Ask A Genius 1481: Rick Rosner Critiques Trump, AI Risk, and U.S. Foreign Policy: From Skynet to Maduro and ICE
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/08/08
Rick Rosner discusses James Cameron’s warnings on AI and nuclear warfare, spotlighting the real-world risks of a Skynet-like future. Shifting focus, he critiques Trump’s $50M bounty on Venezuelan President Maduro, calling it political theatre. Rosner also condemns ICE’s lowered age requirements and Trump’s vanity projects, including excessive Oval Office decorations and a $200M White House ballroom. He argues these actions reflect a broader pattern of corruption, distraction from scandals, and catastrophic public health mismanagement.
Rick Rosner: We did not talk about this yesterday—James Cameron. He did more than anyone to popularize the idea of artificial intelligence taking over, through the concept of Skynet in The Terminator (1984). That was 41 years ago.
He now has a new movie coming out, Ghosts of Hiroshima, which is about nuclear warfare. I am not sure how the film addresses atomic weapons. Still, Cameron has been researching both the bombs themselves and the global infrastructure meant to prevent their use.
He says the rise of AI presents a serious risk of a real-world Skynet scenario. AI processes information much faster than humans. If placed in any decision-making capacity, it could reach catastrophic conclusions faster than we could shut it down.
Moreover, honestly, Cameron is someone worth listening to. He may not be a scientist, but he has conducted extensive research for decades and understands the magnitude of the risks as well as any authority in the field.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: The United States has increased its reward for the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro to $50 million, based on allegations of drug trafficking and ties to criminal organizations.
Rosner: This is the head of Venezuela, right?
Jacobsen: Yes. President Nicolás Maduro. The statement came from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and was announced on Thursday, August 7th.
Rosner: Is there any solid evidence for this? It sounds like more political theatre, a distraction tactic, possibly even related to Trump trying to divert attention from the Epstein scandal.
Jacobsen: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Iván Gil posted on Telegram, calling the announcement “The most ridiculous smokescreen ever seen.”
Rosner: I tend to agree. Trump has branded himself as the so-called “President of Peace”—the guy who claimed he would end wars worldwide, including the Russia–Ukraine conflict, on day one. He has now been in office again for over 200 days and has achieved none of that.
Instead, here he is taking an aggressive stance against a foreign leader, putting a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s head. If people are wise, they will not attempt to collect it. Trump is notorious for not paying his debts.
Exactly. Where is that $50 million supposed to come from? Who authorized it? Congress certainly did not. It is just another baseless claim pulled out of thin air—and it is ridiculous.
Jacobsen: I saw that ICE has relaxed its age requirements.
Rosner: Previously, to join ICE, you had to be between 21 and 37. Now the age range is reportedly between 18 and 57. I looked into the complete list of requirements. You must pass multiple background checks and have a bachelor’s degree, which surprised me.
Oddly, they would allow 18-year-olds to apply, given that so few of them—perhaps one in a thousand—have a bachelor’s degree at that age. Moreover, those who do likely graduated from high school at 15, then went on to college by 18. A person who has accomplished something is unlikely to want to join ICE.
Everything this administration is doing reeks of desperation and distraction, particularly from the Epstein case. Trump faces broad disapproval across all demographics, including among Republicans, for how he handled Epstein.
He claims this has been the most successful first six months of any presidency in U.S. history, which is absurd. However, he has issued more executive actions and announcements than most presidents historically.
Jacobsen: Do we know how many executive orders he has signed?
Rosner: I am not sure of the exact count, but it is likely in the hundreds. Some will remain in effect; others will be overturned. Lately, though, his actions seem designed to overwhelm Americans and the media with constant noise, preventing focused attention on Epstein or any of his other failures.
He is a bad guy. This is somewhat trivial by comparison, but still revealing. He cut half a billion dollars in funding for mRNA vaccine research, including cancer vaccine development.
His and RFK Jr.’s approach to public health will likely result in tens of thousands of preventable deaths—both in the U.S. and globally—as critical research is shut down.
Moreover, at the same time, he is decorating the Oval Office with stick-on gold curlicues. Have you seen what it looks like now? Those chain craft stores sell ornamental moulding—filigree shapes you would use to make ceilings look fancy. He has been applying foam-core, gold-painted curlicue shapes all over the Oval Office. Dozens of them. It looks cheap and unhinged, like the work of someone mentally unravelling.
Moreover, you might not know this from up in Canada, but he also tore up the White House Rose Garden—a space over 100 years old—and replaced it with limestone tile so people can sit and eat lunch. It does not look perfect.
Jacobsen: He replaced the historic flower garden?
Rosner: Yes. Bulldozed it for tile. Moreover, now he plans to demolish part of the East Wing to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, projected to cost $200 million.
He claims it will be privately funded, but if you do the math, that is $2,200 per square foot—a staggering figure for a ballroom, which is essentially space. No complex plumbing. No technical installations. Just open the square footage.
That cost is roughly four times the average per square foot for federal buildings in Washington, D.C. It reeks of graft and kickbacks. He is a real estate developer. He should know how to manage construction costs.
In Canada, you can still build a home addition for around $250 per square foot. This project is nearly ten times the cost, and even more so when you account for currency differences. It is just another example of waste and corruption disguised as legacy building.
This entire ballroom project is just another way for Trump to collect kickbacks and bribes. He will find a way to siphon off tens of millions in “contributions” to fund this gaudy, unnecessary addition. It is corrupt from top to bottom.
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