316. Echoes of AI

May 10, 2024

Madhumita Murgia, author of "Code Dependent" and shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2024, and Vidushi Marda, a lawyer specializing in data-driven technology regulation, delve into the profound effects of AI on society. They discuss how automated systems can strip away individual agency and the ethical implications of technologies like facial recognition. Personal anecdotes shed light on the impact of deep fakes and the often-overlooked challenges faced by content moderators, emphasizing the need for accountability and human-centered technology.

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ANECDOTE

Paralyzed Woman and AI

Madhumita Murgia witnessed a paralyzed woman use AI to control a robotic arm.
This inspired her early interest in AI's potential.

INSIGHT

Missing Human Impact

Early AI coverage focused on the technology and businesses, not the human impact.
Murgia aimed to highlight ordinary people's experiences with AI globally.

ANECDOTE

Invisible AI Workforce

Data labelers in developing countries play a crucial, often unseen, role in AI development.
They categorize data, like images for self-driving cars, to train AI systems.

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On the surface, an Indian doctor, a British poet, an UberEats courier in Pittsburgh, and a Chinese activist in exile have nothing in common. But they are in fact linked by a profound common experience―unexpected encounters with artificial intelligence. In her debut book Code Dependent, shortlisted for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Non-fiction 2024, Madhumita Murgia shows how automated systems are reshaping our lives all over the world, from technology that marks children as future criminals, to an app that is helping to offer medical diagnoses to a remote tribal community.

By highlighting the voices of ordinary people in places far removed from the cozy enclave of Silicon Valley, Madhumita explores the impact of this often-exploitative technology on individuals, communities, and our wider society.

Vidushi Marda, a lawyer and researcher, specialises in examining the socio-legal ramifications of data-driven technologies. Her research centers on technology regulation, asymmetric power dynamics, and fundamental rights. Through her endeavors, she collaborates with governments, corporations, and technical communities to promote social justice.

Together, they will discuss and unpack how AI can strip away our collective and individual sense of agency, and shatter our illusion of free will. AI has already infiltrated our day-to-day, through language-generating chatbots like ChatGPT and social media. But it’s also affecting us in more insidious ways. It touches everything from our interpersonal relationships, to our kids’ education, work, finances, public services, and even our human rights. It is already changing what it means to be human, in ways large and small, and Madhumita and Vidushi reveal what could happen if we fail to reclaim our humanity.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Author - Madhumita Murgia is in conversation with the Lawyer and Researcher - Vidushi Marda. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in May 2024.

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