A list naming the top 10 influential figures who would be responsible for the U.S. democracy collapsing just hit the Black internet. Who AI named, and the reasons why, is extremely concerning.
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A Black man, who goes by Truth_Hasno_Party on Instagram, shared a video earlier this month where he says he “decided to have some fun with” artificial intelligence (AI). In the video, he described how he “asked several well known AI software systems one question and the question that I asked was: If the United States slide into authoritarian, fascist, or a dictatorship, who are the top 10 actors who have helped played a role or influenced it?”
And who the system named may “blow you away,” like the man who shared the video said it did for him— or not.
#1 Donald J. Trump
Trump, whom AI called the “figurehead” and “catalyst,” topped the list because he “normalized political violence, attacked institutions and cultivated a cult of personality.” The system named how he “attacks courts, manipulates the Department of Justice (DOJ), and threatens opponents with imprisonment.”
Why He’s #1: “He made authoritarianism [a form of rule in the hands of a single leader or a small group who suppresses civil liberties and opposition] emotionally appealing to tens of millions. He is both symbol and strategy.”
#2 Mitch McDonnell
McDonnell, according to AI, came in second because he’s the “mastermind of stacking the courts with far-right judges, including three SCOTUS seats under Trump.” McDonnell, 83, who is also the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, was called the “architect of judicial capture” because he shielded Trump from conviction not once, but twice.
Why He’s #2: He “created a long-term conservative legal machine that could legally upload authoritarian rule.”
#3 Steve Bannon
AI called Bannon, a media executive and political strategist, the “Ideological Engineer” of “Alt-right propagandist who opening embraces fascist theorists to ‘burn down the administration state.’” AI ranked him number three because he “helped engineer” Trump’s presidential victory in 2016 and “pushed for authoritarian immigration and nationalistic policies.”
Why He’s #3: “He’s the brains (emphasis on brains) behind the authoritarian narrative” who is “still working behind the scenes.”
#4 Rupert Murdoch
The investor and media mogul who built a global empire including Fox Broadcasting Company and Fox News Channel, “turned American media into a loyalist echo chamber that pushes fear, misinformation, and Trumpism,” per AI. He’s described as the “progaganda machine” who “promotes lies about the 2020 election, COVID disinformation, culture war hysteria, and normalized political violence.”
Why He’s #4: “No dictatorship survives without mass propaganda,” and according to AI, “Fox provided it for decades.”
#5 Clarence Thomas
AI named Clarence “Judicial Enabler” Thomas (the lone Black person who made the list, by the way) number five, calling the lawyer and second Black person to serve on the Supreme Court a “hardline SCOTUS justice who has opening supported radical views that could justify dismantling federal authority.”
Why He’s #5: After he voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, he consistently “supports weakening federal regulatory power,” making him “part of a Court that legitimizes authoritarian laws or invalidates elections.”
#6 Leonard Leo
The businessman and conservative legal activist was deemed “the Court-Packing Mastermind” at number six on AI’s list. AI says don’t be fooled… just because he’s “quiet,” he’s still filthy “rich and far more powerful than most elected officials.” The software notes he “handpicked hundreds of judges with extreme alt-right views.”
Why He’s #6: “He built the judicial infrastructure necessary for authoritarianism to survive lawsuits.”
#7 Elon Musk
Musk, the tech businessman and investor who is also the father of at least 14 children with four different women, was named the “tech & speech disrupter” by AI, making him number seven on its list. According to AI, the Tesla boss “amplifies authoritarian voices while suppressing critics of fascism” all while “re-platforming white nationalists” and “pro-Trump/anti-DEI content.”
Why He’s #7: “In a fascist (a political ideology defined by the strict subordination of the individual for the interests of a nation, typically led by a dictator) future, tech control equals speech control [and] he’s already exercising it.”
#8 Stephen Miller
The conservative political advisor and key figure in the “America First” movement, ranked number eight on the list as what the app called the “policy architect of Xenophobia.” His role as Trump’s “immigration czar” is deeply “influenced by white nationalist rhetoric” after he, per AI, “designed family separation, Muslim bans, ICE raids, and sought to end birthright citizenship.”
Why He’s #8: “Fascism often begins with dehumanizing immigrants,” AI says, and Miller “gave it legislative teeth.”
#9 Mark Zuckerberg
The Facebook founder, who has an estimated $250 billion net worth according to Forbes, made AI’s list as the “algorithmic enabler” who allegedly allows his platforms to “radicalize users via engagement.” The CEO of Meta Platforms, who owns and operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp,”spread right-wing disinfo” and “delayed election safeguards,” per AI.
Why He’s #9: The 41-year-old’s “Facebook’s radicalization model helped grow the fascist base exponentially and globally.”
#10 Virginia “Ginny” Thomas
The only woman who made the list is Ginny Thomas, who is the white wife of Clarence Thomas. AI accuses her of being “involved in direct attempts to overturn the 2020 elections.” AI says she “sent texts to Trump’s chief of staff urging martial law and supported ‘Stop the Steal’ efforts.”
Why She’s #10: Because she “represents the fusion of personal loyalty, judicial proximity, and insurrectionist ideology.”
The “Runner-Ups”
The list didn’t stop with the top 10.
Peter Thiel
A.I. added Peter Thiel, a billionaire funder of “authoritarian candidates,” specifically J.D. Vance and Blake Master, as a “runner-up” on its list. The venture capitalist and loyal backer of conservative political causes was named for his “anti-democratic worldview.”
Michael Flynn
The “ex-general turned insurrectionist preacher” was named as a runner-up because of his “Chrisian nationalism” and martial law beliefs. He also served as the Former U.S. National Security Advisor.
Tucker Carlson
Carlson, a conservative talking head, “normalized fascist rhetoric, replacement theory (a far-right theory that claims political elites are deliberately working to replace native-born Americans, notably white people), and anti-immigration lies,” per AI.
Erik Prince
AI named Prince, a former US Navy Seal and founder of Blackwater, a private military company, as a runner-up because he’s been a “longtime advocate for private militas and paramilitary enforcement.”
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