The Ongoing Transformation

To Solve the AI Problem, Rely on Policy, Not Technology

Apr 18, 2023

Leading scholar Kate Crawford discusses the potential harms of AI for society, emphasizing the need for policy, not just technology. They explore demystifying AI, addressing bias, and the importance of regulation to ensure safety, accountability, and transparency in AI systems.

27:18

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Episode guests

Kate Crawford

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Quick takeaways

AI is an extractive industry that relies on data, labor, and resources, and its environmental footprint is often overlooked in discussions.

The perception of AI as magical and beyond regulation needs to be challenged, and there is a need for interdisciplinary collaboration to address AI's social harms and biases.

Deep dives

AI as an Extractive Industry

AI can be seen as an extractive industry that relies heavily on data, human labor, and environmental resources. Large language models and chatbots are trained on massive datasets extracted from the internet. Human labor is involved in labeling data and performing grunt work for AI systems. The environmental impact of AI includes energy consumption, water usage, and the extraction of rare earth minerals. AI is characterized as the extractive industry of the 21st century, based on its reliance on data, labor, and resources.

Challenge Stereotypical Assumptions in AI

00:21

Introduction

2min

Unveiling the Truth behind Artificial Intelligence

2min

Epistemological Assumptions, Enchanted Determinism, and the Politics of Classification in AI

4min

Consequences of AI Systems and the Need for Regulation

13min

The Need for AI Regulation

6min

Artificial intelligence is everywhere, growing increasingly accessible and pervasive. Conversations about AI often focus on technical accomplishments rather than societal impacts, but leading scholar Kate Crawford has long drawn attention to the potential harms AI poses for society: exploitation, discrimination, and more. She argues that minimizing risks depends on civil society, not technology.

The ability of people to govern AI is often overlooked because many people approach new technologies with what Crawford calls “enchanted determinism,” seeing them as both magical and more accurate and insightful than humans. In 2017, Crawford cofounded the AI Now Institute to explore productive policy approaches around the social consequences of AI. Across her work in industry, academia, and elsewhere, she has started essential conversations about regulation and policy. Issues editor Monya Baker recently spoke with Crawford about how to ensure AI designers incorporate societal protections into product development and deployment.

Resources

Learn more about Kate Crawford’s work by visiting her website and the AI Now Institute.
Read her latest book, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence.
Visit the Anatomy of an AI System artwork at the Museum of Modern Art, or see and learn about it virtually here.
Working with machine learning datasets? Check out Crawford’s critical field guide to think about how to best work with these data.

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The Ongoing Transformation

To Solve the AI Problem, Rely on Policy, Not Technology

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

AI as an Extractive Industry

Unexplored Conversations about AI

Enchanted Determinism and Harmful Consequences

Challenge Stereotypical Assumptions in AI

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts