By MIKE MAGEE

This week, New York Times political columnist, Linda Kindler reflected on “How Silicon Valley Stole the Future.” Signaling that this wasn’t simply another article on the binary choices of an AI world – or as she put it “either a world in which A.I. has eliminated all jobs, unleashed bioengineered viruses and enabled catastrophic warfare or a utopia in which the technology gives people ‘greater power to live life as they choose.’”

Instead, the AI discussion steered away from Fellow Times columnist, Thomas Friedman’s scary Halloween AI piece the day before (“We Just Set Off the Second Big Bang”) and focused instead on the work of Jonathan White, the Professor of Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science where he teaches on democracy, political thought and political theory.

Professor White’s message was a clear warning not to abdicate control over AI to the Tech bro’s, in that “the capacity to imagine alternatives that may be improbable and to pursue them against the odds” is a “democratic resource.” In Kindler’s words, White argues, “When the future increasingly seems like something to avoid rather than something to look forward to, the very foundations of democracy are weakened. The future has been the primary terrain upon which all politics are practiced since the French Revolution challenged the divine right of kings.”

And Americans have made it pretty clear over the past two years that they reject Kings in the White House. Last week’s “No Kings” rally at thousands of sites across the nation were in fact a recurring event. Back in June 19, 2025, the Guardian took notice commenting that “The scale of last weekend’s “No Kings” protests is now becoming clearer, with one estimate suggesting that Saturday was among the biggest ever single-day protests in US history.”

Americans apparently want control of their own future destinies, AI and otherwise. With 5 days remaining before the 2026 Mid-Term elections, the levels of participation by the electorate are projected to set a record nationwide at 54% (past record was 49% in 2022) with a projected 135 million of the eligible 250+ million casting votes.