Good information, per the usual. I think this is an important topic because it challenges or adds complexity to certain popular narratives about the use of artificial intelligence. One such narrative is the assumption that taking humans out of the equation will free us from bias in compensating employees. If anything, it seems to be accelerating that aspect.
Another common refrain is "AI is coming for our jobs," and while I believe that to be true in many instances, these findings go to show that AI can disenfranchise workers in other ways. We're really behind the curve from a legislative perspective in addressing the risks of artificial intelligence, and unfortunately, that means tangible, material losses for average Americans.
Workers? How about when the new washing machine arrives broken and there is no one to call? Home Depot won't take it back (read the fine print) and the only answer you get from the maker is an AI voice saying, "I don't understand, let's try again." The oligarchs are all replacing themselves with AI. Why? So they can go sail around on their yachts and their replacements can say, "I don't understand, let's try again."
Same frustration. I make a call to resolve a problem and the first words out of my mouth are "human being" then when they try to AI or robot handle my call I make my explanations of my problem detailed and specific and to my relief I usually hear, "sounds like you want to talk to someone" or something like that.
You are far more patient and polite. I go from "Human being" to every curse word in my vast repertoire of curse words. Knowing I am talking to a robot is so triggering for me that I wonder where my intense hatred for mechanical voices began...
I'm afraid I follow your path too, Katy! End up cussing and sccreaming at the top of my lungs. Used to be if you pushed the Operator button and held it down long enough, a human would appear. That does not happen any longer.
I found that spitting out the word "agent" until it says "I'll see if someone is available to help you" seems to work. You may have to answer a question to get the ball rolling then shout "Agent, Agent, Agent" until you get what you want!
My Gen Z daughter and nephew are very unoptomistic about their future ability to be employed because of AI. We need to fight it. I am working with a group in Europe to start a series of boycotts of US Big Tech and to embrace less invasive, less inhumane alternatives.
So many grocery stores have pushed people into the scan your own products line, but do we get paid for doing so? No. Do we get lower prices No. Do we want to scream when the machine messes up and we have to wait for a person to resolve it? Oh, yes.
If I am not in a rush and if a live cashier is not available, I hold up the self-checkout "waiting for my employee discount ". A manager will usually have to ring me up or open a staffed lane.
You know what robots can't do? Put back a cart full of groceries I refuse to ring up myself...
This is all so sad and oddly predictable. Melania walks down the aisle to say "I do" to a robot groom as the poor get poorer and the middle class tighten their belts and worry about their children's future. What future? The Epstein billionaire class don't care as long as they can fly above it or yacht away from it. My God, I know I am in an echo chamber here but what about a NATIONAL STRIKE? As ICE removes workers who could scab for American workers (ha!), we could bring this country to a halt. We need to bring the power back to the people. We need new leadership so badly. We need a new generation of AOC, Talarico, Crockett, and all the other young people in power and running for positions of power. Yeah, the radical ones, the ones who once in office are not seduced by lobbyists, who do not go into office to become rich. As the kids say: we re so fucked.
Oh and mazel tov, Melania, I hope you got the bigger dick you've dreamed about.
The parasites were bound to try to use AI to their advantage. The fact that POTUS the parasite of the united states does not like these state laws is proof they are needed.
Why can we not just agree that algorithmic pay shouldn't be a thing and ban the practice entirely? Same wage for the same work, full stop. Why is that so hard?
I want to be careful not to take away from the main point of this article, which is automated discrimination against workers by an increasingly psychopathic elite class. That is a very important social problem and thank you for shining a light on that. But this isn't AI -- it's just algorithms, data analytics, and perhaps a sprinkling of more straightforward machine learning. While the paper does mention AI, it's somewhat loose in its use of the term.
Let's reserve our ire for AI when it actually is that. Otherwise we run the risk of diluting the true issue with AI, the upcoming tsunami of job losses as it methodically rubs out our kids' careers.
