AI as Algorithmic Thatcherism
danmcquillan.org
danmcquillan.org
> The goal isn't to "support" teachers and healthcare workers but to plug the gaps with AI instead of with the desperately needed staff and resources.
I don't think both these statements can be true - I myself feel the first statement is more accurate - but if AI is useful, then surely we should use it (for the good of everyone).
> AI can turn some impressive party tricks, but it's unsuited for solving serious problems in the real world.
> Real AI isn't sci-fi but the precaritisation of jobs, the continued privatisation of everything and the erasure of actual social relations.
How in the world can AI simultaneously make jobs more precarious and privatize everything but be unsuited for solving serious problems? TFA is riddled with these contradictions.
Just because a system is bad doesn't mean it won't get used, especially if companies or institutions feel that they can save money in the process.
I've lived in several countries and have witnessed how, in the name of efficiency, it has gradually become impossible to get in touch with anyone from an institution to get a problem resolved. We've replaced human beings with phone menus. They don't do the job (of answering your questions or solving problems), but they're certainly cheaper than the human beings who did!
>>the sense of urgency generated by an allegedly world-transforming technology is used as an opportunity to transform social systems without democratic debate.
is the line that made me submit this.