Socialize AI Now!

They didn't create it. We did.

The European Community’s recent AI Act is designed to “provide AI developers and deployers with clear requirements and obligations regarding specific uses of AI.”

That’s useful, but it’s not nearly enough. If the financial sector has taught us anything, it’s that regulations alone can never keep pace with private industry’s constant innovation—in product design and, even more importantly, in its ever-evolving methods for corrupting democracy.

Besides, this is our technology. The tech industry mines it, but it’s our creation. We produce its data. Its energy needs drain our natural resources. Our jobs hang in the balance. That’s why I went well beyond the usual calls for regulation and oversight in a recent article for Current Affairs magazine called "The Only Ethical Model for AI is Socialism.”

I know some people will find that headline provocative, but that’s not my intent. Nor am I directing this argument solely to the economic left. Whatever your preferred economic system—Keynesian, neo-Keynesian, “free market,” Scandinavian-style mixed-market—I want to persuade you that AI should be collectively owned and managed.

Why? Because it’s an inherently socialist technology. It’s created, not by tech companies, but by everyone who uses the internet—which is to say, pretty much everyone. It draws on public goods—the planet, our wealth, even the hours of our lives. It’s ours.

If the article seems like more reading than you can handle right now, there’s an outline and summary below. I plan to write more about this in the days and weeks to come, so feel free to tell me what you think (if you’re human, that is. Non-human devices don’t currently think, so don’t pretend otherwise. We don’t play that game here.)

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With all respect to Audre Lorde, who wrote “you cannot use the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house,” I tried to do exactly that; I used a corporate-owned chatbot to summarize my argument against corporate ownership of chatbots. Here’s what it distilled from the document titled The Only Ethical Model for AI is Socialism:

1. AI and Collective Data Usage:

   • The document discusses how individuals, represented by the hypothetical person "Kath," contribute vast amounts of personal data to AI systems through everyday activities. This data is essential to the functioning of AI, yet individuals have little control over or benefit from its use.

2. Ethics of AI Ownership:

   • AI, particularly large language models (LLMs), is described as a collective creation, generated from the collective data of billions of people. The document argues that private ownership of such AI is inherently unethical, as it appropriates a public resource for private gain.

3. Socialism as the Only Ethical AI Model:

   • The text proposes that the only ethical way to govern AI is through democratic socialism. This would involve collective ownership and control of AI, ensuring that its benefits are shared equitably among all contributors.

4. Exploitation in the Current AI Economy:

   • The document critiques the current capitalist model for exploiting users' data without compensation. It highlights how this system encourages internet addiction and other harmful behaviors to maximize data collection and profits.

5. Historical and Philosophical Context:

   • The document references socialist principles, using G. A. Cohen's metaphor of a camping trip to illustrate how collective ownership and cooperation are natural and beneficial. It contrasts this with the current treatment of AI, where the collective work of humanity is owned and monetized by private corporations.

6. Proposed Socialist AI Economy:

   • In a socialist AI economy, individuals would be compensated for their contributions, have democratic control over AI algorithms, and be able to opt out of the system if they choose. This approach would prioritize human well-being over profit.

7. Addressing Broader Societal Issues:

   • The text suggests that a socialist approach to AI could help address broader crises, such as environmental degradation and war, by removing the profit motive that currently exacerbates these issues.

8. Call to Action for Organizers:

   • The document calls on organizers to help people understand the collective nature of AI and the unjust nature of the current ownership system. It encourages them to advocate for democratic socialism as the only fair way to govern AI.

9. Critique of the Tech Industry's Mystification of AI:

   • The text criticizes the tech industry's portrayal of AI as mysterious and magical, arguing that this narrative serves to obscure the fact that AI is a collective creation that should be collectively owned.

These points underscore the document's argument that AI, as a collective human creation, should be governed by principles of democratic socialism to ensure fairness, equity, and the prioritization of human well-being over profit.