Konstantinos Konstantinidis – Amphiktyon
Will you agree with knowledge by selection?
Should artificial intelligence be made harmful
to migrants, terrorists, and enemies,
when it falls into the hands of malicious foreigners?
Safeguards are already being designed
so that people will not be caught unprepared,
running to solve problems too late.
The great dilemma is: who will judge who the enemy is?
That judge, too, may be scheming and deceitful.
As happened with the “Pericles Plan,”
which was later used by the military junta.
The practice itself is very old.
Since the time of Pythagoras and the Orphics,
only a few chosen individuals became initiates,
so that the revelation of sacred teachings
would remain secret.
“See, hear, be silent” was the command,
and whoever spoke too freely
was immediately expelled from the school.
Yet no one violated the rule;
the warning was clear.
“Nothing is hidden under the sun.”
And even if the United States preserves
the mystery of AI,
China may perhaps bring it into the open.
Only the Orphic mysteries remained highly secret;
they were never publicly disclosed.
The Orphics kept their oath with strict devotion;
none of the initiates revealed their identity.
From one perspective, secrecy is beneficial:
confidential matters should not be given to everyone,
nor to individuals with a criminal past
or to a hostile nation.
But with AI a paradox arises:
Are those who control artificial intelligence
truly virtuous people,
or do they possess some harmful trait?
Shall we entrust it to individuals
who aspire to dominate humanity?
To people of immeasurable wealth?
To religious zealots,
or to those with flaws of character?
Or are they driven by some extreme ideology?
In such a case,
they could bring harm to all society.
In the West, everything has a price,
small or great.
If the secret is sold to a terrorist,
he may harm humanity.
We live in an age of suspicion.
Prudence has retreated before malice.
Violence and mass terror prevail everywhere.
The world has been divided into blocs,
and the West fears the East.
The mutual disclosure of secrets
often restores a balance.
Espionage assumes that role.
In our age, when two or three individuals possess wealth
equal to that of medium-sized states,
the danger of AI may arise from them,
and it is difficult for democratic citizens
to confront such power
unless they become concerned from now on.
Yet I believe that humanity,
if it acts in unity,
can confront even the most powerful tyrant.
In ancient Athens such men were ostracized;
today they are made kings and deified.
Then the responsibility lies with ourselves,
for neglecting public affairs.
Democracy is the finest form of government,
yet at times it declines into mob rule.
More often it transforms into oligarchy and dictatorship,
and the cycle closes
with some revolution or catastrophe.
The ideal, still undiscovered,
is the aristocracy of the wise,
in place of incapable presidents and prime ministers.
May it one day be discovered
and applied here on earth.
When we encrypt military plans,
conversations, state secrets,
and our cryptographic systems,
how can we leave artificial intelligence exposed,
and indeed by our own choice,
to individuals who may lead us
into absolute submission
and bring us suffering?
To grant them such an intelligent weapon,
one that opens so many doors,
would be the greatest folly.
16 June 2026
Amphiktyon – Lieutenant General (Ret.) Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Author – Member of the Greek Literary Society (Society of Greek Writers)
Amphiktyon Blog: http://www.amphiktyon.blogspot.com
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