Is humanity a bump in the road for AI? Ethics & the tech bros.

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The Other Hand 40 min 2 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 3 months ago

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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Joan Mulvihill 0:10

The Other Hand is part of the ACAST Creator Network.

Jim Power 0:16

Good afternoon. Welcome to the latest episode of The Other Hand. We're recording this on Tuesday afternoon. It's always, as we keep saying in recent times, very important to specify the exact timing of the podcast. because one can be out of date very, very quickly. Today, I'm joined by, I think I was going to say an old friend. I should say a friend of the podcast, Joan Mulvihill. Joan Mulvihill describes herself as a technology advocate, and she's also a very, very accomplished artist. So, Joan, welcome back to The Other Hand. Delighted to have you again. I guess, you know, to set the ball rolling, because we have a lot to talk about, tell us what you've been at in recent times.

Joan Mulvihill 1:08

Busy, busy, actually.

How does Joan Mulvihill balance being a technology advocate with skepticism about AI?

Joan Mulvihill 1:11

It's been conference and awards season. So I was hosting the CIO 100 at Dublin Tech Summit, which was The Innovation Value Institute Conference in Maynooth University. I was the host of the, oh, fascinating one. I was at the host of the Analytics and AI Awards in the Mansion House last week as well. I've been doing some fireside chatting with Atomic Marketing and UiPath. So lots of really... Oh, and the Industrial Research and Development Group Annual Conference Amplify was last week.

What are the ethical implications of AI according to Gene Sperling's article?

Joan Mulvihill 1:43

So I've had a great opportunity to have fireside chat, one-to-one conversations with interesting thought leaders in the area of technology. And also just that wider... I suppose, impact of technology on the world, really quite expansive conversations with people, as well as the nitty gritty of technology adoption. So yeah, it's been really varied and quite exciting.

Jim Power 2:09

Great. Joan, I want to start off by asking you a pretty fundamental question. We have discussed AI a lot in previous podcasts. You have very, very strong views on it.

How can technology contribute to economic dignity for workers?

Jim Power 2:26

So I'm kind of interested in how... you kind of marry the idea of being a technology advocate with the idea of, well, your deep skepticism about the whole thing. And if I may indulge myself for a couple of minutes before I allow you in to answer that, I'm just going to read something that was in the Financial Times last Thursday, I think it was. It was an article by a guy called Gene Sperling, who was the director of the National Economic Council in the States some years back. He was national economic advisor to the Clinton and Obama administrations. So a pretty bright guy, a pretty well clued in guy. So I'll just go through the key elements of what he was saying. He was saying that AI enthusiasts need to lose the delusion that if only working families could comprehend the productivity gains, the consumer conveniences, the

Jim Power 3:30

potential medical breakthroughs that AI can bring. They could get over their fear of losing their standard of living, meaningful work and hopes for their children's economic future. And he said they won't.

What practical measures are suggested for responsible AI development?

Jim Power 3:45

He goes on then to advise that the tech titans should take seriously the legitimate opposition to economic policies or technological trends that threaten to reduce the dignity for workers. The only legitimate end goal of any democracy is the degree to which it lifts the economic dignity of its people. So he's calling for some form of redistribution. He's calling for the sharing of AI gains with workers through higher pay, shorter working hours or a dedicated revenue stream to create millions of dignified jobs. And he's basically calling for a public policy that's pro-human AI development. And you could well say it's easy for somebody like this to come out and make these sort of aspirational suggestions.

Jim Power 4:39

But actually, he gets down and dirty with it. He suggests a number of very practical measures that should be contemplated, such as a redeployment tax credit to encourage companies to choose apprenticeship programs. skills enhancement, and on-the-job training paid for by business through a corporate surtax. And this is something that's being contemplated in Singapore at the moment, I believe.