Navigating the AI Revolution: AI, Capitalism, & Finding our Focus
All too often we hear the term “Luddite” being used to describe someone who is anti-technology or facetiously not adept at technology. In truth, the Luddite movement was far more complex and has a LOT to teach us today.
The Luddites were a group of 19th-century English workers (such as textile workers and weavers, among others) who are often portrayed as being anti-technology. Their resistance started in the early 1800s when the Industrial Revolution had a half-century behind it. Needless to say, it was a time of incredible innovation, but all economic and social instability. The introduction of new machinery in the textile industry, for example, was decimating the market for skilled artisan labour and displacing many workers, exacerbating already widespread unemployment and poverty.
This was very true of the textile workers, where handmade items that took individuals significant time and skill to create were suddenly being produced quickly, cheaply, and at a massive scale. The companies that utilized the machines could undersell the weavers (who they had already fired) because their profit margins were so improved, which was seen as a necessary development to remain competitive in an increasingly industrialized market.
So when the Luddite revolt led to the destruction of these machines, it was not simply because they hated or feared technology (though that sentiment was most certainly present). Rather, it was far more of a reaction to the economic displacement caused by the new technology. They were concerned with issues of fairness, workers’ rights, and the preservation of their way of life. Destroying the technology was a desperate means to an end.
Interestingly, capitalism was both a cause and a consequence of the Industrial Revolution. It was a cause insofar entrepreneurs invest in new technologies to increase personal wealth accumulation like never before. And it was a consequence insofar as that very investment led to the expansion of industrial businesses in what was previously a largely agrarian economy.
What might this teach us today? There is much to glean from these historical events as we seem to be facing the emergence of what might be called the Artificial Intelligence Revolution. This time, with capitalism far from being an emerging economic system as it was in the time of the Luddites, the potential for unethical and exploitative application makes this a very serious issue that demands our attention and engagement.
People in many fields are already feeling the negative impact of the quick emergence of powerful and cheap AI technologies. I’ve lost several steady income streams as a writer to AI tech, almost overnight. While all technological advancement with create certain degrees of redundancy (as well as a need for adaptation), the speed with which this tech has emerged, along with an inadequate and outpaced attempt at governance, makes it difficult to address.
Without question, even apart from the worst aspects of capitalism getting involved, AI has significant inherent concerns that need to be addressed and dealt with. However, making the technology itself the boogeyman without recognizing the primary influence of capitalism in creating and exacerbating the worst of the problems is akin to lopping off dandelion heads while ignoring the insidious root issues just below the surface.
The speed of innovation, trained on unethical datasets, and fueled by a new technology that outpaces the rate of adequate governance, put these AI capitalists in a powerful position. And what seems like a calculated effort by the stakeholders, the tech is made the scapegoat through often dystopian fear-mongering. This misdirection impedes efforts at governance and accountability, giving those few who are profiting more time to become further entrenched and wealthy.
Even critics from within the AI industry struggle to offer solutions that seem adequate in the face of the power and pace of these emerging AI technologies. Any expectation that humanity will choose to completely reject the technology is impractical and unrealistic. Non-engagement, regardless of how vocal we might be about it, will fail to have a meaningful impact. So what do we do about it?
There are things we can do to effect change. Demanding proper governance and accountability through a regulatory framework is critical to protect people from having their ideas, art, labour, and more unethically used to profit others. We need mandated transparency around data sources and usage. We would need new labour laws to protect to further protect workers’ rights in the AI industry and in industries impacted by the tech. Laws and governance are critical.
We also need to see more (ethical) human engagement within these technologies in order for people to have an informed understanding to better enable them to advocate for necessary change, limits, and opportunities. We need to see support of open source AI development, to help level the playing field. Our educational institutions need to engage with the ethical and practical realities of AI as we move forward.
We need to find ways to foster economies and social systems where such innovation doesn’t have the power to displace and even impoverish people. Things like Universal Basic Income and Housing First initiatives would allow people the weather the adjustment of this technological advancement with fewer devastating outcomes.
Yet I cannot help but think that, given the pace and power of this new industry, coupled with an economic system that is nearly impossible to hold adequately accountable, the only way we are going to see this issue addressed is through massive disruption. While I do not advocate violent and deadly resistance like the Luddites (though such outcomes are certainly possible moving forward), I do believe that radical resistance will emerge to undermine this industry, much like peer-to-peer file sharing forced massive change in the entertainment industry.
Even with all the challenges we face, it’s important to remember that AI technologies hold a great deal of positive possibilities for humanity. The heart of the problem is not AI tech itself (though, again, there are issues to be addressed), but rather in the way that unchecked capitalism tends towards exploitation. Instead of brandishing torches and pitchforks against AI, we should direct our efforts towards understanding, adapting and governing its use responsibly, namely by addressing the worst of the economic system that is using it so exploitatively.
Jamie Arpin-Ricci is a bisexual author, award-winning activist, and the Co-Director of Peace & Justice Initiatives. You can discover more about his work at his website: www.jamiearpinricci.com