Even though the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) decided to nominate New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) as its presidential candidate instead of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), the implications of Gou’s campaign remain pertinent. In particular, many of Gou’s visions regarding artificial intelligence (AI) underscore the prevalence of techno-idealism among Taiwan’s business elite. Although his visions lack cogency for the most part, Gou nonetheless amassed a large following because of his connections to the technology sector.
Gou, as if an oracle calling forth a techno-utopia, proposed incorporating artificial intelligence to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants and construction of military robots to defend Taiwan from the threat of an invasion, hoping that technology would readily solve Taiwan’s energy and military woes.
Suffice to say that both of Gou’s proposals face numerous technological and ethical hurdles, and “artificial intelligence” is used more like a platitudinous buzzword in his talks. Even though the AI technology Gou is discussing is nowhere near maturity, there is AI technology on the marketplace right now that could significantly impact the labor market. And for one reason or another, the neoliberals in Taiwan, embracing techno-idealism, tend to portray this emerging technology solely as positive, often ignoring the possible externalities of widespread adoption of this technology.
It takes a tendentious reading of history to conclude that technology only drives the progress of human history to its betterment. Steam-powered machines of the industrial revolution brought greater efficiency to the manufacturing of consumer goods, but also created the conditions for exploitation — both of domestic workers and overseas colonies — and wealth inequalities. Working conditions in factories were notoriously arduous and workers earned low pay due to a surplus of workers. For the majority of city dwellers, life was miserable.
Karl Marx described a worker’s alienation from his own product of labor, process of labor, his humanity and from society. Sociologist Emile Durkheim described anomic suicide in his study of how traditional sources of societal regulation, such as religion, government and occupational groups, failed to exercise moral constraints on an increasingly unregulated capitalist economy, leading to a drastic increase in suicides.
Man’s “morbid desire for the infinite,” unleashed by the industrial revolution, accelerated his own downfall. During the 1800s, workers began to unionize and engage in collective bargaining, gradually leading to better working conditions.
Similarly, today, in the midst of the next potential technological revolution, workers are starting to take steps to ensure the protection of their careers and benefits.
Reporting on the ongoing writers’ guild strike in the US, National Public Radio said: “The Writers Guild of America, which called for the strike, says writers want more regulation of AI. For example, bans on studios using it to write or rewrite things like stories, treatments and screenplays or even write the source material that human writers would adapt for the screen. They also don’t want the writers’ work to be used to train AI.”
The writers want to continue using AI tools like ChatGPT, but worry that ChatGPT could eventually replace them. While investment in television production has grown significantly, writers’ compensation has stagnated. AI technology could worsen the current predicament and expand the gig economy, a labor market that relies on temporary and part-time positions — an unfortunate and perhaps irrevocable adieu to full-time careers and job security.
AI not only threatens the careers of writers, but could also replace many jobs in the service sector. Companies can automate their businesses and increase profitability; however, whether or not this new wealth will trickle down to the average worker remains to be seen.
There is still no consensus regarding the potential disruption that AI would generate. The existential horrors of the next technological revolution might not be upon us yet or hopefully never arise. Nevertheless, advances in technology must be accompanied by meaningful policy adaptations to protect the interests of workers. Large disruptions in the workforce usually force us to redefine state-society relations.
In Taiwan, high-tech industries have been praised by academics and politicians alike for providing a degree of economic protection against the Chinese threat. For instance, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has been described by reporter Craig Addison as a “silicon shield.”
At National Taiwan University’s commencement speech, Nvidia Corp cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said that AI had opened the door for the automation of many tasks in major industries. Nonetheless, the tone of his speech was still overwhelmingly optimistic.
The government has invested aggressively in emerging-technology sectors to maintain Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market. While economists generally agree that there will be substantial growth in the software industry as a result of AI, it is still daunting to think that the majority of these newly created jobs and opportunities will be concentrated in one specific sector; a significant portion of jobs in our economy face the possibility of being automated.
How will Taiwan blunt the impact of AI on the labor market? What protection mechanisms should be put in place for workers? How should Taiwan embrace technological progress while ensuring the rights of workers?
Every politician running for presidency must confront these questions seriously. In light of techno-idealists framing technological progress as the aegis to Taiwan’s existence, the plight of workers risks being forgotten, ignored and abused, to the detriment of the nation’s future.
Linus Chiou graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia. He is currently serving in the Taiwanese armed forces.
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