The Socialist AI
After reading an excellent article here, this got me into thinking about real, and true outcomes of AI that arent bound by current human idealogies and economics. Because, lets be honest, why would a good governing AI need capitalism or market forces?
Why AI Is NOT Stealing Your Job
The premise behind the article is fundamentally a simple one. It is the humans that get to choose how AI is, or isnt used. And companies, are actually, more impacted by consumers than they care to recognise. They are directly controlled and managed by humans, and market forces, which means, we all decide on whether Google or OpenAI or MS succeed or fail - they are not in the drivers seat - we are.
Think about that. What have all these companies been tell you, the consumer? Do you know why? Because if, at any time, the true power of AI systems move toward becoming controlling systems that manage all the mundane things that people buy product and services for, then companies, will be come less and less required. But they dont what you to know that, they what the AI to serve them, so you can serve them too (with money).
The upshot, is that this AI “world” the companies are selling is very unlikely to occur for four main reasons:
- Already. Right now. AI is being commoditized - go look at HuggingFace to see the majority of trained AI LLMs are not coming from big companies, but from independant people and new small groups.
- People dont want AI services. The recent huge jump from Google Search to DuckDuckGo proved this (links below).
- You cant have fewer jobs with people having less money and a company sells more and makes more money - the economics of what Google, MS and OpenAI are doing simply isnt valid. There is no business model behind it, it is all market hype and stock price boosting.
- When AI begins to “run things” then traditional management, executives, boards simply cease to be necessary as well - meaning, the AI running a company for example, is running it as a socialist enclave because it fundamentally doesnt need the wealth class hierarchy to operate.
Companies themselves will cease to be companies as we currently understand them.
Futurism - DuckDuckGo Installs Spike as Google Moves to Replace Search with AI
Congressional Budget Office- AI and Its Poential Effects on Economy and the Federal Budget
“Because AI has the potential to change how businesses and the federal government provide goods and services, it could affect economic growth, employment and wages, and the distribution of income in the economy.”
AI Government
This is a topic people are now starting to consider and talk about. The ramifications are interesting, since much of how government works today is very “captialistic” and somewhat “opportunistic” to put it nicely.
The outcome of putting an AI in departmental control of procurement, for instance, would make many companies (especially in places like the DoD) start to fear for their companies profits and share price.
Theres a fictional story of how this might go here:
Bertrand Duperrins Notepad - 2035: AI does everything and there are no more jobs
Great story. And this is the type of progress I think people need to start thinking about. And how people want AI to progress.
An MIT researcher recently published a book explaining his 12 outcomes for AI (some are quite dark):
YT - MIT Explains the 12 Possible Endings for AI
I think that these outcomes are somewhat fearmongering (the same as companies are doing) and the real outcomes are nothing like any of these outcomes - mainly because it assumes constraints of now, hold into the future. Which doesnt make sense.
What do I mean? Like in the fictional article there are new forms of communities, engagement, economies and so on. You cannot make predictions on things you simply have no possible way of determining what they would look and operate like.
Socialism as AI
The interesting thing I have bouncing around in my head is the near future - not, 5 yrs away, maybe 10-15 yrs away. Consider if we all start to push back against AI, and its use. As noted above, Search Engine companies should be looking at the DuckDuckGo example as a clear warning, that people simply dont want your AI tools.
But what if people asked for AI to run a local government for very specific benefits:
- Cost savings
- Trust and service quality improvements
- Service management
A small town could potentially do this. But, think about it for a second. Isnt this socialism?
Socialism:
“any of various egalitarian economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods”
You would need maintenance people and some general “goto” people to help when things werent functioning (ie some sort of human fallback system), but this is the road to a collective - where the town, “owns” the AI running it.
Extend this idea, to the town automating everything (over decades of course) to the point, where the citizens, are no longer working. All their workplaces are fully automated the people sell enough outside the town to maintain their lifestyles for lesuire only.
At some point, the town decides to give everyone a common high wage (since money isnt really that important now) and you have a socialist collective.
Theres obviously a great deal more to this process than this simple example, but you see the outcome. Yes, AI is being used, but why use it in a way that doesnt benefit you. The town benefits greatly (economically and socially) from such an implementation, and added to that, everyone is happier and can persue their own dreams and goals without the hinderance of work.
Many people might choose to remain working, some may become creatives, others might just tinker with old cars - the human passion projects that people want to work on, but cannot, become reality.
Does this sound like a “big bad AI ending”… of course not. Its a sensible and rational use of tools that benefit humans.
Conclusion
The next time you see Sam Altman, or Elon Musk fearmongering about AI and how you should be scared - dont believe this BS. They want to control it, and then sell you its power while they keep it tamed. That town I described above, doesnt need any of those companies, it doesnt need any big global tech company to manage the AI that controls the town.
The accessibility to AI systems, even now, means that this is a truly feasible process. Right Now. And this is what has MS, Google and others all scared as hell - you the customer, might compete with them, and thats not good for their business. And the Utopia of the town I described, is not what they want because it doesnt include them.
I beleive AI will be used like in this town. I beleive we are being sold marketing BS from these big tech giants for one specific reason: They have spent so much on AI buildup and told their shareholders it will make them trillions, that they have to keep reiterating it or their company disappears in a pop of debt.
The future is beholden to you. Not them. So use the tools… and make it good.