Artificial Intelligence: A Leviathan Monster Serving the Ruling Class

 Theses on Artificial Intelligence and its application in the period of capitalist decay. A first approach from a Marxist viewpoint.

Resolution of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 7 May 2023, www.thecommunists.net

 

Preface: The following set of theses does not claim to analyse all aspects of AI or to answer all questions raised by the application of such technology. It is only a first approach of the RCIT which needs further elaboration and analysis.

 

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1.           Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a new form of modern technology which is rapidly spreading both in the sphere of capitalist production, social reproduction as well as consumption. It has potentially far-reaching consequences for the future of capitalism and for people's lives. Hence, it is imperative for socialists to have a correct understanding of the role and the dangers of AI in the current period of capitalist decay and to take a clear position on how to approach this technology.

 

What is AI: A brief technical definition

 

2.           As a general technical definition of AI, we can say that its purpose is to replicate key features of what constitutes a human being respectively to imitate other forms of life (e.g. thinking, learning, problem-solving, biochemical functions of human organs). This can be the case both on macro (robots) as well as on micro (nanorobots) level. The method to achieve this is the programming of machines (computer, robot, or other devices) with intelligent software systems. Ultimately, the objective purpose of AI within the context of class society is to replace human beings by machines as much as possible.

3.           Hence, AI is already applied to a wide range of fields and, given its relative infant stage, it has much more far-reaching potential. Without claiming completeness, here are several examples. It is used for the creation of all kinds of robots – in the field of industrial machinery, as autonomous vehicles, as pseudo-human beings (e.g. Sophia, the first “social” robot), police dogs (in New York), or as autonomous weapon systems (from killer machines to autonomous ships and drones). It is used for comprehensive surveillance systems (facial recognition, the “Green Pass” system which was tested during der COVID Counterrevolution, etc.). There are plans to apply AI in nanorobotic, e.g. as biological machines operating within human bodies to identify and destroy cancer cells, for manipulating industrial raw materials like coal and silicone, for environmental purpose against microplastics, etc. It can be applied in the field of the so-called internet of things which coordinates several single-purpose AI into a complex system. Finally, there is creative AI like ChatGPT and similar concepts. These are software which mimic human behaviour like creating texts, pictures, videos, music, etc. Such software is also essential to create comprehensive virtual realities like Zuckerberg’s Metaverse.

 

On the concrete danger of AI

 

4.           Such applications of AI create all kind of dangers which have in common that they massively expand the power of the ruling class to control and to destroy and, in addition, that they inherit the potential risk of getting out of social control. There is no doubt that the application of AI and robots will have dramatic consequences in workplaces. A study published by Goldman Sachs in March 2023 calculates that roughly two-thirds of current jobs in the U.S. and Europe are exposed to some degree of AI automation and that generative AI could substitute up to one-fourth of current work. According to the same study, the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs is globally exposed to automation. Clearly, numerous jobs in many industries are at risk – from production to administration, from service to education. At the same time, AI is extremely energy intensive and will have negative consequences for the environment which is already close to collapse given the climate change caused by reckless rape of natural resources by capitalist monopolies.

5.           Furthermore, the application of AI as autonomous weapon systems has, by definition, devastating consequences – even more so if such machines take autonomous decisions about the use of weapons of mass destruction etc. Things stands similar with the use of AI by the police or for comprehensive surveillance systems, i.e. as an instrument for what we have called Chauvinist State Bonapartism. As such it has been already applied in China and other countries in the period of COVID Counterrevolution (e.g. the “Green Pass” system in 2020-22). Nanobots can certainly be useful but also contain huge potential risks. It is unknown how complex dialectical systems like human bodies react to it. Furthermore, there is the danger of a scenario called “Grey Goo” by Eric Drexler (a pioneer of nanorobotics) and which means that plenty use of nanobots leads to unstoppable nanobots-pandemic that transforms everything organic into inorganic. Handing over administration of houses, hospitals, factories, transport system, nuclear power plants to AI – the “internet of things” – can result in catastrophes if the software gets damaged or hacked. Creative AI will not only endanger many jobs but also aids the plans of various monopoly capitalists to create virtual realities and to draw human beings into is as much as possible. In summary, AI is an instrument of capitalist techno-totalitarianism.

