‘We believe that trending more towards individual empowerment is important; the other likely path we can see is AI being used by authoritarian governments to control their population through mass surveillance and loss of autonomy. Ensuring that the benefits of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) are broadly distributed is critical … increasing equality does not seem technologically determined and getting this right may require new ideas.’
Sam Altman (Blog: 11 February ’25)
The past four weeks have seen much comment about the new autocracy that is driving America. Over the past week, it has become clear that Ukraine is little more than a bargaining chip for Donald Trump and his team as they lay down their ‘superpowers are all that matters’ policy, leaving Ukraine and potentially much of Europe to the ‘mercy’ of fellow autocrat, Vladimir Putin.
Of course, Trump points to his outright majority in the U.S. elections as providing him with democratic legitimacy to do as he likes, but the American electorate will come to learn that they are just the means to an end — because this is his last term as president, it will only be his showmanship which might keep him connected to the people, and it is his property magnate character that has already taken charge.
An article by Gerard Baker in last Friday's Times summed up the new autocracy well. Effectively, it said that people’s freedom is now regarded as dispensable as the big powers weigh up alongside and against each other.
The problem, of course, is that conventional democracy has a lot to answer for as well: in particular, for short-termism, for excess public spending and for continually escalating debt. The combination of universal welfare ideology with the understandably highest priority being given to the next election in 4-5 year cycles has taken precedence, and the populists react against democratic socialism by appealing to self-interest rather than generosity.
As Sam Altman says, getting equality right may require new ideas if we are not all to be driven by autocratic and dictatorial governments.
He's right: we do need to look for new ideas. But here's the rub: after centuries of hope that democracy would find the way to increase equality, but during which it has failed to deliver, he and other tech oligarchs, many of whom were gathered around Donald Trump at his inauguration, must take responsibility for making that change happen. Right at the heart of that process must be generosity, on their part.
Our commentaries often make reference to key aspects of the Christian faith in order to define the core principles on which human civilisation should be based and, at the centre of these, is the second great commandment, ‘To love your neighbour as yourself’.
Unfortunately, U.S. Vice-President J D Vance doesn't really understand what underpins this instruction. He thinks it means your first priority is family, then close friends, then fellow citizens of your country, and finally, if there is any space for further generosity of spirit, anyone else: 'I think it’s a very Christian concept, by the way, that you love your family and then you love your neighbour and then you love your community and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that you can focus and prioritise the rest of the world’.
There is much guidance in the Christian gospels to explain that this is not what Jesus meant. Immediately following the conversation about the two great commandments, and in answer to the question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’, comes the story of the Good Samaritan: the person least likely to be considered a neighbour by the Jewish people to whom Jesus was speaking. And in another situation, he made clear that his first Christian priority is not his family, but those in real need.
The populist version of government doesn't follow this: it basically appeals to self-interest and building walls against others. Meanwhile, the socialist creed — that governments can and should do everything for everyone — is unsustainable within democracy, as universality becomes little more than a bribe for the electorate while at the same time removing individual freedom of choice.
This is why the generosity that should lead to the increasing equality for which Sam Altman calls must start voluntarily with those who have benefited most from the concentration of individual wealth: and, in our current era, they are the tech giant oligarchs.
Over one hundred years ago, people such as William Carnegie and George Cadbury understood this, and they made a huge contribution towards alleviating some of the worst deprivations of the industrial revolution. We need to learn their lesson, and to re-establish that same individual generosity today. The tech revolution has given us that opportunity.
There are those who are already doing just that, but they are regrettably small in number. Bill Gates, with his Gates Foundation, is one of the best known, and he has just published the first part of his autobiography charting his journey over the past decades. But wealth and power consume the attention of most of the others, with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos being possibly the two best known in this regard.
Philanthropists understand the need for targeted support much better than politicians. They don't get deflected by the need to chase public support, and they can therefore concentrate on the needs of the most disadvantaged. Their key challenge is to maintain long-term continuity, but many have shown the way to do this through establishing foundations and endowments.
Democratic governments need to learn to work in partnership with philanthropists in order to enable them to deliver outcomes for increasing equality more effectively. That's why The Share Foundation, in its proposal to the Child Poverty Task Force, has asked Liz Kendall and Bridget Phillipson for their agreement in principle to provide the regulation and logistic arrangements necessary so that philanthropists can provide the necessary funding for resources and life skills for the most disadvantaged young people in the United Kingdom. Once that agreement in principle is given, The Share Foundation will establish a Philanthropic Advisory Group to provide the confidence to Government that the necessary finance can be raised.
It's initiatives like this, and the generosity called for in other SHARE proposals such as ‘Stock for Data’, which place tech giant owners firmly in the driving seat to bring the change we need for a more civilised society. The Share Alliance website sets out these proposals designed to introduce a more egalitarian form of capitalism.
Meanwhile, the power broker autocrats will no doubt continue in their game of bluff and confrontation. Let's hope that they don't seriously misjudge the consequences of failure: for example, all the attention is on Ukraine at present, but where does this leave Taiwan in its vulnerability in the event of Chinese aggression?
Perhaps more of them should study that key Christian instruction: not just to love your neighbour however different they may be, but also to love your enemy, and to pray for those who persecute you. Let's hope Putin’s spiritual mentor, Patriarch Kirrill, is also listening to that.
Gavin Oldham OBE
Share Radio