#9

In the Age of AI

As we watched the "In the Age of AI" documentary, one topic that really stuck out was the increased commercialization of artificial intelligence. The documentary talked about how new technology has begun to automate jobs. This concept is especially interesting to me as a business major, as I'm fascinated by the different factors that go into the success of a business or economy. In my international economics class we have spoken a lot about how automation leads to economies of scale, meaning that as production increases cost per unit decreases. In that class, we examined automation in the context of capital machinery replacing human labor, but the documentary revealed an even more pressing concern about AI replacing human labor. This is such an important idea to be aware of because there is a dichotomous relationship business has with AI. On one hand, the use of AI as a form of automation allows businesses to raise levels of efficiency and cut costs. This generally means lower prices and easier access to goods/services for us as consumers. On the other hand, inequality in the workforce is rising due to middle-class and lower-class types of labor being taken over by AI, while people higher up the ladder are those investing in the AI that replaces those jobs. 

Another way artificial intelligence holds economic influence is through online commercial platforms. Although we don't view apps/sites like Facebook to be anything other than entertainment platforms, in reality, social media is an enormous market for profit. In the past, industrial capitalism took nature and converted into it into buildings. Now, Shoshana Zuboff explains that with surveillance capitalism, "private, human experience is claimed as a free source of raw material, fabricated into predictions of human behavior." This idea is frightening to me because we use digital platforms so regularly that we are often unaware that our private thoughts and actions are being commoditized; we as consumers are being consumed.

Not only is online data commercialized more than ever before, but it is also increasingly being utilized for political and governmental purposes. The documentary described China's current surveillance system and how they use cameras in every location to track the behavior of their citizens. The Chinese government actually uses this information for a social credit system in which they can administer legal consequences to those who have low social credit. The incentive to behave well has improved crime rates in the country and bettered national security, yet it is still a controversial regulation because it infringes upon all the details of people's personal lives. Most people would argue that their private lives should be exactly that: private. The government doesn't need to know all the little specifics of what we do. This concept reminds me of a Black Mirror episode, Nosedive, in which the main character ends up obtaining a low social credit score as she obsessively tries to gain the acceptance of others. This fictional show, in a way, reflects reality. We are often unaware of how AI and other forms of surveillance capitalism are negatively affecting our daily lives.