Society Blog #1: Data & Society Databites Talk
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Some thoughts on generative AI and human labor.
Video What is Work Worth: Exploring What Generative AI Means for Workers’ Lives and Labor
The question of what work is worth and the concern of whether artificial intelligence will take jobs from human laborers is growing more important day by day. In the video, What is Work Worth, the keynote speaker, Dr. Julián Posada, addresses this very question and is understanding of why people might be considered. Dr. Posada is an assistant professor of American studies at Yale University; he has done research in the intersection of society, culture, labor, and artificial intelligence development. He recieved his PHD information technology from the University of Toronto. All of that goes to say that Dr. Posada is an expert in his field.
Dr. Pasado uses perspectives of Venezualans, Roberto, Helica, and Gonzalo, who have had their lives drastically impacted by the use of AI to tell stories of extractivism. According to Thea Riofrancos, a researcher at Providence College, extractivism is “used to reference many of these other “frontiers” from which something can be extracted, not just extractive industries of natural resources.” It originally started as an economic term but has since expanded. Dr. Pasado uses extractivism to refer to the overreliance of governments on the expansion of knowledge and labor in the age of artificial intelligence. He places this term into a global lens and uses the stories of Roberto, Helica, and Gonzalo to further emphasize his point: that AI, itself, is an extractivist technology. Dr. Pasado notes that the government is leveraging those in economic crisis, targeting Venezualans in need of money, and who have electricity and internet access to work from home.
It is important to talk about why artificial intelligence is an extractivist technology because ignoring to do so would cause later repurcussions. Already, voices are being silenced and people are being exploited. Dr. Pasado brings this up and notes the particular significance in giving those who are owed it, rightful credit. Due to the extractive frameworks inherent lack of value in both labor and knowledge, it is increasingly more imperative that rightful credit be due and that starts as simple as starting the conversation.
Dr. Pasado does spend most of his time critiquing the use of AI as an extractive technology, highling the possible consequences and dangers. His keynote speech came shortly after the Trump administration implemented the Department of Government Efficiency. With the goal of DOGE being to maximize productivity, cut excess regulations, and modernize information technology, it makes the topic of Dr. Pasados speech incredibly relevant. Dr. Pasado notes the dangers that may come along with maximizing efficiency and how it may impact the daily lives of real people.
So why does this all matter? For lots of reasons. One reason fellow computer science majors should care about this subject is due to the computer science unemployment rate being as high as it is right now. A Federal Reserve Bank of New York report noted that unemployment rates were at 6.1% for recent computer science graduates between the ages of 22 and 27. One reason for this is due to an overly saturated job market. The other reason, however, is due to rolloffs occuring as artificial intelligence is further implemented to maximize efficiency. AI as an extractive technology spares no one, everyone will be effected in one way or another. Whether or not a job is completely disregarded due to the use of AI is one thing, but whether that occurs or not, AI will be used as a tool to maximize productivity and everyone will most likely have to get used to it. That may be a year from now or 10 years from now, but change is inevitable and starting the conversation enables people to adapt to this change easier.
This can be a scary thought. AI has the power to completely revolutionize the job market and can make the future seem very uncertain. However, this is not an uncommon feeling. Many people, no matter their age, have this concern. Starting the conversation can create community, connect people, and remind ourselves that we are human, which is something that technology can never take away or fully replicate.
After watching this video, I have a lot of questions. What are possible solutions? How will play this out on a global scale? How can governments hold major companies accountable? Do countries that don’t have such large scale capitalist economies suffer in similar ways? How can the cost of the implementation of AI be weighed in a cultural, political, and social setting?
Watching the video and learning more about the effect of AI on labor is a scary thought, but is something I think is really important to learn about and understand. This assignment encouraged me to do so and made me think critically about a topic that I would have otherwise avoided. I have a lot of questions that were raised, such as the ones I have stated above and I will be doing more research into the effect of the implemention of AI and what that looks like in the job market.