The most pressing danger from AI isn't a hypothetical superintelligence but its use as a tool for societal control. The immediate risk is an Orwellian future where AI censors information, rewrites history for political agendas, and enables mass surveillance—a threat far more tangible than science fiction scenarios.

The most immediate danger of AI is its potential for governmental abuse. Concerns focus on embedding political ideology into models and porting social media's censorship apparatus to AI, enabling unprecedented surveillance and social control.

Public fear of AI often focuses on dystopian, "Terminator"-like scenarios. The more immediate and realistic threat is Orwellian: governments leveraging AI to surveil, censor, and embed subtle political biases into models to control public discourse and undermine freedom.

Despite a potential US ownership deal, TikTok remains a national security risk because the core algorithm will still be licensed from China. Control over the information flow to Americans is the real issue, not data storage location, making the deal a superficial fix.

To address national security concerns, the plan for TikTok's U.S. entity involves not just data localization but retraining its content algorithm exclusively on U.S. user data. This novel approach aims to create a firewall against potential foreign manipulation of the content feed, going a step beyond simple data storage solutions.

While the joint venture with Oracle ensures US user data is stored locally, ByteDance retains ownership and control of TikTok's powerful recommendation algorithm. The Chinese parent company leases this critical "engine" to the US entity, maintaining operational influence.

The deal creating a U.S. entity for TikTok has 'spayed' the platform by removing its 'weapons grade' intelligence-gathering and propaganda algorithm. Lacking its original secret sauce, the new version will likely see its cultural dominance fade, eventually becoming a less relevant platform akin to Yahoo.

China's national AI strategy is explicit. Stage one is using AI for Orwellian surveillance and population control within its borders. Stage two is to export this model of technological authoritarianism to other countries through initiatives like the "Digital Silk Road," posing a major geopolitical threat.

Instead of outright banning topics, platforms create subtle friction—warnings, errors, and inconsistencies. This discourages users from pursuing sensitive topics, achieving suppression without the backlash of explicit censorship.