Members of the GOP walked out of a Senate hearing on Wednesday concerning the topic of artificial intelligence after Democrats refused to allow controversial philosopher/psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson from testifying. Now why would they want to silence Peterson? Because he speaks out against the madness of extreme liberalism and hails true masculinity, seeking to help young men reach their full potential, which the left is actively attempting to prevent.
“Republican members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee had invited the clinical psychologist and bestselling author to provide his insights about the rise of AI and related threats to liberty. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who was serving as the body’s senior Republican in the absence of ranking member Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), said during his opening statement that Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) had refused to allow Peterson to appear virtually,” the Daily Wire said.
“For whatever reason, even though we have the technology here, the chairman said he couldn’t make it possible for him to appear remotely. Behind the scenes, over the weekend, there were other reasons supplied,” Johnson stated. “That was all a ruse. It was a pretext for not allowing Dr. Peterson to testify, and I really cannot guess why. Some kind of ideological reason.”
He then went on to say, “this is an action that is beyond unfortunate and something we cannot condone, which is why no Republicans will attend this hearing.”
He left the room after a rather heated exchange with Peters, who accused Democrats of blocking Peterson due to Republicans submitting him as a witness two days before the hearing was scheduled to take place. Johnson then pointed out that lawmakers frequently add witnesses at the last minute and stated that he often made efforts to accommodate them over the course of his six years as chairman.
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Here’s more from the report:
Peterson said on social media that he had “worked in good faith and in an entirely non-partisan manner” before Democrats revoked his invitation. He added that he was rejected from offering his insights because a Democratic staffer accused him of “promoting child abuse.”
“I was also invited to present virtually and agreed,” Peterson stated, going on to assert that the idea his testimony was rejected simply because he would attend remotely “is an outright falsehood.”
Peterson has frequently been the subject of Left-wing censorship. Beyond the protests and outrage that accompany his speaking events, the academic was banned from Twitter for several months over a post about Elliot Page, a woman actress who identifies as a man. Twitter CEO Elon Musk restored Peterson’s account after taking over the platform.
Johnson also lauded Peterson’s qualifications to discuss AI and to seriously consider the technology’s implications. He spent much of his opening statement sharing comments Peterson was not able to offer himself.
“Our legal structure has not been able to adapt itself to the immense changes on the virtual front,” Peterson had stated. “The logical extension of such danger is the duplication in the West of something approximating the utter catastrophe of the so-called social credit system in China. Everything is tracked and controlled, the government can with the stroke of a pen seize the economic resources of any given individual or group.”
The psychologist then said that AI and machine learning can help aid in surveillance, making the observation that China currently has 400 cameras watching every 1,000 people.
“We could well be entering an era of authoritarian, AI-mediated social shunning. The use of such cameras should be banned,” Peterson’s statement read. “Machines should never be given the authority to ticket, try, punish, or limit the economic or practical activities of human beings.”
