Fortunately, workers are fighting back.
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AI has been a mainstay in our popular imagination for
decades — from apocalyptic robot takeovers to thriving post-work
societies. All that remains science fiction, but many of us understandably
worry that AI might take
our jobs.
The good news? That’s unlikely. The reality — and the less
good news — is that AI is rapidly increasing surveillance in the workplace.
An overwhelming majority of workers say AI will have a direct
impact on their jobs, but they don’t agree on how. Some feel that it will
help, while 42 percent fear that some aspects of their job will soon be
automated.
That’s certainly what many tech
executives have suggested will happen. Reports that
a majority of U.S. firms are planning to incorporate AI within the next year
have compounded those concerns. In fact, Goldman Sachs predicts that
generative AI could “substitute up to one-fourth of current work.”
Yet the concrete results of AI have been mixed at
best.
Driverless cars haven’t
materialized to replace humans on the road. McDonald’s cut ties with IBM after
their new automated order taking system failed to make fast food orders more
efficient. And Google’s new AI Overview tool — which seeks to “do the googling
for you” — keeps spitting out comical
falsehoods.
In short, AI isn’t as advanced as the tech industry would
have us believe. But because these companies want to attract capital from
investors, some are exaggerating or misrepresenting their AI capabilities,
causing the Securities and Exchange Commission to crack down on
two companies for so-called “AI-washing.”
Yet Big Tech remains undeterred. Most AI firms continue to be unprofitable, yet venture capitalists are still flooding the sector with billions of dollars with the hope it will one day transform the industry into a viable and innovative business.
In short, the “AI-will-replace-us-all-one-day” frenzy is a
form of propaganda. It’s designed to demoralize workers over a future that may
never arrive. Instead, our focus should be on where AI is actually deployed
today: in the realm of worker surveillance.
Chevron and Starbucks are already using AI
software to monitor the communications of their workers to flag
discontent in the workplace. Amazon delivery drivers, meanwhile, are forced to
“consent” to
the installation of AI-powered cameras that financially
penalize drivers for ordinary behavior like fiddling with the radio —
or even mistakes they may not have actually committed.
Concerningly, some corporations are using military-grade AI
to subvert
and disrupt unionization efforts. These businesses use AI for digital union
busting, identifying and firing labor organizers through keyboard
tracking, Zoom call spying, and alerts when a large number of employees hold
internal meetings.
All of this transforms the workplace into an electronic
panopticon where workers are constantly visible to an unseen watcher
encroaching on their autonomy, privacy, and labor rights.
Thankfully, workers are beginning to
fight back.
The Teamsters negotiated a contract with UPS that included
strong protections against AI surveillance. The Communications Workers of
America succeeded in ensuring that any data collected by AI will be used for
training purposes only — not to discipline workers. And the Writers Guild of
America put guardrails
on AI to ensure it doesn’t suppress wages — and make sure it remains
under workers’ control.
While tech executives may promise that AI will fundamentally
transform the economy, it’s unlikely to completely replace most workers. Even
so, AI’s ability to devalue labor and diminish working conditions is
troubling.
We need to make sure that technological advancements make work better, not worse. And unlike AI, we can act on our own accord. We can educate, advocate, and organize to make certain that new technologies are implemented for the benefit of all, not just the privileged few.,
A.J. Schumann is a historian and Henry A. Wallace Fellow
at the Institute for Policy Studies. Omar Ocampo is an IPS inequality
researcher. This op-ed was adapted from a longer version at Inequality.org and
distributed for syndication by OtherWords.org.
