"Artificial intelligence poses significant social challenges"

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Transcript of Karina Batthyány's column
in InfoCLACSO – July 31, 2024

The topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is new and relevant to CLACSO's agenda, which we are addressing today particularly in terms of its role and the challenges it presents for our social sciences and humanities disciplines from the perspective of transformative critical thinking. CLACSO, in conjunction with UNESCO (Ecuador), has launched a call for papers on artificial intelligence, a topic that is currently prominent on the academic agenda.

In theory, artificial intelligence has the potential to generate significant benefits, but it also poses significant social challenges that must be addressed critically and thoughtfully to ensure that its development and application contribute to both individual and collective well-being, respect for the environment, respect for everyone's rights, and social justice. Ultimately, these are the questions we are asking ourselves. From the social sciences and humanities, we have a role to play and a challenge in terms of reflection and the development of critical thinking.

Artificial intelligence is a series of computer systems designed to mimic and replicate some human cognitive abilities, such as learning, perception, reasoning, and even decision-making. This technology is based on highly complex algorithms and uses vast amounts of data to perform specific tasks.

In the 1940s and 50s, the first theoretical concepts surrounding artificial intelligence were established, evolving over time through improvements in machine learning and the creation of artificial neural networks. It is in the 21st century that AI has experienced such rapid growth, driven by improvements in processing power and access to vast amounts of data.

With the rapid advancement of AI, humanity finds itself immersed in an increasingly connected and automated world that, while offering numerous advantages and benefits, also raises doubts and concerns in terms of privacy and security.

Today, virtual assistants interact with humans—that is, with us—through voice recognition, helping us perform various tasks such as searching for information, setting reminders, playing music, and controlling smart devices. Social media platforms are also using AI to analyze interests, behaviors, and connections in order to offer personalized content. We have seen some impacts of this work on social media, including in electoral matters and on democracies in our Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Furthermore, the AI ​​analyzes each viewing or purchase history and supposedly uses machine learning algorithms to suggest content or products that may be of interest to us. This is complemented by automatic translators, chatbots for customer support, and other options.

However, one of the risks of AI that we can mention is the collection of vast amounts of personal data, which can compromise people's privacy. The information it provides can be biased, inaccurate, or even create fake news, manipulate images or videos to make them appear real, or mimic voices. Furthermore, it is highly vulnerable to cyberattacks and unauthorized access.

What does all this have to do with the social sciences and the humanities? We need to ask ourselves what the impact of all these issues is on society.

Technology companies have generated trillions of dollars in wealth over the last quarter century, while at the same time, many jobs are at risk. A 2016 Oxford University study showed that 47% of jobs are threatened by these artificial intelligence models. In contrast, previous industrial revolutions or transformations in the world of work eliminated manual labor jobs but ended up creating new, adapted ones.

What will happen now with this new automation of some jobs? For example, let's think about translation work, some medical disciplines, and transportation in terms of driving.

The National University of San Martín, in Argentina, conducted research from physics, data science and social sciences, to analyze the impact of artificial intelligence on society, state regulation and the possibilities and dangers of the advancement of what they call "machine individuals".

It is understood that the tools developed by large multinational corporations such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Meta fulfill various functions, such as solving complex mathematical problems, translating and generating text, and recognizing and constructing high-definition images. However, they will also affect many professions, and this will be felt by those currently entering university to train for trades, occupations, and professions. It is possible that someone who graduates in seven or eight years could find that their job is no longer available.

Throughout history, people, human beings, have created technologies to advance in various areas, even to do things beyond their reach (like flying). “The danger is that these AI technologies perform and replace tasks that we enjoy doing,” notes Flavia Costa, an Argentine researcher at CONICET. She believes that someone who likes to draw or paint will miss out on some of those fulfilling activities because of artificial intelligence. “That raises an ethical question: what kind of life do we want to lead?” Costa asks.

