OPINION:
Vice President Kamala Harris, fresh off her stint as “border czar,” has taken on a new role as “A.I. czar” — which, as she likes to helpfully explain, stands for, boys and girls, “arr-tuh-fih-shul in-tell-li-jense.”
Dear Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, please don’t let Harris become president. Ever.
At an A.I. roundtable event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building with those tied to civil and labor rights’ movements, Harris attempted to explain the difficulty of forging ahead with technological developments in a way that doesn’t unfairly pit humans in the workforce against machines.
“I think the first part of this issue that should be articulated is A.I. is kind of a fancy thing; first of all, it’s two letters,” she said.
Let that one sink in a minute.
Read on; she wasn’t done.
“[I]t means artificial intelligence,” Harris said, “but ultimately what it is, is it’s about machine learning.”
Still not done. Nope.
“And so,” she went on, “the machine is taught and part of the issue here is what information is going into the machine that will then determine, and we can predict then if we think about what information is going in, what then will be produced in terms of decisions and opinions that may be made through that process.”
Not a mis-type.
Her actual words.
What was even funnier is she checked her notes right after saying, “it’s about machine learning” — as if to make sure she had it right by explaining the subsequent, “and so, the machine is taught.”
Thank you for attending; don’t forget to grab a complimentary juice box and cheese stick as you make your way to the exit.
Harris was subjected to widespread mocking, of course.
But toward what end? She’s used to it.
Meanwhile — and this is the sad and serious part — the world watches.
In March of 2022, President Joe Biden acknowledged in remarks in Philadelphia about a $3.5 billion funding package for equipment for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops that he would never send U.S. troops directly to Ukraine — that doing so would usher in “World War III.”
Great.
But the flow of U.S. money, supplies and aid to Ukraine and to NATO allies has reached the proportions of a world war anyway. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, since the start of Russia-Ukraine hostilities, “the Biden administration and the U.S. Congress have directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial and military support.” Specifically, America’s sent $23.5 billion in weapons and equipment, and funded another $4.7 of grants and loans for weapons and equipment, to Ukraine. Another $18.3 billion of U.S. tax dollars have gone toward security for Ukraine — which is to say, more weapons and equipment.
That may not be World War III.
But it is a proxy war.
And it’s a proxy war that’s ratcheted considerably in recent days. Biden just approved the sending of cluster bombs to Ukraine — an action Donald Trump has condemned as “dragging us further toward World War III.”
And seemingly seconds later, Biden called up 3,000 reservists for military deployment to Europe to defend NATO’s eastern flank — the Baltics, Hungary, Romania, etc. — from Russian aggression. Again, the condemnations fly.
“Joe Biden Accused of Wanting ‘World War 3’ After Calling Up Reserve Troops,” Newsweek wrote in a headline.
The big problem is that Biden is about as fit a commander-in-chief as a popsicle stick. As for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin? Well, there’a reason all branches of the military, except for the Marines, are facing recruiting and retention nightmares. Actually, there are several — but a biggie is the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan; another, the forced COVID shots into the arms of troops; another, the woke and social justice warrior training that’s driven away the finest while drawing close the transgender loons. The list goes on.
The point is this: America, under this president, under this Defense secretary, under this administration, is not well positioned to win any kind of world war. This president is barely well positioned to walk and talk at the same time — which segues back nicely to the matter of Harris and her word salad ways: If she’s America’s backup, oh boy.
This a woman who could one day take over the commander-in-chief duties for a president whose puppet strings are rapidly failing to hold him in an upright position. Handlers, after all, aren’t magicians. If responsibilities fall to Harris — disaster, let us count the ways.
She almost makes Biden seem brainiac.
That’s a scary thought for America, and for the world.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
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