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Technology is going to drastically reshape the economy, and it’s within our power to decide what that looks like
The article begins by tracing the idea of autonomous machines transforming society back to Aristotle's 'Politics' and Karl Marx's vision of 'socialised knowledge' leading to a classless society. It highlights contemporary anxieties in Silicon Valley about 'AI communism,' particularly China's open-source AI strategy. The author views China's approach as a strategic counter to the US's proprietary AI model, aiming for supremacy in AI-dependent technologies like brain-machine interfaces and bioengineering. This sets the stage for a discussion on whether humanity can guide AI towards fulfilling human needs beyond competing, hierarchical models of info-capitalism.
The author argues that large language models (LLMs) embody Marx's 'general intellect' by learning from vast human knowledge and are already outperforming many knowledge workers. Unlike previous technological revolutions, AI poses a unique threat by potentially eliminating entire job functions without clear replacements. Critically, AI threatens not only the jobs of workers but also those of capitalists, as it can automate entrepreneurial skills and decouple innovation from profit. This existential threat to the capitalist model forces a choice: resist AI adoption for social justice or embrace it in a radically redesigned form, moving beyond the current nationalistic AI development strategies.
The article proposes a 'third way' for AI development, focusing on human needs rather than national rivalry. This involves radical changes such as breaking the link between work and wages through universal basic services and incomes, promoting co-operative and non-profit business models, and using AI for rational resource allocation instead of market mechanisms. The author suggests designing an 'un-ownable' AI model, distinct from the exploitative American and hegemonic Chinese models, with humanism and universal values embedded within it. Such a 'green and social-democratic AI' would prioritize energy efficiency, altruism, and community, potentially disrupting existing market shares and creating a crisis in the current economic model that could open pathways to a more equitable future.
The article recommends three books for further exploration of AI's societal impacts: 'Atlas of AI' by Kate Crawford, 'Fully Automated Luxury Communism' by Aaron Bastani, and 'AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order' by Kai-Fu Lee.