AI versus Labor: Luddism and Beyond

Weekly sessions on Tuesdays at 1 pm through December 2024

Is Artificial Intelligence (AI, sic) really the dire threat to the future of humanity as even some of its proponents claim, or is it a more mundane and familiar threat to working people who face loss of their livelihoods and/or further speed-up and alienation? The entire history of industrial capitalism is punctuated by recurring waves of automation to reduce labor costs and turnover time, each time provoking strong resistance by the affected workforce. This reading group will probe the history both of AI and computer technology specifically and of working-class resistance to capitalist automation in general. In eight weekly sessions we will read, discuss, and critique two recent works: Breaking Things at Work: The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job, by Gavin Mueller; and The Eye of the Master: A Social History of Artificial Intelligence, by Matteo Pasquinelli. Both are available in paper and eBook format from the publisher, Verso Books. Additional reading selections will be provided in PDF format.

Facilitated by Fred Murphy. Fred has led numerous study groups on ecosocialism, science and technology, the history of capitalism, and Latin American politics at the Marxist Education Project since 2015. He studied and taught historical sociology at the New School for Social Research.

There is no fee for this eight-week online reading group – RSVP below if you wish to attend and we will send you the Zoom link. A suggested donation of $50 or whatever amount you can afford is welcome and appreciated.