ARTIFICIAL IN
PROFIT vs
By Richard Wolff
Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) presents a profit opportunity for capitalists , but it presents a crucial choice for the working class .
Because the working class is the majority , that crucial choice confronts society as a whole . It is the same profit opportunity / social choice that was presented by the introduction of robotics , computers , and indeed by most technological advances throughout capitalism ’ s history . In capitalism , employers decide when , where , and how to install new technologies ; employees do not . Employers ’ decisions are driven chiefly by whether and how new technologies affect their profits .
If new technologies enable employers to profitably replace paid workers with machines , they will implement the change . Employers have little or no responsibility to the displaced workers , their families , neighborhoods , communities , or governments for the many consequences of jobs lost . If the cost to society of joblessness is 100 whereas the gain to employers ’ profits is 50 , the new technology is implemented . Because the employers ’ gain governs the decision , the new technology is introduced , no matter how small that gain is relative to society ’ s loss . That is how capitalism has always functioned .
A simple arithmetic example can illustrate the key point . Suppose AI doubles some employees ’ productivity . During the same work time , they produce twice as much as before the use of AI . Employers who use AI will then fire half of their employees . Such employers will then receive the same output from the remaining 50 percent of their employees as before the introduction of AI . To keep our example simple , let ’ s assume those employers then sell that same output for the same price
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