The Event

THE EYE OF THE MASTER: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE by Matteo Pasquinelli

This session is part of the counter-narratives study circle on anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist thinking, which meets roughly once in six weeks. Please consult this page for a full description of the event and the latest updates. More information on the study circle, its motivation and other events can be found here.

At this session of counter-narratives  we'll discuss "The Eye of the Master: A Social History of Artificial Intelligence" by Matteo Pasquinelli. 

In the past decade machine learning and AI have helped establish a monopolistic regime of knowledge extractivism on a global scale, an unprecedented concentration of power as knowledge in the hands of a few mega-corporations. In this book Matteo Pasquinelli argues that the most sophisticated 'intelligent' machines, and AI as a whole, have emerged by imitating the outline of the collective division of labour. The power of this new 'master' is thus derived not from the automation of labour itself, but from the automation of management: the management of the social division of labour.

The new 'eye of the master,' incarnated by AI monopolies of data, enables mega-companies (Amazon, Walmart, Google etc.) unprecedented access to people's lives and needs. In designing alternatives that work in the public interest we need to bear in mind that any technology and institutional apparatus, including AI, is a crystallisation of a productive social process. This crystallisation ossifies and reiterates past structures, hierarchies and inequalities. We therefore need to first take apart the social and economic fabric that constitutes these complex AI monopolies.

Everyone attending should read the book beforehand, but it's OK if you don't manage to finish in time. The discussion will be open and informal – without presentations or guidance, as we're all equally in the process of learning.

NOTE: This is an external event, but all Diemers are more than welcome! You're also welcome to bring non-Diemers interested in the theme.  Please email me (Sona) at [email protected] for further info or if you plan to attend.