Mark Andreessen proclaimed that AI can save the world if we let it. Well, that can happen today. Here, AI presents the only clear path to justice for the Maui fire victims, plus a shield against land grabs and ulterior motives. In 15-minute smart cities, I’m using Chachi PT plugins to feed the Maui fires Wikipedia page, plus last month’s Governor’s Proclamation and transcripts of his response to the fires. Continuing my session on Chachi PT to fact check and verify, its Avatar speaks its truthful summary.
The governor issued a proclamation granting powers to requisition real estate, primarily to address Hawaii’s housing crisis. While the focus was on housing, these powers could conceivably allow the governor to take over land affected by wildfires. Immediately after the fires, the governor warned property developers not to approach the affected families with offers to buy land, as the government will not allow it. To the desperate homeowners who lost everything and need cash now, he said, “I’ve instructed the Attorney General to work toward a moratorium on any transactions.” Since homeowners will be prohibited from selling their land to the highest bidder, the state is already thinking about ways to acquire that land.
However, this approach raises legal concerns and could be seen as governmental overreach. Even Chachi PT confirms that there are some red flags. The question is, whose side are Hawaii’s officials on? Is their intention to prevent the exploitation of fire victims or to facilitate it? To ensure that no one is victimized from a land grab, we need a systematic approach.
Legal avenues are long and costly, and these victims are homeless and in need of facts now to decide how to move forward. The only option to provide immediate answers is a whistleblower. Incentivizing whistleblowers can indeed expedite the process of uncovering the truth. That’s why I developed Fact Bid, a free public domain tool for this purpose.
Fact Bid catalogs bids and claims by hashtag. Oprah, your neighbors will surely appreciate your generous pledge to help with food and shelter. But equally important is a pledge to ensure they are not taken advantage of. Mark, why not show people the positive side of AI with this novel concept? Elon, if X is the everything app, why not use it to root out corruption so we can move forward with smart cities unafraid?
It’s a Trojan horse planted by the pandemic profiteers. Nobody’s tried it before, but it can’t hurt. It costs nothing to pledge incentives for evidence of corruption. If it works, we make history and help restore faith in institutions. And even if it doesn’t, we still send a message that we’re willing to stand up against rocketeering. It would be a win not just for Maui’s victims but for everyone leery of cronyism and public-private initiatives.
