Modern AI Luddites

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Someone I work with and respect a lot mentioned very briefly “Luddites” in relation to AI, but used the word in the typical modern pejorative sense. This short article https://locusmag.com/2022/01/cory-doctorow-science-fiction-is-a-luddite-literature/ gives a quick context on that label to help redeem it, and provides a bit of commentary I tend to agree with.

When it comes to AI I would say it might be very good to be Luddites in the true historical sense, not in the modern connotation technophobe sense. That is, to really think about “who it could be used for and whom it could be used against.” or in practical terms for those of in a position to implement it we need to think about how it could be used to strengthen the role of the people we are aiming to empower with the software we build vs the very real risks of removing agency, transparency, and accountability. Working for a carbon accounting company I think specifically about how how it could (and probably will) be used to do very effective green washing at scale. I do not want to have any part of that!