Big Question

[Terfulike]

Absolutely fabulous studio discussion is covering sex bots, and computer algorithms and machine learning as racist, sexist and anti-poor structures. Some great female voices being allowed to express their views and some great support. There is excellent balance.
If you can watch it on I player bbc later I would strongly recommend.

Thanks for the recommendation.

I wish they would have expanded a bit on those ideas. I think the tech people were constantly just getting over excited about the possibilities and it was absolutely correct to say that we need to decide now to create a framework where those possibilities can become realities.

The fact that this is all happening within a societal framework of undeservingness re poverty, the hierarchy of moral superiority in employment and the only thing that matters is money means it is much more likely that what we will create is ‘you’ve got a robot you have care’ and ‘why haven’t you upgraded your skill set? It’s not our fault you can’t afford to live’

Re the construction industry, the man was saying that we will be able to build houses, that robots can now do things we couldn’t do and the point is doing more with less. This is the very thing where ethics and laws need to create frameworks now; if robots can do more with less relative to humans why would anyone employ a human anymore? If the jobs for humans are management of robots then that is going to mean a reduction in jobs at least in the short to medium term, if we can now build houses without humans then how do people earn money to pay robots to build their houses? Are we going to have robots build house soon for everyone for free? What are we going to do? How will the human managers be paid? Will they be paid?

How is society going to deal with the people who go through life having increased insecurity of employment? If it is through a capitalist model then absolutely yes it will result in massive social problems not just for humans displaced from employment but also in the direction the new technologies take.

Will definitely watch this. I read this earlier this year on Feminist Current. Well worth a read.

www.feministcurrent.com/2017/04/07/algorithms-arent-working-women/