Artificial intelligence is unlikely to produce permanent mass unemployment, Vivek Chibber argues. But without class struggle from below and state action, automation will deepen inequality and leave workers to bear its costs.
The developments in artificial intelligence appear to promise a radical transformation of modern work. But what happens if AI turns out to be much more like previous waves of technological change?
In this episode of the Jacobin Radio podcast Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek discuss the history of automation, the effects of technology on employment and wages, and why socialists should want to harness AI to create human flourishing.
Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy and published by Jacobin. You can listen to the full episode here. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
People like Elon Musk and Sam Altman are now telling the world that artificial intelligence is coming to completely remake the entire American economy and replace us. Supposedly, they say, we’ll all be able to kick up our heels and live in a post-work utopia, but I think there are reasons to be suspicious. Do you think that these sorts of predictions could actually come true?
I am very skeptical that they could come true, even though I think AI has the potential to be a new type of technology. And the reason I’m skeptical that they could come true is that we’ve seen waves of technological change before. We’ve seen revolutionary technologies in the past. We’ve also seen the same doubts and fears expressed in those contexts, and they have not come true in the past.
It’s certainly possible that AI could be so…
Auteur: Vivek Chibber