Ever since Ronald Reagan's insidious "trickle-down theory" was accepted as the great wonder drug for the economy, the working stiff has lost any ground they gained in the 1950's-60's. Using AI to pay employees is just an extension of that wealth-stealing devise. When will workers stop being bamboozled by words and look to the actions of those in control, political, economic or otherwise??
I hate to say it, and I can hardly claim to be well-informed on the subject, but as with any new technology, there’s no stopping AI. Banning it? Fighting it? Impossible. But legislation, regulation? Possible, of course, but picture our gerontocracy (Grassley, et.al.) matching wits with AI industry lobbyists or resisting AI cash. Not a pretty picture.
When I was in the Marine Corps we would sing a song in times of intense "eff-ery." Try it sometime. Set to the melody of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song, the words are:
"F-U-C, K-E-D, A, G, A, I, N... effed again, effed again. The Big Green Weenie's not your friend!"
After reading this post to my husband I sang your song about "eff-ery" (spell check didn't like your word :-)) out loud over breakfast. I think I saw coffee shoot out of his nose. Thanks for bringing a bit of levity to my day during these dark times.
If Democrats could just focus their messaging on how corporate overloads are constantly taking from employees (and customers), they could rule for a generation.
We already have algorhythmic pay. Some employers have very sophisticated pay structures. We have never had equal pay or equal rights in the US. Fear and greed keep us small.
Good information, per the usual. I think this is an important topic because it challenges or adds complexity to certain popular narratives about the use of artificial intelligence. One such narrative is the assumption that taking humans out of the equation will free us from bias in compensating employees. If anything, it seems to be accelerating that aspect.
Another common refrain is "AI is coming for our jobs," and while I believe that to be true in many instances, these findings go to show that AI can disenfranchise workers in other ways. We're really behind the curve from a legislative perspective in addressing the risks of artificial intelligence, and unfortunately, that means tangible, material losses for average Americans.
Workers? How about when the new washing machine arrives broken and there is no one to call? Home Depot won't take it back (read the fine print) and the only answer you get from the maker is an AI voice saying, "I don't understand, let's try again." The oligarchs are all replacing themselves with AI. Why? So they can go sail around on their yachts and their replacements can say, "I don't understand, let's try again."
Same frustration. I make a call to resolve a problem and the first words out of my mouth are "human being" then when they try to AI or robot handle my call I make my explanations of my problem detailed and specific and to my relief I usually hear, "sounds like you want to talk to someone" or something like that.
You are far more patient and polite. I go from "Human being" to every curse word in my vast repertoire of curse words. Knowing I am talking to a robot is so triggering for me that I wonder where my intense hatred for mechanical voices began...
I'm afraid I follow your path too, Katy! End up cussing and sccreaming at the top of my lungs. Used to be if you pushed the Operator button and held it down long enough, a human would appear. That does not happen any longer.
I found that spitting out the word "agent" until it says "I'll see if someone is available to help you" seems to work. You may have to answer a question to get the ball rolling then shout "Agent, Agent, Agent" until you get what you want!
Exactly! It may take several minutes to shout (I feel better shouting into the void), but eventually a human being answers. (Like in the olden days!)
Ha! The good old days!
My Gen Z daughter and nephew are very unoptomistic about their future ability to be employed because of AI. We need to fight it. I am working with a group in Europe to start a series of boycotts of US Big Tech and to embrace less invasive, less inhumane alternatives.
Be loud, Linda.
Taxi and food delivery drivers are already increasingly obsolete. Amazon warehouse workers and supermarket cashiers are next.
When all of those human workers are displaced by robots, wages in many other sectors will soften as workers compete for the jobs that remain.
Edit: "Compete for the shitty, low-paying jobs that remain."
Time for the Soylent Green Corporation to reduce the numbers of the freshly unemployed.
So many grocery stores have pushed people into the scan your own products line, but do we get paid for doing so? No. Do we get lower prices No. Do we want to scream when the machine messes up and we have to wait for a person to resolve it? Oh, yes.
I'm sorry for the people in line behind me.
