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A Ruthless Criticism of AI and Capitalism

Recently, the science fiction author Ted Chiang observed that “most of our fears or anxieties about technology are best understood as fears or anxiety about how capitalism will use technology against us.”

The sudden boom of interest in artificial intelligence - driven by torrents of cash and threats to transform society from top to bottom - has clarified this relationship between technology and capitalism even further. People are more aware than ever of the power dynamics that drive systems like AI. It is now common in public discourse to see skeptical inquiry about how technologies are made, who decides their purpose, who uses them, and who they are used against.

The impacts of AI are no longer merely abstract or distant concerns. The ecological, economic, and human costs are increasingly material and immediate.

By taking seriously our social anxieties about how capital forges technologies to then wield against us, this talk outlines three key concepts that are crucial for a political economic analysis - and a ruthless criticism - of AI and capitalism. The first is innovation realism. The second is cheap data. The third is the perpetual value machine.

Speaker: Jathan Sadowski, Monash University

Thursday, 02/06/25

Contact:

Website: Click to Visit

Cost:

Free

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Social Sciences Building Room 820

UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720