2023-09-22 08:25:38
This summer the United States was engulfed by a new wave of Luddite movement. Hollywood writers, the United Automobile Workers (UAW), and the Starbucks union have all gone on strike in protest against technological innovation. Hollywood writers requested an overhaul of the profit compensation system in line with the content streaming era and resolution of copyright issues related to scripts using artificial intelligence, the Automobile Workers’ Union called for job guarantees following the widespread introduction of electric vehicles, and the Starbucks union called for orders following the introduction of smartphone apps. There was a backlash against the runaway. The human and ethical dimensions of technology have emerged as a challenge of the times. In ‘Anthropology of Robots and AI’ (published by Nulmin), British anthropologist of science and technology Kathleen Richardson explores technological ethics in the era of artificial intelligence by examining the narrative of human extinction brought about by mechanization. Since Karel Čapek first used it in his play ‘RUR’ in the 1920s, robots have been the main characters in the narrative of the end of humanity due to mechanization and a symbol of the inhuman world. Humans and robots (artificial intelligence) are not imagined as symbionts that cooperate and harmonize, but as antagonists that oppose and struggle. Extinction anxiety does not exist only in literature or movies. Actual technological development does not proceed in a direction that takes into account the threats of robots and artificial intelligence and takes humans into consideration. Richardson uncovers this by diving into the MIT robotics laboratory, where advanced robots are developed, and tracking down the thoughts of robot developers for several years. Science and engineering researchers, called nerds or geeks, symbolize the impersonal rationality and masculine sense of authority in the field of science and technology. When these closet eccentrics, who are unsociable and only focus on their own interests, become successful, they become tyrants like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, who combine brilliant ideas, keen business acumen, and dictatorial behavior. Autism and antisociality are their core qualities. The robots created by nerds resemble their cold selves. In robot development, the emotional dimension of consideration for others and desire for relationships is excluded, and only the rational dimension obsessed with calculation and efficiency stands out. In a society where such robots are commonplace, the human element gradually weakens. This is because as human autonomy and spontaneity increases and cooperation and solidarity increase, it clashes strongly with the way robots operate. For example, the reason self-driving cars do not function properly is because of human driving. Banning human driving will increase operational efficiency. For artificial intelligence to work properly, humans must stop thinking and act as instructed by the artificial intelligence. Richardson says this is human extinction. Ultimately, deep reflection on the human and ethical dimensions of technology is necessary. The ongoing technology strike will be a good opportunity for that. [장은수 편집문화실험실 대표]
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