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The Heritage Foundation is very much in the mainstream of conservatism in the United States. They are not a fringe right wing organization. This very public pro

The Heritage Foundation is very much in the mainstream of conservatism in the United States. They are not a fringe right wing organization. This very public protest about the appointment of the Heritage Foundation president to the AI ethics panel, and Google's subsequent dissolution of it, deepens the mistrust that conservatives have about Google and Silicon Valley in general being hostile to them and the feeling that Silicon Valley does not even want to give them a voice in the debate. Given that conservatives make up between 35-40% of American adults, and that the way Senators and Electoral College votes are allocated gives them more political power than just the number would suggest, I fear that this alienation by Silicon Valley will prove to be detrimental in the long-term. https://news.gallup.com/poll/225074/conservative-lead-ideology-down-single-digits.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/225074/conservative-lead-ideolo... In the near term, I think this will cause more conservatives to embrace the need for a government AI ethics oversight panel as opposed to a Silicon Valley selected one.

ilaksh 8y ago
I don't think this should be downvoted. I'm not sure it's 40% but it is quite a lot and pretending people who have different worldviews don't exists or don't matter is not workable in the long run. Someone just trying to point out reality shouldn't be downvoted.
kevingadd 8y ago
There's an argument to be made on the political basis, but unfortunately the choice of conservative was poor given the complete lack of qualifications and unnecessarily toxic public speech background. It's really worthwhile to vet your selections in advance to ensure they're not militant anarchists or antisemites or homophobes or anything else in their historical tweets or public speeches - regardless of their expertise on the subject (in this case, also none) it prevents them from doing their job without interference. There are numerous conservatives you could find to do the job who wouldn't have set off this controversy.
- jcims 8y ago
  Maybe they thought that any conservative they pick is going to have a similar history but that her diversity ups would buy her a pass.

ilaksh 8y ago

I don't think this should be downvoted. I'm not sure it's 40% but it is quite a lot and pretending people who have different worldviews don't exists or don't matter is not workable in the long run. Someone just trying to point out reality shouldn't be downvoted.

kevingadd 8y ago

There's an argument to be made on the political basis, but unfortunately the choice of conservative was poor given the complete lack of qualifications and unnecessarily toxic public speech background. It's really worthwhile to vet your selections in advance to ensure they're not militant anarchists or antisemites or homophobes or anything else in their historical tweets or public speeches - regardless of their expertise on the subject (in this case, also none) it prevents them from doing their job without interference. There are numerous conservatives you could find to do the job who wouldn't have set off this controversy.

jcims 8y ago
Maybe they thought that any conservative they pick is going to have a similar history but that her diversity ups would buy her a pass.