AI Ethics & Policy Insights
The AI ethics & policy info we should know - simplified. Week of January 8 , 2024. Issue 18.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I took it easy the month of December and did some soul-searching and planning for my many AI Ethics endeavors. It’s going to be a great year!
One small announcement: I launched a YOUTUBE CHANNEL called AI Ethics with Paige! It’s educational and fun, and it’s designed to keep people up to date on the mannnnyyyyy happenings in and around the world of responsible and ethical AI. It would mean a lot to me if you would subscribe and follow along.
December Recap:
The EU AI ACT trilogue agreed on a path forward for the legislation! This is huge news for the EU and the world. Read more below - I dive a bit deeper!
The NYT filed a Lawsuit Against Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement. They’re claiming that presenting information from their publication in ChatGPT ultimately prevents traffic from coming to their site, which causes financial injury for the company. While other lawsuits on similar topics have generated energy, none have piqued people’s interest like this one. It’s a must-follow in 2024. A deep-dive is forthcoming!
Deeper Dive: AI Replacing Humans in the Work Place
The Context:
It was reported this week that Duolingo, a popular language-learning app, laid off 10% of their contracted workers as they rolled out new AI features that made the roles in question unnecessary. This is unsurprising since companies have been implementing AI en masse, with the goal of reducing repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
The Controversy:
This is controversial because Duolingo is the latest in a line of household-name companies who are leveraging AI and reducing jobs for humans in the process. The reality of AI replacing humans is that it can occur in a variety of ways. Levi’s was in hot water for using AI to create “diverse models” to model their clothes, rather than hiring diverse human models to do the job. Microsoft laid off 10,000+ employees on January 18th of 2023, and announced a $10B investment in OpenAI on January 20th of 2023, in what many have thought to be one of the first significant AI-related layoffs. Some companies are outright replacing employees - whether FTE or contracted - like Duolingo.
As we continue deeper down the road of what AI can offer, we see a growing list of complications and casualties. People are beginning to ask some big questions:
Are these the first signs of a greater catastrophe on the horizon?
Is there an “ethical” way to replace human work with AI work?
Will this “AI worker” trend be novel or become normal?
The Conversation:
Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin Ford is a 2015 exploration of AI and how its continued growth and implementation could significantly harm the workforce. I’m re-reading it this year because it’s more apropos now than ever before, but the conclusion that Martin guides us toward is that there are so many factors we need to keep an eye on in order to understand if the new era of AI is simply an adjustment in the workforce or if we’re all in peril.
We know, without a shadow of a doubt, that AI is replacing humans in the workforce. We also know that AI isn’t replacing all humans in the workforce. This conversation carries some parallels to the challenges related to off-shore work, when a company hires less expensive labor in other markets and lays off people in the market where they run or do business.
People are looking for clarity. They want to know which jobs are most at risk, which is hard to say because the applications of AI are many and varied. People also want to know what to do to secure against the threat of AI, but because we don’t know which applications of AI could impact which jobs, it’s hard to guide people in one way or another.
The Ethical Implications:
While the ethical concerns are many and varied, the two most significant considerations at the moment are economic and cultural. The biggest ethical implication is economic. Right now we’re in a position where those who are laid off can find work in other places, even if they can’t find something that is similar to the job they had before. If significant portions of people get laid off and the amount of job openings are reduced because AI is always on the clock, there will be more unemployed people than jobs available, leading to a significant unemployment crisis which will impact the entire global economy. While the world can handle this in small doses, they cannot handle this in one large landslide. There needs to be a period of adjustment after layoffs so people can find and create new ways to make money.
There’s also the broader ethical consideration of the human experience. To lay people off in favor of AI without considering their livelihood is horrifying. Providing generous severance, skills programs, referrals and other forms of support is critical to laying people off in an ethical way.
Sources: CNN, Rise of the Robots
AI Policy Updates
EU AI ACT
The trilogue agreed to a path forward for the EU AI Act on December 8th, 2023, and it was undoubtedly the biggest AI policy news of December. The long-awaited act has been in draft and discussion for more than a year, and the world is watching to see how this sweeping Act will impact the EU and all who do business there. The Act isn’t finalize or passed yet. It’s expected to go into effect in June 2024 where the market will have a period of adjustment to ensure they are aligned to the requirements of the Act. The Act is expected to be fully enforceable in 2026. Read more here.
Video of the Week
Microsoft’s [half inch] A Power Move
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