The A.I. Is Coming! But, Is It Going To Save Us?
The A.I. Is Coming! But, Is It Going To Save Us?
By Dr. María J. Estrada
Recently, my family and I went to watch the MI5 movie. While I’m not a fan of Mission Impossible, the premise of the movie is that an AI has grown all-powerful and with that sentience, the potential to destroy the earth. I was instantly hooked. Ironically, the SAG-AFTRA strike has raised concerns about AI and labor-replacing technology. The fear of AI and technology permanently replacing labor is very real, not just for actors and writers, but for all of us. But, could AI and technology be the solution to the many problems our world faces?
At a July Cook County College Teachers Union House of Delegates meeting, I almost fell out of my chair when someone raised the issue of AI and its potential impact on higher education. Could AI replace teachers? How had technology affected working conditions? My union President Tony Johnston said that he had just gotten back from a labor conference where they discussed using search engines to find contract information. To use AI and technology for good. But, not once did he say this topic was not a concern, and I was delighted that he agreed to have the topic funneled to our education committee. Not surprisingly, no members objected to that suggestion. They didn’t question the threat that technology poses to any unions, on any workers.
Like SAG-AFTRA, unions will have to negotiate and include contract language that protects workers. Technology, in general, has allowed the super-exploitation of workers across all fields. For actors, they are angry that streaming services pay mere pennies when the owners of Netflix and other streaming companies make millions of dollars. Technology also makes it possible for streaming services to produce movies and shows with international actors, shows very similar to ones, starring American actors, again undercutting the work American actors could do. Now, I am not demonizing actors from other countries, or trying to pit worker against worker. They need to make their bread too. But, let’s be real, the owners of film industries could pay a living wage for American and international actors and still amass vast wealth.
ChatGPT has also entered the spotlight as author Paul Tremblay and others are suing because they claim their novels have been dumped into the software. I’m a huge fan of Tremblay, and yes, I am disgusted that The Cabin at the End of the World has been allegedly “ingested” to train the program. That’s flat-out plagiarism. As a writer, that thought horrifies me. As a higher ed educator and Creative Writing professor that thought horrifies me.
How can we protect actors, writers, and workers from this onslaught? And is technology the villain? I am not a Luddite. I’m a realist. These technological advances are here and exploding at rates I could never have imagined. I think about the awful pandemic (which is still with us). During the lockdown, professors and professionals had to use Zoom and hardware to meet student needs. Without technology, colleges and universities would have shut down. Period. But, that relationship was cooperative, not replacing.
The problem is the economic system we live in and the rich that own the technology. For the wealthy, the bottom line is to make profit, not make our lives easier. Imagine if streaming services were free to the public! Imagine if technology were used to provide housing for the houseless, food for the hungry! Imagine if technology provided free education for all. This isn’t fiction. This is possible, but only if we transform this system. Only if we wrest the power from our rulers.
MI5 made some excellent points. But instead of trying to kill the AI, Ethan Hawk should have gone after the rich and aimed that AI at uprooting the economic system and recreating it to meet our needs.
The second part of that movie is coming out in the future. Part of me hopes Ethan Hawk fails miserably and that the AI is actually a benevolent ruler. Most of me hopes that we will Unite in real life, to make sure all artificial intelligence and technology serve the people. Because unless the economic system is radically transformed and technology is owned by us, the future will be a dystopia.
Check out the League’s take on what we need and how we can get it: