The Politics of Technology

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

I think it's really interesting to think about kind of the narratives that we have around technologies. The risk with so many of these technologies is that it distracts us from the recognition that these are things that do need to happen, says John Defterios. We're not going to live in a society that is so hell bent on using technology to replace workers and you just also don't get as good results right like if we're going to have elder care robots they're all going to have to be developed in consultation with elder care workers and patients.

Paris Marx is joined by Aaron Benanav to discuss OpenAI’s claims that generative AI will take our jobs, how previous periods of automation hype haven’t resulted in mass job loss, and why we need to ensure it doesn’t further empower employers.

Aaron Benanav is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and the author of Automation and the Future of Work. Follow Aaron on Twitter at @abenanav.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Aaron wrote about why chatbots won’t take your job for the New Statesman.
Microsoft is rolling out generative AI in its enterprise software services and its Azure platform.
The Writers Guild is proposing contract language on AI in scriptwriting to ensure writers still get the credit.

Support the show