I've been connecting with comrades in the Joe Tache campaign to come up with ideas for Tech 4 Tache, organizing specifically around the concerns of workers in the tech industry. As a software engineer myself I feel that the industry has been one of the last bastions of good perks, benefits, and compensation in the labor market. Yet, now with AI poised to take these jobs (or provide a smokescreen for already-planned mass layoffs) it's time to rally tech workers together to support our socialist movement and say that time's up for the billionaires.
During a phone call last week we came up with a few actionable ideas to gather information and plan events to engage with tech workers, and really anyone who uses a computer for their work. There are lots of stories in the news about big tech companies laying off huge numbers of workers citing efficiency gains from AI as the driver of these decisions. However, between the overblown claims about what AI can really do, and knowledge of the relentless corporate pursuit of short-term gains above all else it's most likely just a new coat of paint on shortsighted layoffs to drive stock prices.
What are the effects?
No matter what large language models may or may not be capable of now or in the future, its clear that "AI" is being used as a tool of capital owners against the interest of the working class. If it's being forced into your workplace it's being relied upon to increase productivity, creating unrealistic expectations which will either lead to missed targets or production of inferior products and technical debt. I could go on about all of the problems with AI but I'll simply provide links to a few articles I've bookmarked for further reading.
- Mark Zuckerberg's vision for humanity is terrifying
- Where's the Shovelware? Why AI Coding Claims Don't Add Up
- Re: My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts
- Trusting your own judgement on ‘AI’ is a huge risk
What can we do?
Our first step is to gather stories from workers who have lost their jobs to AI or who have been forced into using AI for their work. Only with an understanding of the playbook can we form our strategy for collective action against this latest threat to the working class. I've been working on poster designs to reach workers in the tech industry, or any industry where AI is a looming threat. We want to hear from people and ideally we'd like to organize a town hall to hear from people in person.
If you have a story to share, join the campaign and if you'd like you can contact me directly to talk one on one.
If you'd like to use or adapt any of my poster designs, you can get them from my gitea where they are licensed CC0.
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