If I am not in a rush and if a live cashier is not available, I hold up the self-checkout "waiting for my employee discount ". A manager will usually have to ring me up or open a staffed lane.
You know what robots can't do? Put back a cart full of groceries I refuse to ring up myself...
Now if the BofD would just apply this to CEO's etc.
If Uber disputes the findings of the study just open the books and prove the study wrong …just that simple.
This is all so sad and oddly predictable. Melania walks down the aisle to say "I do" to a robot groom as the poor get poorer and the middle class tighten their belts and worry about their children's future. What future? The Epstein billionaire class don't care as long as they can fly above it or yacht away from it. My God, I know I am in an echo chamber here but what about a NATIONAL STRIKE? As ICE removes workers who could scab for American workers (ha!), we could bring this country to a halt. We need to bring the power back to the people. We need new leadership so badly. We need a new generation of AOC, Talarico, Crockett, and all the other young people in power and running for positions of power. Yeah, the radical ones, the ones who once in office are not seduced by lobbyists, who do not go into office to become rich. As the kids say: we re so fucked.
Oh and mazel tov, Melania, I hope you got the bigger dick you've dreamed about.
The parasites were bound to try to use AI to their advantage. The fact that POTUS the parasite of the united states does not like these state laws is proof they are needed.
Yup. A lawbreaker supreme is our feckless leader.
Why can we not just agree that algorithmic pay shouldn't be a thing and ban the practice entirely? Same wage for the same work, full stop. Why is that so hard?
As usual, you bring to light something else I hadn’t thought about in this tech war on human dignity.
More bad news for workers from the Trump-Epstein™ class.
I have started calling them the Predator Class.
These bottom feeding billionaires have got to go. Tax 'em out of existence.
I want to be careful not to take away from the main point of this article, which is automated discrimination against workers by an increasingly psychopathic elite class. That is a very important social problem and thank you for shining a light on that. But this isn't AI -- it's just algorithms, data analytics, and perhaps a sprinkling of more straightforward machine learning. While the paper does mention AI, it's somewhat loose in its use of the term.
Let's reserve our ire for AI when it actually is that. Otherwise we run the risk of diluting the true issue with AI, the upcoming tsunami of job losses as it methodically rubs out our kids' careers.
Ever since Ronald Reagan's insidious "trickle-down theory" was accepted as the great wonder drug for the economy, the working stiff has lost any ground they gained in the 1950's-60's. Using AI to pay employees is just an extension of that wealth-stealing devise. When will workers stop being bamboozled by words and look to the actions of those in control, political, economic or otherwise??
I hate to say it, and I can hardly claim to be well-informed on the subject, but as with any new technology, there’s no stopping AI. Banning it? Fighting it? Impossible. But legislation, regulation? Possible, of course, but picture our gerontocracy (Grassley, et.al.) matching wits with AI industry lobbyists or resisting AI cash. Not a pretty picture.
So you need to replace the gerontocracy with younger more savvy people !
Lying down and accepting this kind of behavior from companies and CEO'S will get you nowhere.
Is anyone even remotely surprised...
Burger King motto: "We do it all to---- er---for ---you!"
When I was in the Marine Corps we would sing a song in times of intense "eff-ery." Try it sometime. Set to the melody of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song, the words are:
"F-U-C, K-E-D, A, G, A, I, N... effed again, effed again. The Big Green Weenie's not your friend!"
Repeat ad infinitum
After reading this post to my husband I sang your song about "eff-ery" (spell check didn't like your word :-)) out loud over breakfast. I think I saw coffee shoot out of his nose. Thanks for bringing a bit of levity to my day during these dark times.
You should have heard us when something happened and a Marine yelled "I'm gonna talk to my union rep!"
Yep. Hilarity ensued. Everyone had a coffee nose!
😆🫡
If Democrats could just focus their messaging on how corporate overloads are constantly taking from employees (and customers), they could rule for a generation.
We already have algorhythmic pay. Some employers have very sophisticated pay structures. We have never had equal pay or equal rights in the US. Fear and greed keep us small.