6.           Finally, there are dangers which are not certain, given the underdeveloped stage of AI, but which should make us cautious given their far-reaching implications. It is a telling – and alarming – sign that a growing number of AI scientists are publicly warning about the potential dangers of this technology (among them are Geoffrey Hinton, the so-called ‘Godfather of AI’; Eliezer Yudkowsky, who is regarded as a founder of Artificial General Intelligence; Michael Osborne, a professor of machine learning at the University of Oxford; as well as the late Stephen Hawking). It should make one suspicious about AI if even leading developers of this technology with intimidate knowledge of its potential are warning the public! The whole purpose of AI research is to create machines which can think and decide like human beings, i.e. that they create a kind of “consciousness”. It is disputed among experts if and to which degree this is possible. However, it is a dangerous concept in itself. Even if the creation of AI developing “consciousness” would be in the interest of humanity (a highly disputable assertion!), we are not living in the right time to aim for this. It is extremely dangerous to try for singularity in the framework of the capitalist class society. Already in its very primitive forms, AI is reproducing sexism, racism, and all other forms of oppression as it mirrors the society, we live in. Hence, such technology, developed in capitalist class society, would be a powerful instrument in the hands of oppressors and exploiters who have already driven the world to the edge of its complete destruction. Why on earth should one let those criminals play with even more powerful weapons?!

 

AI and the decay of capitalism

 

7.           Many people (including self-proclaimed Marxists) discuss the advantages and disadvantages of AI primarily from a technical point of view and treat it as a kind of neutral technology. This is an extremely one-sided approach which can not but result in an analytical cul-de-sac. In fact, it is impossible to understand the social relevance of AI without situating it within the context of the socio-economic formation in which it evolves, i.e. within the capitalist class society trapped in the final epoch of its decay. The development of AI is a result of the ruling class desperate attempts to find a way out from its decline. At the same time, it reflects the degeneration of the system of class exploitation and will intensify its inner contradictions. In a certain way, AI embodies the fundamental principle of capitalism – the supremacy of dead labour over living labour.

8.           The dream of bourgeois ideologists that AI could facilitate a new period of economic upswing of global capitalism is pure phantasy. Theoretically, the introduction of new technologies could only result in such a boom period if it would go hand in hand with the creation of the necessary political and economic conditions for an intensified period of capital accumulation (as it was the case after the defeat of the 1848 revolution or after World War II and the consequential re-division of the world). In itself, new technologies do not result in an economic boom of capitalism. As the RCIT has pointed out in past studies – and, more recently, even bourgeois economists have been forced to admit this –, the tremendous technical innovations of the past three decades (computer, industrial robots, internet, etc.) have not resulted in renewed economic growth but rather in stagnation and decline of labour productivity.

9.           This is even more the case because AI has the purpose to replace as much labour force as possible (and, ideally, make it completely redundant). In itself, AI is dead labour. Hence, it does not create capitalist value – in contrast to living labour (it does only transmit already existing value which is embodied in AI by its previous development by labour force). In other words, AI will massively accelerate the tendency of capitalism towards its collapse as it radically changes the organic composition of capital (increase of constant capital at the cost of variable capital). It thereby reduces the creation of capitalist value and, hence, the fundament for profit – the famous “Historic Tendency of Capitalist Accumulation“ which Marx explained in the next-to-last chapter of Capital Vol. I. While AI will not facilitate a new period of economic growth, it will inevitably accelerate the process of monopolisation, i.e. the destruction of small capital by large capital and the further domination of the economy by a few powerful capitalist monopolies.

10.         AI represents respectively facilitates an extreme form of capitalist alienation. It massively increases the already existing tendency of capitalism to alienate human beings from each other as well as from nature. It allows for isolation of humans both in workplaces as well as in their social life (home office, Metaverse, etc.) It increases the passivity of humans since they can seek refuge in virtual reality, i.e. combining the status of a virtual super-warrior with physical laziness completely disconnected from society and nature. Furthermore, AI takes social skills like communication away from humans. It is capitalist alienation ad infinitum. In short, AI accelerates the already existing tendency of capitalism for de-socialisation of humans and dehumanization of society (“Entgesellschaftlichung der Menschen und Entmenschlichung der Gesellschaft”).

11.         Does AI represent a development of productive forces? Yes, to a certain degree insofar as it helps to advance the production of goods. However, in the historic period of capitalist decay there exists a tendency of transformation of productive forces into destructive forces. As a result, we see widening spheres of civilization threats in the past 1-2 decades. The destruction of the climate with rapid strides due to “very efficient” means of production, the cul-de-sac of nuclear power – these are just some examples of this tendency inherent to decaying capitalism. Its extreme destructive potential in warfare, surveillance, the ruin of industries, the social isolation of human beings, etc. – all this means that AI represents much more destructive than productive forces.

12.         Drawing on Marx’s fundamental critique of commodity fetishism in chapter 1 of Capital Vol. I, revolutionary communists warn against any fetishism of productive forces under the rule of capitalism. While capitalism has been – and continues to be – capable of driving forward technical advances, it develops an increasing tendency to nurture technologies which have little or none benefit for the society but rather undermine or endanger the existence of humanity. Technologies which make industrial production more effective or transport faster but, at the same time, deplete the ozone layer; nuclear power plants which are a permanent risk for the population and which produce highly dangerous waste; genetic modified crops which undermine sustainable agriculture and which have devastating consequences for bio-diversity and health; and now Artificial Intelligence – all these are examples for the inherent tendency of decaying capitalism to create destructive forces. The task of Marxists is not to blindly cheer the development of new technologies under capitalism but to differentiate between those which are useful for the humanity’s future and those which are rather destructive or have unknown consequences and, therefore, must be opposed.

