracy is quietly happening in the background?

These are questions we should all be asking; there is no conspiracy. Yes, we progress with the times, but every piece of legal legislation has moved the needle closer to the end goal.

The Industrial Revolution came with a lot of good, but it also ushered in many negative things.

We the people became reliant on corporations to feed, clothe, and care for us–while losing essential skills that made us once-resilient humans. Modern medicine and advancements have saved and bettered lives, but I’ll close with this statement– the road to hell is always paved with good intentions. The question we must ask as Americans is the following: Are our conveniences and comforts worth more than our freedom as Americans?

The founder of Technocracy, Howard Scott, is quoted as saying in 1935:

“The Constitution was written with the spade and a sickle. We are not out to destroy the Constitution. We wish it to be perfectly preserved, wrapped in cellophane, and placed in the Smithsonian Institution, where it belongs. It was all right when the nation consisted of log cabins and small farms, but not today. We must get rid of it… Our monetary system is just as obsolete.”

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