Aspen postcard: A Gonzo dispatch from the near future

Imagine this: Democracy is decimated, eaten by locusts of misinformation created by artificial intelligence. Robots didn’t simply take our jobs; they conquered our minds. And the wealthiest made money on it all.

• Why it matters:Experts at this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival saw that scenario not as apocalyptic fiction, but rather as a thoroughly possible — maybe even probable — future, Axios Denver’s John Frank reports.

Dissolution of the American dream … brain hacking … geopolitical realignment … plus “The Pope in the Puffer Jacket” (AI-generated deepfakes) melded this week into the fanciest doomsday prepper session on Earth.

• The annual weeklong festival brings together some of the world’s top minds to discuss the most intractable problems — the rich and famous, with disruptors trying to overthrow the rich and famous.

What they’re saying: Artificial intelligence may allow us to talk to animals, but it will lead to a post-fact 2024 campaign.

• We need to democratize wealth— or maybe economic inequality is “a myth.”
• Attendees carried designer bagswith the slogan “Help feed the children of the world,” and attended a discussion on nutrition inequality while sipping “ultra-premium, cold-pressed juice” flown in from L.A.

Between the lines: The event on a riverside mountain campus, where the buildings and even the urinals are sponsored by wealthy donors, features no shortage of star power.

• Actress Emma Watsonturned celebrated scholars into gapers as she visited the Zen Den showing live cameras of animals in the wild.
• Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezosdidn’t speak at the main festival, but appeared at a side event with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

The festival features a track on happiness, where the speakers discussed how to channel ancient spirituality to overcome present-day perils.

• You could even ride an exercise bike that spins a blender to make your own Danone smoothie — feeling like you’re saving the world and being healthy at the same time.

 Πηγή: axios.com