On Saturday at the South by Southwest conference congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) emerged as the unlikely champion of AI. For Cortez machine learning technology has the potential to do lasting social good and is something people should be excited by. Cortez made the point that loss of jobs is only a problem within an economic system that renders the unemployed defenceless and vulnerable: “Robots aren’t the problem, economics are”.
This is certainly a surprising interpretation by the staunchly socialist Cortez. The perceived take is that the rise of automation will eliminate the blue-collar class who are working in those tedious jobs that can be easily automated. In this version of robot dystopia, the government are left to support a growing number of unemployed whilst the rich get richer off cheap automated labour.
For Cortez the way to balance the scales is taxation. Ocasio-Cortez quoted Bill Gates’ suggestion that robots should pay taxes as reparation for the people they are replacing. However, Cortez is much more direct about what this would actually look like stating that the robots owners are the ones that should have to pay taxes –“What [Gates is] really talking about is taxing corporations at 90%, but it’s easier to say: ‘Tax a robot”.
AOC at the SXSW event on Saturday: Getty Images
This reimagining of the workplace might sound radical, but it is what we are already working on here at Jaggu HQ. Through automating thankless labour we are seeking to create a freer working environment, where humans can focus more on creativity and expression.
AI will never be able to replace the spontaneous and subjective spark that is human creativity. Understanding being the uniquely human character trait essential to producing affecting work. This level of artistry is simply not something an emotionless bot is capable of replicating.
Technology can support humans by dealing with the more mundane parts of the working process, minimising the time spent on tasks like supermarket checkouts or analysing datasets, indeed, by automating some of these initial stages of work, AI frees up human beings to become more genuinely creative.