Few topics generate more dread and speculation than the collection of possibilities and concerns contained under the umbrella term "artificial intelligence." The Oxford Internet Institute-affiliated coauthors of Feeding the Machine, James Muldoon, Mark Graham, and Callum Cant, provide an essential and riveting look at the people working behind of scenes of the "extraction machine" that uses the collective history of knowledge production to concentrate profit and agency in the hands of a select few. Their thesis is that "the practices through which AI is produced... closely resemble previous industrial formations of control and exploitation of labour." It's a thesis they demonstrate with convincing clarity.
Feeding the Machine reports on the daily experiences of various individuals whose work contributes to AI products in one form or another. The authors "attempt to offer a series of snapshots that offer different perspectives on AI, ones that move beyond the narrow picture of Silicon Valley." Among them are an annotator (someone who creates the data sets on which AI is trained) in Uganda, a data center technician in Iceland, a voice actor in Ireland, and an investor in Silicon Valley, Calif. The authors effectively illustrate that although these people may not have visibility into the work of others, the "actions of one can have drastic consequences for the lives of others." They also offer insight into ways of fostering "the transnational workers' movements that are emerging to fight for a fairer AI and digital economy."
This is a critical read for anyone in the workforce today, because it shows what AI actually is and does, and what immediate dangers are posed--to everyone--by its unquestioned acceptance. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.