Rising Role of Artificial Intelligence in Economy
Context:
- Billionaire Elon Musk discussed the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence (AI) at the just-ended Bletchley Park summit. He envisioned a future in which AI would replace all human labour, both physical and cognitive, and people would no longer be in dire need of a job; instead, they would only seek employment for personal fulfilment.
The necessity of labour:
- The evolution of economic theory has produced a variety of theoretical frameworks for explaining how people relate to their work.
- Here, two philosophers with radically different perspectives on the nature of work—Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes—are examined.
- Liberal economist Keynes praised capitalism but hoped to prevent it from going too far. He felt that labour was fundamentally a type of drudgery and that a society where work could be done in less hours was one that would definitely improve welfare.
- Keynes predicted that as technology advanced under capitalism, labour hours would inevitably decrease.
- Musk’s remarks can be interpreted as a continuation of Keynes’ ideas, according to which advances in technology, if carried to their theoretical limit, may completely eliminate the necessity for employment, which would be an unquestionably good thing.
- Karl Marx’s analysis was more complex. According to him, the capacity to materially alter nature is what makes humans fundamentally human, and as a result, labour gives life significance.
- The issue with the capitalism economic system is that labourers’ products are not considered theirs to enjoy; rather, they are considered the property of capital, which it can sell on the market for profit.
AI’s effects on the economy:
- However, the disregard for the economic system in the present debates around AI is highlighted by the opinions of the aforementioned thinkers.
- Let’s say artificial intelligence (AI) has developed to the point where it can replace all types of employment.
- A person’s only means of obtaining tangible resources, such food and housing, under the current capitalist system is through money earned from labour.
- Under such a system, a world without labour does not always mean a society devoid of drudgery, but rather one in which those unable to find employment are denied access to essential resources.
- As Mr. Musk has stated, there is a caveat: work will only be made available to individuals who want it for private purposes.
- But in a capitalist society, labourers are forced to look for employment in order to support themselves through food and clothing. The utopia envisioned by Mr. Musk is not possible under contemporary capitalism.
A society devoid of labour:
- Imagine an economy where people’s basic requirements are met by transferring a portion of the excess generated in the productive sector, where AI is the only productive element.
- Of course, there is nothing wrong with speculating about such a scenario. However, the world is not capitalism here. In this universe, where a universal basic income—rather than wage labor—is the primary source of revenue, there are very different institutional arrangements governing production and distribution.
- This raises a number of significant issues, including what determines the amount that each person receives, how the net product is divided between those who own the machines and those who don’t, and how future growth and current consumption are divided.
- More crucially, given that the current system has resulted in the establishment of rising inequality and a dominant billionaire class, is our society open to designing new institutional arrangements to bring such a future to fruition?
Way Forward:
- It’s possible that AI won’t ever reach a point where it dominates society and that this essay is just science fiction. However, there will be disruptions to the global economy, and we must thoroughly comprehend the nature of these issues. Technological advancements’ effects are inextricably linked to the structures of the dominant economy.
