The Laboring of Artificial Intelligence [Book Review

Abstract

When people think of drones today, they tend to conjure images of remotely-operated toys that make for a fun day in the park, including perhaps a video posted on YouTube displaying what was captured by the drone’s camera. They might also think about how drones will add another convenience to our lives, once Amazon and other technology companies figure out how to deliver our packages with these autonomous devices. They embody artificial intelligence (AI) in the service of humankind. From the start of this book, the author questions this popular vision of drones by vividly describing how they are used in modern warfare. She also makes clear that her book is intended to counter dominant utopian visions of a world filled with AI. The author accomplishes this by focusing on several important ways AI contributes to the dehumanization of labor, including what she calls care labor, thinking labor, emotional labor, and killing labor. The author's purpose is not so much to describe the horrors of drone warfare but to document the response of artists and cultural workers to the expansion of this form of warfare. The academic writing might be a bit challenging for some readers, but it is well worth our careful attention because the book documents the central significance of issues often left out of debates about the future of intelligent machines. It also demonstrates why culture matters when making decisions about AI. Those decisions draw from all the orthodox and heterodox visions that comprise the imaginary and it is essential to broaden our field of vision beyond the popular, but narrow, technical and economic compartments that limit the ability to determine what to do about AI.