On the other hand, there is an environmental impact. The use of Artificial Intelligence, like other technological developments, is not harmless; it requires an enormous amount of water and energy to manufacture everything necessary for it to operate. Some estimates suggest that it requires between ten and fifteen times more energy and water than manufacturing a standard chip. It is estimated that, by 2027, the global demand for water just to manufacture chips and cool AI data centers could equal half of the UK's consumption.

We are talking about a resource that is absolutely central right now for our region and for the world. This expansion is so vast and rapid that Sam Altman, director of OpenAI, has warned that AI is leading humanity toward a “catastrophic energy crisis.”

AI has other worrying characteristics. Hundreds of chemical substances are involved in chip manufacturing, including the highly toxic PFAS. This presents another dimension to explore in relation to the environment.

We also need to ask ourselves about state regulations and the role of the state in regulating the development of artificial intelligence. We must prioritize these issues. Because we find that many of the regulations in our countries, including the relevant legal frameworks, do not yet account for these new developments, rendering them completely outdated and potentially leading to injustices.

There is one final element that relates to how these developments either reduce or amplify inequalities. In this regard, there is a proposal linked to basic income. Over the last decade, the tech community has been experimenting with payments to people in dire need, something akin to a “basic income.” This idea originated with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who believed that artificial intelligence would sweep away everything that came before it. Therefore, they are seeking alternatives for survival: the discussion about the feasibility of a universal basic income has reached Silicon Valley, where major tech entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk believe it could solve not only poverty but also unemployment.

For example, in 2019, OpenResearch enrolled 3.000 people in Texas and Illinois in the United States with annual incomes below $28.000. One-third received $1.000 per month; the rest received only $50. The program lasted three years. The experiment aimed to analyze how unconditional cash shapes human behavior, including its ability to improve stress levels and increase hopes for a better future.

However, there are many questions to ask regarding these kinds of experiments with people. Why do wealthy individuals support such an initiative? According to some voices, including its detractors, the basic income proposal is nothing more than a perfect complement to the most aggressive economic liberalism, based on the understanding that if people with low or no income receive a basic income that allows them to pay the bare minimum to live, economic inequality could increase even further. Therefore, they go to the extreme of conducting these kinds of experiments with phenomena similar to what a basic income might represent, in order to test the behaviors and what happens to these people who are victims of economic inequality.

Again, regarding the role of the State, it is important to consider how to regulate all these elements, how to have a genuine discussion about basic income and not linked to these social experiments; that is, basic income understood as a minimum mechanism of guarantee and access to well-being for everyone.

The big question today is what to do, how to move forward in this context, how to interrogate and characterize these changes in social interaction that result from the expansion of artificial intelligence, how these systems influence something as important as our daily lives, and how that daily life is being transformed by the way we interact with technology and with other people. And furthermore, how this modifies everyday practices and, by extension, social practices.

We understand that it is not enough to simply regulate the development of AI systems; we must also pursue, as a Latin American and Caribbean region, a more active policy of developing our own knowledge and technologies within the framework of AI, and not continue with these inequalities.

In our region there is scientific potential and a policy is needed at the university level, to bring together all of us who work in the field of social sciences and humanities, to show the different contributions that can be made from our discipline.

In summary, artificial intelligence has the potential to generate significant benefits, but it also poses significant social challenges in all dimensions, which must be addressed thoughtfully, critically, and carefully at this time, prioritizing individual and collective well-being, the environment, and social justice.

– It's so interesting to be able to reflect on these topics, which have clearly undergone a huge change recently. And it seems strange to think that the technologies that are going to be so pervasive in our daily lives aren't being discussed with all sectors. If social media platforms have academics, social movements, and policymakers involved, it would be important for these technologies to also involve all sectors in considering what we want to achieve with these metatechnologies, wouldn't it?

The main question is the purpose of all these technologies and the ethical dimensions associated with their use. If there is anything the social sciences and humanities can contribute, it is the answer to these two questions. At CLACSO, through our Platforms for Social Dialogue (PDS), we bring together knowledge, social movements and organizations, and the field of public policy. Therein lie the keys to success, ensuring that these technologies truly become a benefit and not an amplifier of inequalities.

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