I recently read a VICE article about James Clarke, CEO of Clearlink, a digital marketing and technology company. The article is about a virtual town hall that Clarke hosted with his company, announcing his expectation that employees return to working from the office, full-time. While Clarke gave numerous reasons for this decision, one comment stood out to me. Clarke mentioned that the company needed to increase productivity “30 to 50 times [their] normal production” as a result of recent advances in artificial intelligence. For Clarke, the efficiency of AI means workers should be working more, now that AI is making the work easier.
What concerns me about Clarke’s comment has little to do with AI, itself, and everything to do with how new technology is often implemented. AI has the potential of reduce the effort required for many different tasks, which could make the lives of many workers significantly better, and yet the profit motive of Capitalism always keeps workers from feeling the benefits. Capitalism uses new technology to raise the bar on how much work is expected to be completed, robbing workers of any possible gains.
The ways that new technology is frequently weaponized against workers, reducing their quality of life for the sake of maximizing profits, reminded me of the Luddites and their efforts to defend their trade and protect their livelihoods. What can their experience teach us about the adoption of new technology in the workplace, so we can avoid the same fate?
Who were the Luddites?
The Luddites were a group of English textile workers who emerged during the early 19th century, primarily in the Midlands and northern England. They were known for their violent opposition to the mechanization of textile production, which they believed would put them out of work and decrease the quality of their products.
The term "Luddite" is derived from the name of Ned Ludd, a legendary figure who was said to have destroyed a knitting frame in a fit of rage in the late 18th century. However, the term was later used to describe the entire movement of workers who opposed the new technologies being introduced in the textile industry.
The Luddite movement began in 1811, when a group of textile workers in Nottinghamshire destroyed the new machines that were being used to make lace. This was followed by similar acts of violence in other parts of England, including Yorkshire and Lancashire. The Luddites believed that the new machines would reduce the number of jobs available, and that they would also produce inferior quality products. They were also angry at the way in which the new technologies were being introduced, with factory owners hiring unskilled workers to operate the machines instead of trained artisans.
The Luddites targeted both the machines themselves and the factories where they were being used, often breaking into buildings and destroying the machines with sledgehammers and other tools. They also attacked the homes of factory owners and other individuals associated with the new technologies.
Despite their violent opposition, the Luddites were not opposed to all forms of technology. They were mainly concerned with the way in which the new machines were being introduced, and the impact that they would have on the livelihoods of skilled workers. They were also opposed to the use of machines in the production of low-quality goods, which they believed would undermine the reputation of English textiles.
The violence continued for several years, but over time the Luddite movement began to lose steam, as many of the factories and machines that they had targeted were rebuilt or replaced. The government also responded by passing laws that made it a capital offense to damage or destroy textile machinery, further squashing any future attempts.
While the term “Luddite” is still used, today, it’s often used in its derogatory form to describe those who are resistant to new technology. This misconception comes from the Capitalist propaganda of the time, which aimed to frame the Luddites as opponents of progress rather than skilled artisans concerned with the way in which the new machines were being introduced and the impact that they would have on their livelihoods.
Technology’s role in worker exploitation
Of course, the use of technology to exploit workers did not end with the Luddites. With every technological advancement comes the promise of a better life for workers, and every time, these new technologies have become another tool for worker exploitation in the hands of the Capitalist class.
In the 1960s, the introduction of computers was expected to revolutionize the workplace. Computers began to take over many of the manual tasks that had been performed by workers, from record-keeping, calculations, data analysis, and more. The promise of computers was that they would make work easier, faster, and more efficient, thereby freeing up time for people to focus on more creative and fulfilling work. With increased efficiency and productivity, it was hoped that companies would be able to produce goods and services more efficiently and at a lower cost, which could result in higher pay and benefits for workers. However, the benefits of increased efficiency were not evenly distributed.
Since the advent of computers, many workers have found that advancing technology has led to increased pressure and expectations from employers. Rather than empowering people to work less, computerizing tasks led to a culture of overwork, where workers have been under pressure to meet ever-increasing productivity targets. For example, call center workers may be expected to handle more calls per hour than is realistically possible, leading to stress and burnout. Similarly, office workers may be expected to respond to emails outside of working hours, or to work overtime in order to meet deadlines. This has led to a range of negative outcomes, including all-time highs in job dissatisfaction, stress levels, and burnout.
Overall, it is clear that the introduction of computers has had a significant impact on the workplace, but it has not led to the utopian vision of better benefits for less labor. While there have been some benefits, such as increased efficiency and reduced time spent on routine tasks, the use of computers have been skewed to benefit the Capitalist class over the workers performing the labor. As AI language models begin to be introduced in the workplace, history is at risk of repeating itself yet again — and may have already begun to do so.
ChatGPT and what we can learn from the past
ChatGPT is a large language model that can generate human-like responses to natural language queries. It is based on the GPT-3 architecture and was trained using a massive dataset of text, making it capable of generating responses to a wide range of questions. ChatGPT has been the buzz of the internet for the past several months, as it’s become more widely available to the public. Its accessibility has raised numerous questions about how it can be used and who it is able to benefit.
There are many possible benefits of using AI models like ChatGPT. Much like their computer forebears, AI models once again hold the promise to make work easier, faster, and more efficient. But how can we ensure that AI doesn’t become yet another way of increasing the pressure on workers to be more productive, as James Clarke would have? How can we keep Capitalists from robbing workers of any gains that these new technologies may provide? The answer: by ensuring these technologies are used in a way that benefit everyone and not just a privileged few.
One way of doing this is by making upskilling workers a priority, ensuring that they have the necessary skills to work alongside AI rather than being displaced by them. This could involve investing in education and training programs to help workers develop new skills. It could also involve encouraging workers to be more creative and innovative in their work, taking advantage of the capabilities of AI models to work more efficiently and effectively.
Another way of reducing the harms of new technology is by democratizing the workplace and empowering workers to have a say in how these models are used. This could involve measures such as creating worker cooperatives that are owned and controlled by the workers themselves, or implementing participatory decision-making processes that give workers a voice in the use of AI models. Capitalists will never stop in their effort to maximize profits, as the constant growth of profit is the fundamental thesis of Capitalism. Only by empower workers and ensuring they have a voice in the work is accomplished can labor ever be equitable. In a democratized workplace, workers can determine the best ways that AI models can be used to prioritize the quality of the work being performed, as well as the well-being of those performing it.
Conclusion
Had the Luddites been included in the decision-making around new textile machines and how they were adopted, maybe the upheaval that ensued could have been prevented. The textile workers may have welcomed some of the improvements that the machines afforded them, without fear of losing their jobs or diluting the quality of the textiles produced. If the government had worked to protect the rights of workers rather than the rights of companies to exploit them, maybe a decision could have been reached that benefited the many rather than the few.
Of course, this is all speculation, and the past is in the past. What remains are the choices we can make today, and how we choose to make use of the new technologies of our time. AI models like ChatGPT are part of a new wave of technology that is rapidly transforming many aspects of our lives, and they have the potential to make many of our lives easier. To do so, the real work will be in defending the rights of workers against the Capitalist class that will continue to exploit them if left unchecked. While the efforts of the Luddites were ultimately unsuccessful, their legacy can inspire us to create a more equitable and democratic society where the fruits of labor are shared by all.