Machine Learning technology is immensely powerful and will absolutely be used to both the detriment and benefit of the people at large. This is something we as technologists need to understand.
It's one of the reasons why our employment choices and our decisions around who to work with must be taken in the context the impact it will cause on the world around us. As we begin to automate more and more of traditionally human jobs, we're going to find our work inextricable from the political landscape our systems are creating.
>All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
Friederich Nietzsche
Why China and Russia specifically?
And of course nobody would love this technology more than the Chinese and Russian governments. Is a system aimed at quickly identifying obscure blogs that disagree with "high-credibility" sources supposed to help democracy?