Since its conception, people have worried that an artificial intelligence would turn against humanity and threaten our lives. While this may be a result to be feared several years in the future, right now the more pressing danger is AI used to oppress millions of people and facilitate the threat of a controlling regime. Homebound in the pandemic quarantine, my daughter and I have been rewatching Person of Interest on Netflix. In essence, the former network series is about a man who created a nearly omniscient artificial intelligence that watches everyone through networks of cameras, computers and smartphones. Each week, our team of heroes, assembled by the AI creator, tries to help a person whom the AI has identified as a likely soon-to-be murder victim.

Yesterday, Nasdaq announced the launch of its new AI-powered market surveillance tools for finding patterns of abusive behavior.