MIND
MAPPING

Mind Mapping

Rough General Question: How can tech potentially combat and also exacerbate social inequality and social division?

 

Intro ideas:

• Some people think the idea of AI/tech “taking over”/singularity is science fiction, but it is no longer

  • Robots taking care of your dying grandparents, dead friends turning into chatbots sound straight from Black Mirror

  • Tech raises all of these questions about the role of AI/robots--and this raises a lot of questions about inequality: this might start with the idea of death/immortality

  • Introduce ideas of immortality

 

1. Who gets immortality?

• Focus Article: Ever After

  • “Whether it’s a quest for the Holy Grail or dominion over our DNA, capital remains a common ingredient.”

  • “Once again, the project of dismantling existential borders emerges from the alignment of technology (however one defines it), dollars, entitlement and irrational optimism—manifest destiny, you might say. The notion that it’s our duty to surpass the physical self complements the canards of abundance and exception that plague an (over)ambitious mind. Who’d be willing to quit consciousness when it offers elite and conspicuous pleasure?”

    • Are we already receiving and accessing this pleasure in a sort of unconscious state through instant gratification? Are we already unconsciously receiving dopamine from social media likes, short-videos, etc? Does it matter if we are conscious as long as we are happy?

    • Sort of entitlement that comes with wanting immortality--lots of giant corporations, people like Larry Page seeking this “elite and conspicuous pleasure”. 

  • “It’s not a religion? These are people who believe the Invisible Hand of the Market runs everything. They fight holy wars against competing religions like Marxism. Against all evidence that the world is finite, this blind faith that resources will never run out, profits will go on increasing forever, just like the world’s population—more cheap labor, more addicted consumers.”

    • We live under a system where we deny the reality that things are not incessantly available to us for the rest of time. We deny Earth’s destruction because we (corporate giants) feel entitled to an infinite supply of wealth and glory. 

    • Because these people who want immortality are already very powerful people with lots of social and financial capital, and because they will outstrip the earth’s resources to achieve those means, these people will remain in power.

    • “The book hardly needs mention that should this ageless aristocrat come to power, we mortals would play the part of slaves and cattle, fit only to be sucked of essence, thereby extending his reign.”

      • These highly powerful people will take extreme measures to escape death: Ray Kurzweirl

        • Waiting for singularity so that he can merge with machines, wants to live forever.

        • He monitors his health constantly and takes lots of supplements, if he dies he will be vitrified so that he can come back to life later. 

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1b. Cryonics

• Transition into cryonics: Maybe it isn’t about who deserves a second chance at life, but who can afford one

A Dying woman’s...

• “But why would anyone donate?” she demanded of Josh. “There’s no compelling reason why I deserve another chance at life.”

• “Cryonics only seems disturbing because it challenges our complacency about death,” 

• Kim’s procedure costed $80,000, something that most people would not be able to afford. Although this would likely become cheaper if the process is normalized, it is a big concern about who will be immortal initially. Also, the life expectancy inequality in terms of wealthy people living longer will be exacerbated because now wealthy people can be immortal. Furthermore, the thought of who is wealthy is concerning, because racially that could definitely further perpetuate inequality of who gets to stay in power. 

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1. c.  How can tech exacerbate social inequality?

   • We can see how immortality can exacerbate wealth and racial inequality by keeping the same people in power and giving the same type of people the chance to live forever. 

   • We can see how advanced AI, which is encroaching on every aspect of our lives already has perpetuated social biases.

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming as biased as we are

• Biases in algorithms -- examples of professional hairstyles versus unprofessional hairstyles, beauty standards judged by AI, etc.

• Interesting fact that might not be relevant: idea of biases and lack of representation in data and how technology like seatbelts are designed for men and don’t take into account pregnant women, etc, so that women are much more likely to get hurt. The automatic soap dispensers also work better for white people. 

Pop culture references: H.E.R (might incorporate something from Black Mirror)

• H.E.R demonstrates the sexualizing of AI and the idea of feminizing AI. This perpetuates the idea that women will serve men, especially in a power dynamic in which the “woman” will do anything for the man because that is her programmed purpose. 

• This leads us to think not only who is served by technology and how this enforces gender norms, but also why this is in terms of who are these machines designed by?

 

Transition 

• What do these robots look like? Sound like? Are they given a face? Humanized? Gendered?

Should Robots Have Faces

• The robot that works in Walmart--how it has a face and is treated like a human.

• Idea of robots potentially helping humans by getting rid of monotonous work

  • But how this actually is kind of underhanded in a capitalistic--must make labor cheaper and maximize profits--kind of way

 

3. How could AI and tech potentially combat social inequality

Robots were supposed to take our jobs. Instead, they’re making them worse. 

• “Demands are so high that there have been reports of people urinating in bottles to avoid taking a break. The robots aren’t just watching, they’re also picking up some of the work. Sometimes, it’s for the better, but in other cases, they may actually be making work more dangerous as more automation leads to more pressure on workers. One report found that worker injuries were more prevalent in Amazon warehouses with robots than warehouses without them.”

• UBER and LYFT -- disregard for their well-being etc, algorithm simply maximizes profit. Interface can be dehumanizing and the algorithm also can ban people and punishes people who aren’t working enough or taking enough rides. Because of this new sector of tech-driven work, Uber and Lyft pushed for the passing of Prop 22, which minimized health care and deceived workers in terms of pay. 

Our Instructions for AI will never be specific enough: 

• Whose to say these robots won’t just be programmed to serve reward functions -- they’re already being utilized and programmed to serve reward functions in Uber and Lyft. Who will have access to AI and robots and whose needs will they serve?