The New York Times recently featured an extensive article discussing how technology companies are actively engaging in the collection of vast amounts of data to fuel their strategic initiatives. Giants like Google, Meta, and OpenAI are on a quest for copious amounts of information, particularly focusing on “high-quality content such as published books and articles that have undergone professional editing and refinement.” Meta, for instance, explored the possibility of acquiring comprehensive data by either “purchasing complete licensing rights to new titles at $10 per book” or considering a buyout of Simon & Schuster. This development underscores the significant influence wielded by these tech behemoths, with Meta contemplating the displacement of one of the Big Five publishers.
But what is the ultimate goal of this data acquisition frenzy? Could it be that managers might eventually replace human creatives with entities like DrAIper? Is the aim to create personalized cinematic experiences for exclusive enjoyment and discussion? Or perhaps to swiftly savor the essence of poetry during mundane moments, all while elucidating the contents of a local library?
The pervasive presence of AI in our lives is indeed a sobering reality that may linger in our thoughts indefinitely, evoking a sense of disillusionment.
In a surprising turn of events, these companies are now leveraging “textual data” to educate AI models, akin to serpents devouring their own tails. This practice appears to be currently active, with 404 Media documenting instances of Google mining AI-generated content from books with titles like “Maximize Your Twitter Presence: 101 Strategies for Marketing Success” and “Bears, Bulls, and Wolves: Stock Trading for the Twenty-Year-Old.”
From my perspective, the issue with AI largely revolves around labor concerns. While this technology is often portrayed as mystical alchemy unfolding within a computer, it frequently relies on the labor of overburdened and underappreciated individuals. According to The Times, “Meta professionals discussed the possibility of outsourcing content compilation tasks to firms in Africa, encompassing both fiction and nonfiction materials.” The reports compiled included copyrighted content, raising ethical dilemmas regarding data sourcing practices.
This exploitative cycle could potentially perpetuate further exploitation. Executives driven primarily by shareholder interests are aggressively pursuing AI technologies, leading to potential job losses and the commodification of artificial data generation.
It is crucial to acknowledge that these AI systems are already being utilized to make life-and-death decisions. Recent reports from +972 shed light on an AI tool named Lavender utilized by the Israeli military to generate target lists during the ongoing conflicts in Gaza.
Reports suggest that human operators often merely serve as a formality in approving the machine’s decisions, spending as little as “20 seconds” per target before greenlighting airstrikes — even verifying the gender of the target to ensure it aligns with Lavender’s algorithm.
AI’s encroachment extends beyond the realm of employment; it poses a significant threat to human existence and decision-making processes.
