Attributing the success of Bills C-11 on Canadian content and C-18 on online news to the indisposition of the digital giants to comply with them does not call into question the neutrality of computing. Without this fundamental reflection, this state legislation which aims for the sustainability and artistic and journalistic diversity online would only be illusory in the longer term. Four enlightening tracks…
In the book Why human thought is incomparable, the philosopher Markus Gabriel warns us against artificial intelligence systems since they implicitly advocate the value systems of those who created them without ever revealing them. This ethic adopted by Silicon Valley, which is an image of how we should live under the guise of neutral calculation, is present in the data banks.
This kind of programming is approached by the philosopher Martin Gibert in the essay Giving morality to robots. Rather than proposing a new philosophy for apprehending reality like Mr. Gabriel, he suggests replacing the hegemonic masculinity of big companies with start-up “which combine the nerd antisocial, but genius and the arrogant alpha male who takes risks by investing his capital”.
In vogue in the 1990s, the ‘growth before profit’ business model is making a comeback with lite platforms, according to the essay Platform capitalism, by digital economy specialist Nick Srnicek. For example, Uber and Airbnb operate their services with low profitability which will eventually be compensated when they have acquired a monopoly position. In the meantime, the burden rests on precarious labour.
In the test The war of the platforms, communication expert Carlos A. Scolari traces the history of innovations from papyrus to metaverse in order to elaborate their geopolitical dimension. “If, in the 1990s, the optimism of publications on computing lacked a critical perspective, he notes, today, hegemonic apocalyptic discourses point us in the opposite direction. Every position taken risks being vague and reactionary.
To read the text of Professor Yves Gingras published on July 11 in The duty, the Montreal Declaration for Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence unites insiders against the state. Clearing your mind would be a start.