[Royal] Media Opportunity

[Tric'hard Lenxheir]

The big story is not the AI, but the media exposure for Talossa. The worlds press will train its attention on the first ever country to have an AI minister. That seems pretty cool to me. Beside that, what do you think this AI will do? Take over everything? It will be a novelty. Allow Max to answer some questions at the very least. I'm not saying we should do it, but we should keep an open mind.

-Txec R

As evidence I give you all of the AI generated migrant applications we have been receiving.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Because you're talking about handing over control of Talossa's image to a glorified, plagiaristic chatbot.

You have no idea what it'll say, and you have no way to control it. It has no loyalty to fact. For all you know, it could say we had a province named after a fascist dictator because we collectively hate Jews, for example.

I hope this project would be done in a responsible way.  Obviously, we shouldn't do this if it will entail "handing over control" of... well, anything really.  But to me, it seems like there wouldn't be any harm in hearing them out.  Even the publicity of being considered for this project would be helpful.

[Iac Marscheir]

Inherent to this proposal is the idea of letting journalists write publications based on the output of a chatbot that, again, nobody has any control over. It's a massive publicity disaster waiting to happen, and that's before you consider that the publicity would mostly attract people who care more about hyping the AI than the nation.

[Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP]

Even the publicity of being considered for this project would be helpful.

This presupposes that we were the only or at worst one of a select few micronations appoached (highly unlikely) and that it would generate any publicity in the first place (also highly unlikely). I cannot possibly imagine that "Micronation adds chatbot integration" would be something that anyone would report on.

[Tric'hard Lenxheir]

It is also very possible that it will expose the less than stellar former citizens. It could expose Talossa as a harborer of criminals. I don't know how much the media representative can see so I won't go into details here except to say that the incident in question was resolved and the person is (as far as I know) no longer a citizen.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

The fact of our own existence combined with the novelty might well get some eyeballs.  The vast majority of people aren't aware of Talossa, so that's an angle that will get people interested, a la "A small country located entirely within the city of Milwaukee has persisted in claiming independence since 1979... and now they're also claiming to be the first country to appoint an artificial intelligence as a government minister."

There are a lot of valid concerns, but surely it's something worth exploring as we hear them out?  I mean, it's a risk, but sometimes you need to take some risks.  Reunision was a risk, too, and that was definitely a great choice.

[Iac Marscheir]

If the government tries to install a chatbot as a government official, I'll find a way to file suit, and if that doesn't fix the problem (because, yes, AI is a problem, not a solution), I'll renounce my citizenship, likely for good if there actually is any publicity.

These are the stakes, and I know they are low. I know Talossa would quickly move on without me. But that's integrity: Doing the right thing when you know nobody cares.

[Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP]

The fact of our own existence combined with the novelty might well get some eyeballs.

I know for a fact that there are a lot of micronations that adopted a cryptocurrecy during the big crypto hype. How many articles did you see talking about them? I haven't seen a single one. I have no reason to believe that Talossa would fare any better publicitywise with AI.

[Barclamïu da Miéletz]

If the government tries to install a chatbot as a government official, I'll find a way to file suit, and if that doesn't fix the problem (because, yes, AI is a problem, not a solution), I'll renounce my citizenship, likely for good if there actually is any publicity.

These are the stakes, and I know they are low. I know Talossa would quickly move on without me. But that's integrity: Doing the right thing when you know nobody cares.

Like I've said here, I will do the same.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

I hope that the Government does the responsible thing and explores the idea, privately, even if it doesn't work out as a good idea.

[King Txec]

Folks, let's take a breath here and relax. No one is saying we will do anything at all. What we are doing is the responsible thing and presenting to the kingdom something that was brought to us to consider. Threats of renunciation are not helpful when no one is being forced to do anything. I felt it was my duty as your king to bring to your attention something that could be a benefit and could be a not so good thing.

For starters, we do know the name of the AI company, but the media company that approached us asked to avoid using its name publicly to avoid what they termed "spiking the press" in advance of any possible announcements. There is nothing nefarious there.

I firmly believe I would have been shirking my duties if I had simply ignored this possibility because sometimes ideas that seem wacky or out of left field can spark creative approaches. Maybe we don't use their idea but it gets someone thinking of another new or novel thing that will keep making Talossa great! Love the idea or leave it behind, it is up to the kingdom. I have no personal stake in the matter. Let's have a reasonable discussion and not throw out fear before we even have all the facts.

-Txec R

[Munditenens Tresplet]

I think it is worthwhile to hear more information. I doubt the AI minister will have any powers that couldn't otherwise be controlled or monitored—probably would lack any actual powers. As a publicity stunt, it would be interesting. I don't think we should outright reject anyone that reaches out or may wish to work with the Kingdom. (Of course, the discourse over whether we should have an AI minister would, itself, be notable.)

[Iac Marscheir]

@King Txec
We do have all the facts, and the fact is, we don't need AI here. I'm not making idle threats over petty fears. I sincerely believe—and I have the past 10 years of cycles of tech-hype, FOMO and starry eyes followed by reality checks to back me up on this—that taking this "opportunity" would at the very least be a massive mistake, and at the worst, possibly become a catalyst for something that destroys the nation completely.

We're nothing but press-piggies to them, and you're letting yourself be used.

[Munditenens Tresplet]

I for one think the King should always do what he is doing here: Presenting an offer to the citizenry and the government in the name of transparency, and not making any decisions on behalf of the Kingdom as a single individual.

[Glüc]

I for one think the King should always do what he is doing here: Presenting an offer to the citizenry and the government in the name of transparency, and not making any decisions on behalf of the Kingdom as a single individual.

Agreed. I don't blame His Majesty for bringing this up, even though I do hope the answer of citizenry and government is a resounding "no thanks, leave us alone please".