Though wrapped in the aesthetic of science, this paper is a pure expression of the AI hype’s ideology, including its reliance on invisible, alienated labor. Its data was manufactured to spec to support the authors’ pre-existing beliefs, and its conclusions are nothing but a re-articulation of their arrogance and ideological impoverishment.
I like your blog because (years ago, when I first learned the word), I used to attach negative connotations to the word “luddite”, and your blog’s name and topics made me realise my interpretation of historical Luddites was uncharitable.
To be fair, as a Millennial, most of my earliest experiences with tech were super positive, so it’s no wonder why I simplified things down to “luddites = anti-technology = bad”.
I’m really glad to hear that, because that was exactly my hope. It’s always impactful to realize that the history you thought you knew was just capital’s side of the story. It has happened to me too many times to count, and I’m sure that it’ll happen a million times more.
I’ve got some pretty good news for you - Brian Merchant’s been doing plenty of work on rehabilitating the Luddites’ image as well, and in his own words he’s seen plenty of progress on that front.
Yeah I’m a fan. I’ve always had a bit of a niche interest in proto-socialist movements, like the luddites, the diggers, etc., so, at first, it felt like a sorta crazy coincidence that I started writing my blog just before his book came out, but then I realized that it’s not. We, like everyone else, are just living through the same stupid shit.