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News Books & Culture Fiction & Poetry Humor & Cartoons Ann Will A.I. Become
As it’s currently imagined, the technology prom alte
Illustration by Berke Yazicioglu
hen we talk about artificial in Wwhen dealing with something
nature, imperfect, but we still need t
lead us astray. For example, it’s beco
genies in fairy tales. The metaphor is
powerful entities obey your comman
cited the parable of King Midas, who
gold, to illustrate the dangers of an A
you want it to do. There are multiple
that it derives the wrong lessons from
Midas parable is that greed will dest
you everything that is truly importan
you are granted a wish by the gods, y
then you have missed the point.
So, I would like to propose another m
suggest that we think about A.I. as a
McKinsey & Company. Firms like M
and A.I. systems are used for many r
McKinsey—a consulting firm that w
and A.I. are also clear. Social-media
glued to their feeds. In a similar way
how to “turbocharge” sales of OxyC
promises to offer managers a cheap r
and similar firms helped normalize t
increasing stock prices and executiv
of the middle class in America.
A former McKinsey employee has d
executioners”: if you want somethin
McKinsey will do it for you. That es
valuable services that management c
but don’t want to be blamed for doin
hiring consultants, management can
expert advice. Even in its current rud
company to evade responsibility by
says, even though it was the compan place.
The question we should be asking is
there any way to keep it from being
worth considering across different m
a broad set of technologies being ma
the question becomes: how do we ke
willing executioners”? Alternatively,
software program that solves problem
then: how do we prevent that softwa
people’s lives worse? Suppose you’v
obedient to humans—one that repeat
the instructions it has received. This
software could easily still cause as m
Note that you cannot simply say that
solutions to the problems you ask it
can defuse the threat of McKinsey b
solutions. The reality is that Fortune
your pro-social firm, because McKin
more than your firm’s solutions will
pursues shareholder value above all
A.I. instead of one constrained by yo
Is there a way for A.I. to do somethin
capitalism? Just to be clear, when I r
exchange of goods or services for pr
of many economic systems. When I
relationship between capital and labo
are able to profit off the effort of oth
whenever I criticize capitalism, I’m
criticizing the idea that people who h
people who actually work. And, mor
concentration of wealth among an ev
not be an intrinsic property of capita
capitalism as it is practiced today.
As it is currently deployed, A.I. often
human beings perform and figure ou
Coincidentally, this is exactly the typ
a result, A.I. assists capital at the exp
labor-consulting firm that furthers th
take on that role? Can A.I. do anythi
Some might say that it’s not the job
but it’s not the job of A.I. to strength
does. If we cannot come up with way
then I’d say it’s hard to argue that A. one.
Many people think that A.I. will universal basic income, or U.B
like the idea of universal basic incom
about the way that people who work
driven unemployment. It would be d
income, but we don’t, so expressing
developing A.I. to pass the buck to th
the problems that capitalism creates
become bad enough, the governmen
for making the world a better place,
You may remember that, in the run-u
Sarandon—who was a fervent suppo
Donald Trump would be better than
about the revolution more quickly. I
this through, but the Slovenian philo
pretty sure he had given a lot of thou
election would be such a shock to th
What Žižek advocated for is an exam
accelerationism. There are a lot of di
common thread uniting left-wing acc
make things better is to make things
to oppose or reform capitalism; inste
tendencies until the entire system bre
capitalism is to stomp on the gas ped
I suppose this is one way to bring ab
the A.I. industry is adopting, I want t
they’re working toward. By building
A.I. researchers are increasing the co
the only way to avoid societal collap
or not, this is very similar to voting f
better world. And the rise of Trump i
as a strategy: things can get very bad
get better. In fact, you have no idea o
all you can be sure of is that there w and medium term.
I’m not very convinced by claims th
might develop goals of its own and p
think that A.I. is dangerous inasmuch
doomsday scenario is not a manufac
paper clips, as one famous thought e
corporations destroying the environm
shareholder value. Capitalism is the
us from turning it off, and the most s
campaign to prevent us from conside
People who criticize new technologi
to clarify what the Luddites actually
was the fact that their wages were fa
were increasing, along with food pri
conditions, the use of child labor, an
entire textile industry. The Luddites
machine’s owner paid his workers w
technology; what they wanted was e
way to get factory owners’ attention.
an insult, a way of calling someone i
campaign by the forces of capital.
