{"text":[[{"start":5.98,"text":"How do you stop Americans hating data centres? That is a key question for investors right now. This week Barclays warned clients that “today’s politics will shape tomorrow’s AI capacity”. In other words, popular hostility to data centres could undermine the tech boom."}],[{"start":22.24,"text":"This also matters for the upcoming US midterm elections. President Donald Trump recently derided critics for wanting to stay “backwards and poor”, and suggested China is malevolently fuelling public opposition. But even his Maga base is angry. Indeed, with just 20 per cent of voters in a YouGov poll saying they like the centres, this unease is arguably a major point of cross-party consensus."}],[{"start":45.42,"text":"What is really interesting is that while voters frame their fears around rising energy prices and water shortages, 43 and 15 per cent respectively support the construction of energy-guzzling Amazon fulfilment centres and chip factories, according to an Echelon poll. This suggests that voters aren’t just worried about the energy costs associated with data centres — the buildings have also become a tangible symbol for wider fears about AI."}],[{"start":69.42,"text":"So how should tech bosses and politicians respond? Big Tech is scrambling to address the energy issues, which is good. But US leaders also urgently need to look beyond American PR."}],[{"start":80.14,"text":"For while Silicon Valley tech bros and Washington politicians tend to assume that their world view is correct and universal, with AI this is not true. As the philosophers Stephen Cave and Kanta Dihal note, other societies have different frames, and America could learn much by looking at that — particularly in Asia."}],[{"start":98.74,"text":"Consider a recent Ipsos poll. This shows that just 33 per cent of American and French voters and 29 per cent in Britain feel excited about AI. But in China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan that figure is 83, 61, 74 and 47 per cent respectively. That is a stunning optimism gap."}],[{"start":117.58,"text":"What explains this? One factor is demographics: ageing Asian societies are running short of workers. But this does not account for the gap in its entirety. In fact, the poll shows that the proportion of citizens who expect AI to displace their job is actually far higher in Asia than America. Yes, really."}],[{"start":134.16,"text":"So I suspect we need to look at culture and policy. China, unlike America, is an “engineering state”, as Breakneck author Dan Wang puts it, with high societal respect for science. Meanwhile Japan’s media culture has always been positive about robots and AI — as epitomised by the wildly popular Astro Boy manga and anime series featuring a cute robot who befriends humans."}],[{"start":158.08,"text":"In the Anglo-Saxon world, in stark contrast, the media has taught people to view robots as terrifying. Just think of The Terminator, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Doctor Who. And that reflects other differences. In Judeo-Christian religions there is a binary split between animate and inanimate objects. So it follows that humanoid machines should appear threatening; in the Judeo-Christian tradition only humans have souls."}],[{"start":183.06,"text":"However, as some philosophers — along with the creator of Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka — have pointed out, Japan’s Shinto culture presents life as a spectrum, where objects like rocks can house spirits. This encourages acceptance of humanoid tech."}],[{"start":198.18,"text":"Policy choices matter even more. Many Japanese executives assume it is their duty to train citizens in AI skills. For instance, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is rolling out extensive training. In Singapore, the government has taken responsibility, via massive training schemes. And in China the government stresses the practical uses of AI, and prepares consumers and companies for its advance."}],[{"start":220.38,"text":"But in the US the hype focuses on new models and efforts to build artificial general intelligence. And while some companies, like Walmart, are (commendably) training their workers, generally the onus is on individuals to embrace AI, without much help from government, Big Tech or universities. No wonder voters feel scared."}],[{"start":238.46,"text":"So if US leaders want to counter the backlash, they should learn from Asia. The tech world should club together to fund mass training for citizens and make efforts to demonstrate the practical benefits flowing from AI, for example by offering free tools to plug labour market gaps in elderly care. So should government."}],[{"start":256,"text":"Most importantly, elected American politicians must show that they — like their Asian counterparts — can rein in secretive Big Tech companies. That certainly does not mean becoming the Chinese Communist Party. Nor does it mean copying Japan’s excessively cosy ties between business and bureaucrats. But there is a middle ground."}],[{"start":272.98,"text":"Voters need democratic oversight of Big Tech, and initiatives that show innovation is happening with, and not against, them. As one US pharmaceutical executive tells me: “I am not anti-AI. [But] the issue that scares homeowners like me is the secrecy with which these data centres operate and [the lack of] accountability of utilities.” It’s time to ponder the lessons of Astro Boy."}],[{"start":296.08,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788754071_1113.mp3"}