Richard Stallman has participated in a conference at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he has continued his activism for free software and has addressed the problems of new current technologies.
The American physicist and programmer, Richard Matthew Stallman, is a key figure in world technology. Known for being the founder of the free software movement and the creation of a political, legal and also moral framework for this type of software, his resume is impressive, from his doctorate with honors at MIT; the creation of the GNU project that powers Linux distributions; the invention of the copyleft concept and its contributions to world software freely given to the community under open licenses.
Controversial for his “radicality” in the defense of free software and the moral aspects that he has included in the foundation, he does not leave anyone indifferent when he participates in public events.
Richard Stallman talks about AI and electronic surveillance
Of course, artificial intelligence, as the great phenomenon of world technology, was among his considerations. And not for the better as was imaginable: «Nowadays, people often use the term artificial intelligence for things that are not intelligent at all… They insist on calling large language models “generators” because they generate text and do not really understand its meaning… And they also make mistakes without blinking. So you can’t trust anything they generate.”.
“Every time you call them AI, you are supporting the claim that they are intelligent, when they are not. So let’s refuse to do it.”
Stallman has been talking about ‘Simulated intelligence’ because in his opinion it better defines the capabilities of AI. “And if we start using it more frequently, we could help overcome this exaggerated advertising campaign that wants people to trust these systems, and to entrust their lives and all their activities to the large companies that develop and control them.. Stallman also criticized that the reference models were proprietary software.
The programmer also talked about the current cars and mobilessomething that he has already valued in the past to criticize the electronic surveillance that in his opinion is carried out: «Today’s cars contain malicious functionalities… Cars should not be connected. “They shouldn’t download anything”he assures, while classifying smartphones as “Orwellian tracking and surveillance devices”stating that he refuses to have one.
Stallman spoke for nearly an hour, but then answered questions for nearly 90 more minutes. where he addressed topics such as dark patterns, censorship, backdoors, subscriptions or remote updates. “The insecurity that users cannot solve is one of the consequences of non-free software”. He left along with other comments:
- When asked about gaming hardware, Stallman responded: «I don’t pay much attention to the games. Almost all of them are proprietary software, so they better end up in the trash». (Although he later added: “There are some free games implemented in free software, which is great if you have time to play.”)
- Richard Stallman’s preferred free distribution is Trisquel. But when it comes to operating systems for mobile devices, “Basically, they’re all bad… I don’t want the tracking that mobile devices do, so I don’t want to have one”.
- Have you had problems with US intelligence agencies trying to introduce rear doors or surveillance in GNU? “Uh, no… I suspect if they wanted to do it, they wouldn’t contact me.”
- Stallman also offered suggestions to educators: «Universities should teach students how to reverse engineer. This should help them focus on projects that will remove obstacles to achieving freedom.”. He also recommended that universities implement educational programs where students contribute to free software programs.
- He also noted that current websites have what he calls a “naive clause”which usually indicates: «We may change these terms and conditions. If you continue to use the site, you will be deemed to have accepted the new conditions, even if you have not seen them.. Stallman, like many others, believe this should be illegal.
- He also called age verification laws unfair (and absurd) policing imposed by laws. “There has been no campaign to demand a commitment that allows you to prove that you are an adult without them knowing who you are”.
Richard Stallman in his purest form… although he never lacks reasons in many of the topics he comments on… If you are interested, the YouTube video offers the technology conference where the programmer participated.
