Blair Attard-Frost discusses AI countergovernance and explores topics such as the challenges of AI ethics and governance, the concept of the AI interregnum, the importance of explainability in AI systems, examples of AI countergovernance in practice, and the need for participatory policymaking in AI governance.
AI countergovernance involves community-led and worker-led approaches to governance, focusing on the social, material, and ethical aspects often overlooked in traditional methods.
Improving present-day governance practices based on empirical evidence is key to addressing challenges in AI, rather than speculating about future dystopian scenarios.
Deep dives
AI Counter Governance: Alternative Mechanisms for Resisting Power
Blair Atard Frost, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, discusses AI counter governance as a means to resist or contest power in AI systems and the organizations behind them. Counter governance involves community-led and worker-led approaches to AI governance, focusing on the social, material, and ethical aspects often overlooked in traditional methods. Frost highlights the lack of coherence in defining artificial intelligence, making it difficult for cohesive regulation and governance. They emphasize the need for a bottom-up approach, giving examples such as Google canceling the Project Maven initiative due to employee protests, and the community backlash leading to the cancelation of the Sidewalk Toronto project. Frost suggests four main activities for countergovernance: talking, investigating, building awareness, and opposing AI systems that don't serve community interests. They stress the importance of participatory policymaking and the need for a balanced understanding of AI's potential benefits and risks within specific contexts.
The Complexities of AI Governance and the Uncertainty of the Interregnum
Frost discusses the challenges in AI governance caused by the lack of a shared understanding of AI and the rapid advancement of the technology. They describe the interregnum period, a transitional phase in AI marked by the shift towards deep learning and generative AI, which has intensified discussions on governance and regulation. Frost emphasizes the limitations of explainability in AI systems and highlights the need to address issues such as human agency, fairness, and control in the development of advanced AI systems. They argue for focusing on improving present-day governance practices based on empirical evidence, rather than speculating about future dystopian scenarios.
The Cult of Artificial Intelligence and the Façade of Promises
Frost explores the cultural power attached to AI and the narratives that frame it as both a potential benefit and risk. They raise concerns about a faith-like belief in the promises of AI systems, which may lack empirical evidence. Frost calls for a critical examination of the cultural narratives surrounding AI, especially in relation to superintelligence and futuristic AI systems. They assert that the inexplicability and uncontrollability often associated with these systems are already present challenges in present-day AI. Frost advocates for focusing on understanding and addressing these challenges in the present rather than speculative future scenarios.
Examples of AI Countergovernance in Action
Frost provides examples of AI countergovernance initiatives, showcasing community-led and worker-led resistance. They discuss the Google Project Maven contract cancellation due to employee protests, the community backlash leading to the cancellation of Sidewalk Toronto's Smart City project, and the recent writers' strike that addressed the use of generative AI in the entertainment industry. Frost highlights the importance of grassroots organizing and broader participation in AI governance to challenge top-down approaches. They encourage community discussions, investigations, and awareness-building to shape policies and oppose AI systems that do not align with community interests.
Multiple past episodes of this podcast have focused on the topic of AI governance. But today’s guest, Blair Attard-Frost, has put forward a set of ideas they term "AI countergovernance." These are alternative mechanisms for community-led and worker-led governance that serve as means for resisting or contesting power, particularly as it manifests in AI systems and the companies and governments that advance them.
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