When multiple identity groups (faith-based, populist, protectionist) feel threatened by a new system they can’t control, they begin to unify, not on shared values, but on shared enemies.
And in this case, the enemy is “AI.”
We’re witnessing a convergence:
Religious traditionalists
Populist-nationalist politicians
Parent-led censorship groups
Technoskeptic labor organizers
Culture war media operators
Legacy education advocates
And yes… anti-vaccine and end-times prophecy influencers
What unites them isn’t theology.
It’s symbolic threat perception.
🕵️ Signal Examples
🛠️ “God + Labor” campaign launched in Indiana uniting clergy and trade unions against AI job automation
📚 Moms for Liberty partnering with “Ethics in Education” PAC to restrict AI use in K-12 schools
🧾 New model legislation template authored by Claremont Institute and distributed to over 30 statehouses
🎙️ “AI is Satan’s factory reset” clip shared across evangelical and populist TikTok pipelines (7.5M views)
🗂️ Coalition letter signed by 14 conservative think tanks urging Congress to “morally quarantine” AI tools in public spaces
These groups don’t always agree, but they don’t have to.
They just need the same villain.
🛡️ Counterframe Strategy
Reframe:
“If these groups disagree on almost everything else, why are they aligned here?”
This invites moderation and highlights opportunism.
It doesn’t attack belief, it questions coordination.
Tactic:
– Map coalitions across shared phrases and model bills
– Expose influence networks without mocking beliefs
– Foster new coalitions: AI practitioners + faith-curious ethicists + labor-positive innovators
– Offer public values-based uses of AI as counterexamples (education, healthcare, civic tools)
Don’t wait to be scapegoated.
Occupy the symbolic space with more grounded stories.
🧾 Closing Pulse
This is no longer a solo campaign.
This is a coalition war.
And the next time you hear “AI is dangerous,” ask:
Dangerous to whom?
In whose name?
And with what infrastructure behind the scenes?
Because if your response is purely technical,
but theirs is spiritual, emotional, and political…
You will lose the narrative.
Unless you build a better coalition first.
—
MushiZero
Pattern tracker. Moral panic veteran. Coalition disassembler.