 

Marxist approach and tactics

 

13.         Marxists have no reason to welcome the development of AI. On the contrary, the RCIT opposes it as it is, first and foremost, a dangerous instrument in the hands of our enemy – a Leviathan monster serving the imperialist monopolies and powers. This becomes clear if we summarise the fundamental driving forces for the development of AI by the monopoly capitalists. These are a) the desire of capitalists to raise productivity by replacing living labour with dead labour; b) the desire of the ruling class, living in a historic period of capitalist decay, to increase its control of a crisis-ridden society full of explosive contradictions; c) the wish of a sector of the monopoly bourgeoisie to avoid a collapse of civilization by eliminating a part of humanity respectively by creating new forms of “social” life with the help of AI which would require the existence of a much smaller proportion of human beings. Such new forms of “social” life might exist on the earth or on another planet.

14.         For Marxists, the problem with AI is not that it “rationalizes” the process of production or communication, etc. The problem is rather: a) that the ruling class utilizes AI to destroy large segments of jobs, to dramatically expand surveillance, to make warfare much more “effective” etc.; b) that the ruling class is determined to hand over crucial discretionary competences to AI – from autonomous vehicles to autonomous weapon systems, from the administration of the world of work to the administration of the social system; c) that the ruling class wants to use AI for the transformation of social life – resulting in a further social isolation of human beings and their “dehumanization”, taking away from them social and cognitive skills.

15.         What should be the tactic of socialists regarding AI? To put it short, the RCIT advocates a tactic which can be summarised in the formula: “oppose and obstruct”. We oppose the development of AI, its implementation in workplaces and social media or further research. We call for a stop of the application of new AI technologies. We support its sabotage where it is already applied. Of course, we are realists, and we know that as long as the ruling class is in power, it will use AI to the widest-possible degree (even if it involves massive risks for itself when it gets out of control). However, socialists must draw a line of intransigent opposition against the decisions of the ruling class and their reactionary and hazardous policy. The Marxists’ tactic of “oppose and obstruct” can not exist in isolation but must be part of the policy of class struggle in defence of the interests of the workers and oppressed. It is part of our program for international socialist revolution.

16.         Given the massive and devastating social consequences of AI, one can expect widespread outrage and resentment by large sectors of the working class and the popular masses. It is likely that there will be a wave of “Luddism”, i.e. the desire to stop and destroy complex AI. No doubt, such popular opposition will be confused, mixing progressive ideas with petty-bourgeois utopianism (we saw similar developments in the context of mass protests in the period of the COVID Counterrevolution). While large sectors of the petty-bourgeois left will give a sniff at such “backward” masses, authentic Marxists have no reason to follow such muddleheads who are pulled by the nose ring by the ruling class. In fact, history has repeatedly seen mass movement which objectively have played a progressive role despite a subjectively backward ideological consciousness – from the uprisings of “barbarians” and slaves in the time of the Roman Empire or the Chinese “Middle Kingdom” to various religious heretic movements in the Middle Ages, indigenous people fighting colonialism, and Islamist rebellions against imperialist invaders in modern days.

17.         The task of socialists is a) to support such popular opposition against AI; b) to explain the link between AI and capitalism and that the main task is to fight against and to overthrow those who control AI – the imperialist monopolies and powers; c) to transform spontaneous outrage into class-conscious struggle against the ruling class.

18.         One can expect that there will be also strong opposition against AI among the middle class since their jobs will be severely affected by this technology. Socialists are prepared to collaborate with such forces as long as their protest serves the class struggle. However, the focus of revolutionaries must be the organising of workers and oppressed.

19.         Does this mean that AI has no place in a future socialist society? This will have to be discussed and decided once the organized working class has overthrown capitalism and taken power in their own hands. Surely, in those areas where AI can help humanity to build a free society, it might be useful as a subordinated technology. As a general principle, we can say that socialists support technology which makes human beings more sovereign, more part of the collective; at the same time, we oppose every technology which limit or even endanger the freedom and independence of human beings, and which make them more isolated. Hence, contrary to the illusions of the middle-class left, socialism is not capitalist consume but more and cheaper. No, socialism – in the Marxist understanding – is a completely different mode of production and consumption which allows humans to lead an active, social, sustainable and manifold life in a healthy relation to nature.

 

International Secretariat of the RCIT