Whenever anyone accuses anyone el
person being accused actually agains
justice? And is the person making th
people’s lives? Or are they just tryin
Today, we find ourselves in a situatio
with capitalism, which has in turn be
If you try to criticize capitalism, you
progress. But what does progress ev
people who work? What is the point
isn’t going anywhere except into sha
be Luddites, because we should all b
with increasing the private accumula
harmful uses of technology—and tho
workers—without being described a
Imagine an idealized future, a hundr
work at any job they dislike, and eve
find most personally fulfilling. Obvi
here. But now consider two possible
management and the forces of capita
the other, labor is more powerful tha
likely to get us closer to that idealize one is A.I. pushing us toward?
Of course, there is the argument
living in the long term, which m
the short term. This argument carried
Revolution period, but it has lost its
States, per-capita G.D.P. has almost
income has lagged far behind. That p
revolution. This means that the econ
the Internet has mostly served to inc
one per cent, instead of raising the st
Of course, we all have the Internet n
prices, college tuition, and health-ca
1980, it was common to support a fa
much progress have we really made
fast and easy, and streaming movies
willingly trade those conveniences f
kids to college without running up li
falling into bankruptcy. It’s not techn
pace with per-capita G.D.P.; it’s mos
Friedman. But some responsibility a
like Jack Welch, who ran General El
consulting firms like McKinsey. I’m
in wealth inequality—I’m just sayin
necessarily improve people’s standar
The fact that personal computers did
relevant when thinking about the pos
researchers should focus on ways tha
productivity rather than replace them
opposed to the automation path. Tha
people’s economic fortunes. The pro
computers was a perfect example of
processing programs replaced typew
programs replaced paper spreadshee
personal productivity brought about increased standard of living.
The only way that technology can bo
economic policies in place to distrib
haven’t had those policies for the pa
no reason to think that forthcoming a
even if we’re able to devise ways for
certainly reduce labor costs and incr
different from improving our standar
It would be convenient if we could a
corner and develop technology for u
technology would be helpful in a uto
utopia where there’s a machine that c
waste wouldn’t be a problem, but, in
generating toxic waste is harmless. A
toxic waste will motivate the inventi
convincing is that? We evaluate the e
context of the mitigations that are cu
hypothetical future mitigations. By t
imagining how helpful it will be in a
light of the existing imbalance betwe
a threat because of the way it assists Aformer partner at McKinsey de
don’t do policy. We do executio
policy decisions are more likely to b
technologies—offer ways to implem
being developed makes it easier for
to develop a kind of A.I. that makes
In his book “How to Be an Anticapit
Olin Wright offers a taxonomy of str
capitalism. Two of the strategies he m
dismantling capitalism, which proba
ones that are more relevant here are
Roughly speaking, taming capitalism
capitalism means grassroots activism
strengthen those things? Is there a w owned coöperatives?
In 1976, the workers at the Lucas Ae
were facing layoffs because of cuts i
stewards produced a document know
and fifty “socially useful products,”
and hybrid engines for cars, that the
equipment rather than being laid off.
the proposal, but it remains a notable
capitalism in a more human direction
with modern computing technology.
Does capitalism have to be as harmf
decades following the Second World
capitalism. This period was partially
government didn’t create the golden
during this era. In General Electric’s
about how much it paid in taxes and
explicitly said that “maximizing emp
founder of Johnson & Johnson said t
employees was higher than its respo
had a radically different conception corporations today.
Is there a way to get back to those va
golden age of capitalism came after g g p
Age. Right now we’re living in a sec
about the same as it was back in 191
where we are now to a second golde
and the golden age we had the Great
accelerationist might say that those e
age, but I think most of us would pre
to imagine ways for technology to m
about another Great Depression first
We all live in a capitalist system, so
like it or not. And it’s reasonable to w
can do. If you work as a food scienti
flavors of potato chip, I’m not going
because you’re assisting the engine o
food scientist to provide customers w
reasonable way to make a living.
But many of the people who work in
new flavors of potato chip. They say
case, then they have a duty to find w
first making it worse. Can A.I. ameli
pushing us to the brink of societal co
proponents claim, they should be abl ruthlessness of capital.
If there is any lesson that we should
it’s that the desire to get something w
the story of “The Sorcerer’s Apprent
make broomsticks carry water but is
story is not that magic is impossible
comes back and immediately fixes th
you can’t get out of doing the hard w
and looking for a shortcut was what
The tendency to think of A.I. as a ma
avoid the hard work that building a b
involve things like addressing wealth
technologists, the hardest work of al
questioning the assumption that mor
they can continue with business as u
No one enjoys thinking about their c
imperative that the people who are b
this kind of critical self-examination
their own role in the system that will or a worse one. ♦ More Science and Tec Can we stop runaway A.I.?
Saving the climate will depend on them before time runs out?
There are ways of controlling A.I.—
A security camera for the entire pla
What’s the point of reading writing
A heat shield for the most importan
The climate solutions we can’t live
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