Understanding AI's Impact: Negative, Necessary, Neutral
Framing the AI Debate with Clarity and Purpose
Thank you Connie Nash for bringing this to my attention. Here is a primer on AI to help better understand the complexities in my 3 part series: AI Surveillance and U.S. Government Contracts - What You’re Not Being Told.
Artificial intelligence is evolving fast, faster than most of our laws, institutions, and ethical frameworks can keep up with. And in the swirl of headlines, breakthroughs, and doomsday predictions, many of us are asking the same question:
👉 What’s actually happening, and how should we feel about it?
That’s where our new framework comes in: Negative | Necessary | Neutral.
This model is more than a lens. It’s a tool for sense-making in an era of digital confusion.
🔻 Negative
These are the developments that raise alarm, surveillance expansion, job automation, deepfake disinformation, AI-powered policing, and the erosion of privacy.
📌 Example: AI facial recognition being deployed at protests without consent.
These aren’t just theoretical problems. They’re real-world outcomes that disproportionately affect marginalized groups, democratic institutions, and civil liberties.
Hashtags: #AIAbuse #DigitalRights #SurveillanceState
🟨 Necessary
Not all AI is destructive. Some of it helps us scale urgent work:
AI in climate modeling
AI-assisted medical diagnostics
Accessibility tech for those with disabilities
This is where nuance matters. The key here is accountability, ensuring that even necessary tools don’t become Trojan horses for unchecked power.
Hashtags: #EthicalAI #AIForGood #AccessibleTech
⚪ Neutral
Neutral doesn’t mean unimportant. It means context-dependent.
Think AI tools used in email spam filters, translation engines, or image upscaling. These aren’t inherently good or bad, but they can be shaped by how we implement them.
This is where governance, transparency, and public input make the difference.
Hashtags: #AIRealityCheck #TechWithContext
Why This Matters
As we kick off our AI Surveillance + U.S. Government Contracts series on The Firing Line, this framework will guide how we report, investigate, and tell the stories behind the data. I’m quite concerned about DeepFakes and call on Congress to act on responsible legislation to control the bad actors.
Our forthcoming chart, based on government contract filings and public disclosures, will show which AI tools fall where, who’s funding them, and what that means for you.
🔔 Stay tuned: Part II drops Wednesday.
📥 Subscribe hand Share
To me these lists indicate that if the application is for non- personal use it may be ok. If the application is for use on random individuals not aware of observation it is probably going to be invasive.