THE FACT OF THE MATTER
BY PAUL HOPKINS
A report in front of me says workers fear automation replacing their livelihoods, about the loss of traditional work, and society as a whole is unsettled by the rapid shift.
Sound familiar? But this is from the early 1800s during the birth of the Industrial Revolution, when fear and anxiety manifested in many ways, not least textile workers protesting against automated machinery. Known as Luddites, they believed automation would destroy their professions, lower wages and degrade their product.
And so, history repeats itself with fear for the future and for livelihoods as the rise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) surges. A concern now felt by 350 workers at the Irish HQ of Meta and by thousands globally about jobs being replaced by AI.
Meta and other big tech firms, like Microsoft and Google, are cutting staff and costs and citing AI as the main reason for the fate of their 350 employees, on top of 700 outsourced workers at Irish company, Covalen, a main contractor for Meta.
Meta has repeatedly said that advances in AI would mean it would need fewer workers. “We’re starting to see projects that used to require big teams now accomplished by a single very talented person,” founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in January.
Meanwhile, the Facebook operator recently lost a key legal challenge against a State watchdog’s preliminary draft decision which signalled the possibility of fines of up to €430m to be levied against the tech giant. The case stems from a single complaint made eight years ago relating to personal data processing.
Meta had mounted the High Court challenge arguing that Ireland’s Data Protection Commission acted outside its powers by widening its investigation, in part related to the concerns about young people and what they can access online and about Meta’s use of algorithms.
Another concern has been ‘deep fakes’. Martina Larkin, CEO of Project Liberty, a non-profit global alliance seeking to promote internet safety, has warned that politicians are “at the top of the pyramid” when it comes to AI-driven misinformation by high-profile figures digitally cloned in realistic videos. US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy have already repeatedly fallen victim to such clips. Is that really Simon Harris we’re watching spout away on the internet?
In the US, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, has filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado over a new AI law set to take effect next week. The company claims laws regulating AI systems infringe on First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.
But it is not just social media and its ilk that are being affected by the rise of AI. Already, we’re seeing changes in retail, finance and banking, transport, media, commerce, the medical world – and indeed, human interaction. And more change to come.
At the recent Cannes Film Festival, Demi Moore said her peers could not resist the rise of AI. The actor said: “AI is here. And so to fight it is a battle we will lose. To find ways in which we can work with it I think is a more valuable path to take.”
Is she right? Is there an inevitability about it all? History would argue that since Man first discovered the wheel, we have come through the various ‘revolutionary’ changes, industrial et al, relatively unscathed. AI will likely prove no different and life will evolve, our destiny in one guise or another and a lot of it for the better, like the huge advances in medical procedures. And Covid showed us there was more to life than 60 hours a week, nose to the grindstone.
Other ‘work’ will evolve out of necessity. Take the Ying with the Yang and we will survive.
Though I am not sure about Toby. I had trouble with my internet the other day and rang my service provider. “Hi there, this is Toby. I am your AI assistant. How can I help you?” it said in a monotonous tone. Not human, for sure. I explained my problem in about 40 or so words. There was a pause, then Toby said: “I am sorry. I do not understand you. Can you explain in just a few words?”
I repeated, twice, in fewer words. Toby was still flummoxed. I was frustrated. I hung up.
Later, I dialled another number to my provider. Like a beautiful breath of fresh air, Salma, based in Cairo, came through, her interaction with me proving impeccable.
The young woman fixed my problem… and renewed my faith in our future and humankind.
