George Logothetis, Executive Chairman of Libra Group, warned about the dangers to Democracy posed by Artificial Intelligence in a speech at the Concordia Summit.

The proud Greek American executive delivered a powerful defense of democratic values — Demokratia as the Greeks call it, otherwise known as democracy.

“Defending democracy is different from creating it. It can carry complacency, lack of appreciation, innocent or naive assumptions that we don’t need to protect it,” he warned.

The loss of freedoms could be akin to the loss of oxygen, he said. “We don’t fully recognize it until we are choking for air. Or choking for freedom. Just ask the Hungarians in 1956 or the Greeks in 1941.”

Logothetis on Artificial Intelligence and Democracy

As new technologies -such as Artificial Intelligence – are born “the mechanism of how we intake information into our brains changes. How we process information changes.”

He said that we tend to read more substantively when we read a book, but we tend to converse in headlines when we read off our phones.

“Technology can of course educate us on the one hand, yet also reduce our ability to self-regulate on the other. Information can lead us to insights but it can also incite us to discord when we fail to distill falsehoods from truths.

“More is not necessarily better when it comes to information,” Logothetis told the audience which included the top movers and shakers of today’s world.

“The democratization of information in the last 30 years has also ushered in a tidal wave of rising expectations. And when expectations of how our lives should be, rise at a substantially faster pace than how our lives actually are, we are all more vulnerable to the morning dew of dissatisfaction. And dissatisfaction from within leads to division from without.

“We need to take great care that Artificial Intelligence does not lead us down a pathway paved with an Artificial Democracy which could end up with us left with an ‘authentic’ dictatorship. Caution is called for,” Logothetis warned.

Logothetis has recently delivered a profound and inspirational speech at the 2023 Greek Independence Gala in New York.

“Freedoms that were born more than 2,000 years ago and laid dormant for many dark centuries, were reborn in this country 250 years ago. The birth of America was conceived by an idea that was once Greece.”

For the Libra Group Executive Chairman, democracy and freedom are profound and enabling ideas. “Ancient Greek values enabled the creation of a land of modern possibilities.”

The Libra Group

Logothetis has built the Libra Group with assets and operations across nearly 60 countries.

20 businesses predominately focused on aviation, energy, maritime, real estate, hospitality, and diversified industries, as well as 10 social initiatives.

The Group applies the strength of this global network and its capabilities to deliver cross-sector insights and growth at scale, while supporting human potential, thus combining growth with philanthropy.

The Group’s 10 social initiatives provide opportunities across the globe to support human potential.

This includes providing educational opportunities, business opportunities, and humanitarian support around the world. One of these initiatives is the Seleni Institute, a New York-based, independent non-profit maternal mental health institute founded by George and his wife Nitzia.