Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Miwok

Normally, when writing, an author is supposed to consider and ponder the intended audience and the major purpose prior to writing. What follows here is an attempt to somewhat disregard this standard approach not so much so on the audience aspect but rather sidestepping the focus on a focused detailed purpose. Simply put, the aspect of writing may lead to the purpose.

Frankly, the conclusion and the writing may end up being absurd because I’m exploring the impossible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the past. You should be informed that the education this author has on the topic is limited to a four week class centered on the understanding and use of IBM’s Watson (IBM, n.d.). If you follow the stock market and faddish news sources then it’s like you’ve read some hype about AI. Lohr (2021), reports that Watson has not, “panned out”.

However, it depends on what is being promised and promoted, the view here is that AI has incredible potential, despite or beyond the hype. Perhaps AI could have saved Jean-François Champollion and others the 20 years it took to decipher the Rosetta Stone and three scripts it contained; hieroglyphs, Demotic (essentially a shorthand form of hieroglyphs) and ancient Greek (Solly, 2022). 

Could AI, if it had been available in the past, suggested an expanded use of “96 hour” (AHF, 2022) U.S. Air Force aerial refueling missions and thus more focused bombing near the end of WWII rather than dropping nuclear weapons on civilian populations in Japan, thus saving many, many, innocent lives of children, women, and men.

This is perhaps an odd thought, “how could AI have helped us Natives in years past?” The question if it is to be regarded seriously or at least somewhat so requires some level of Coleridge’s (1817) “suspension of belief” (Batista, 2012). Let us assume then that Miwok Natives at the time had knowledge of this technology at the time and that they knew how to train and code properly for well developed AI.

My response would be of course “no” because there was an unwillingness on the part of the incoming settlers, pioneers, and gold rush immigrants to treat natives as fellow humans. This opinion is shared by one AI program - ChatGPT when asked, “Could the Miwok have survived the California gold rush with artificial intelligence? Answered with the following (see full answer at end end of this 

“Artificial intelligence, had it existed during that period, would likely not have been a determining factor in whether the Miwok could have survived the gold rush.”

“If we were to apply modern technology, including artificial intelligence, to historical situations, it's important to remember that technology alone cannot address the deeply rooted historical injustices and structural changes that occurred.”

These responses aren’t particularly enlightening and in fact the whole exercise seems a little underwhelming. The future seems more exciting to consider and while we may not be able to fully move on from “historical injustices” (yet we might be able to) there certainly have been some positive “structural changes” such as income from casinos for many (although not all) Miwoks.

West and Allen (2018) suggest that “is transforming the world” and that it has great potential in these areas, you’ll notice they listed “finance” first.

• Finance
• National Security
• Health Care
• Criminal Justice
• Transportation
• Smart Cities

Perhaps it’s important to consider some strategy and tactics to leverage this technology for the Miwok in our time now and for the future?

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References and Links

Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF). (2022). Curtis LeMay (1906-1990) was a United States Air Force general. https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/curtis-lemay/ 

Batista, E. (2012). Suspension of Belief. https://www.edbatista.com/2012/02/suspension-of-belief.html

Coleridge, W. (1817). Biographia Literaria, Chapter XIV.

IBM. (n.d.) IBM Watson. https://www.ibm.com/watson?utm_content

Lohr, S. (2021). What Ever Happened to IBM’s Watson? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/technology/what-happened-ibm-watson.html

Solly, M. (2022). Two Hundred Years Ago, the Rosetta Stone Unlocked the Secrets of Ancient Egypt. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/rosetta-stone-hieroglyphs-champollion-decipherment-egypt-180980834/

West, D. M. & Allen, J. R. (2018). How artificial intelligence is transforming the world. The Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-artificial-intelligence-is-transforming-the-world/

ChatGPT

Question: Could the Miwok have survived the California gold rush with artificial intelligence?

Default (GPT-3.5) https://chat.openai.com/ 

The Miwok people, like many Native American tribes, faced significant challenges during the California gold rush. The sudden influx of settlers, prospectors, and miners in the mid-19th century brought about major changes to their traditional way of life, including displacement, disease, and conflict. While artificial intelligence did not exist during that time, it's important to consider the historical context and the factors that contributed to the challenges the Miwok and other Native American tribes faced.

Artificial intelligence, had it existed during that period, would likely not have been a determining factor in whether the Miwok could have survived the gold rush. The survival of the Miwok and other tribes depended on complex interactions between factors such as land dispossession, disease, violence, and social disruption caused by the rapid influx of newcomers.

If we were to apply modern technology, including artificial intelligence, to historical situations, it's important to remember that technology alone cannot address the deeply rooted historical injustices and structural changes that occurred. While advancements in technology might offer new tools for understanding and addressing historical challenges, they would not have been a decisive factor in determining the Miwoks' survival during the California gold rush.

In summary, the survival of the Miwok during the California gold rush was influenced by a complex interplay of historical, social, and economic factors. While modern technologies like artificial intelligence can provide valuable insights into historical events, their impact on the outcome of such events would likely have been limited. It's crucial to approach historical analysis with a comprehensive understanding of the context and dynamics at play.