In this podcast episode Elias Kruger and Maggie Bender talk about the latest news in the tech world, Generative AI. How can this new tech change the way we create and consume content? Introducing the paradox of hope and despair, this episode brings innovative thoughts on this topic. Listen to it now on your favorite platform.
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In this podcast episode Elias Kruger and Maggie Bender continue their conversation about the future from the last episode taking a closer look into how we can imagine realistic futures by using key macrodrivers of change. The conversation also unpacks one of AI Theology’s latest projects. Listen to it on you favorite platform (links bellow).
To understand better this conversation, take a look at this scenario grid.
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20 years ago the life was very different from today. Can we predict the future by thinking about the past? Join Elias and Maggie in a conversation about how the past can help us envision the future. Listen now to the 6th episode of the AI Theology Podcast.
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In the fifth episode of the AI Theology Podcast, Elias Kruger interviews Brian Sigmon, writer and member of our AIT Board, on his newest book.
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“Sometimes all it takes to be strong is to choose strength… A thief with a dangerous gift. Rising tensions over the Sun’s energy. A brutal attack in the lonely silence of space.
When Ben Ashley steals a sample of Dorium, the fallout carries him right to the heart of the Solar System’s cold war–a war that’s about to turn hot unless Ben can stop it. What starts as a deal to avoid prison becomes a mission to save his people. He’ll have to confront the calculating aggression of the Interior, elude the Raptors that plague the Outer Colonies—and find out why all the bad guys seem to be working together. To have any chance, he’ll have to harness the strange ability that nearly kills him every time he uses it. But if now isn’t the time to try, when is?”
Come and listen to Brian’s writing process and what you can expect from the book
Brian Sigmon’s website: https://briansigmon.com/
Purchase the book here
In the fourth episode of the AI Theology Podcast, Elias Kruger and Maggie Bender, member of our AIT Board, talk about the tale of two cities. The tale of two labor forces, one shaped by automation and efficiency and one empowered by augmentation and creativity. How are these changes affecting us? How can we look at this process through a theological lens?
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60% of Americans whose job can be done from home are now working from home most of time. In many cases by choice. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/02/16/covid-19-pandemic-continues-to-reshape-work-in-america/
The promise of 5G networks is already propelling innovators to design new modes of communication. From remote robotic surgery to ultra-responsive autonomous cars, the 5G network leans into a world of higher reliability and lower latency. In this episode, we talk to experts revolutionizing the way we transfer skills via the technology of touch. Podcast The future according to now on Apple Podcasts
Algo surveillance and measurement https://techmonitor.ai/leadership/workforce/algorithmic-bosses-changing-work
Call center – monitored calls https://partnershiponai.org/what-workers-say-about-workplace-ai/
Have you ever wondered what Christian Transhumanism is? In the third episode of the AI Theology Podcast, Elias Kruger interviews Micah Redding, our AIT Board member on his personal experience with Christian Transhumanism. He is the founder of the Christian Transhumanist Association (CTA). They talked about the origins and future of the movement. Micah also shared how Transhumanism informs and shapes his Christian practice.
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Our second episode from the AI Theology Podcast just came out! Are you having trouble understanding what’s been going on in technology in warfare? Have you ever thought about what the church could do about wars like the one in Ukraine right now? Don’t miss out and listen to a fact based conversation on these topics. Listen to us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Check out here all our references on this episode.
Ukraine government using Clearview for facial recognition – click here
Russia using FindClone for facial recognition – click here
Use of deepfakes to mimic the president of Ukraine (Volodymyr Zelensky), and a deepfake of Putin declaring peace to Ukraine – click here
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a rule that criminalizes reporting that contradicts the Russian government’s version of events – click here
Fact vs Fiction about the war (document from the US government) – click here
Book “Robot Theology: Old questions through new media” from Joshua Smith – click here
Russion drone Lanset – click here
Race for AI supremacy – click here
Just War Theory – click here
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Who doesn’t like to listen to podcasts? Listeners are growing by the day in the major platforms (Spotify, Google, Apple Play). But is there QUALITY content?
AI Theology presents to you a new podcast. Elias Kruger and Maggie Bender discuss the intersection between theology and technology in the budding world of AI and other emerging technologies. They bring the best from academy, industry and church together in a lively conversation. Join us and expand your mind with topics like ai ethics, ai for good, guest interviews and much more.
We already have a small intro and our first episode on air, here’s how you can listen to us:
Elias Kruger and Maggie Bender will take you into thought-provoking dialogues. Get to know our hosts and what you, our listener, can expect from this podcast. Click on top of your favorite podcast platform:
After listening, don’t forget to hare wih friends and give us your feedback. Also don’t forget to rate the episodes on the podcast platforms.
What do you want to hear about next?
Can we trust big companies are saying the truth, or are they being hypocrites? We can say that the human race is somehow evolving and leaving behind discriminatory practices. Or at least some are trying to. And this reflects on the market. More and more, companies around the world are being called out on big problems, involving racism, social injustice, gender inequalities, and even false advertising. But how can we know what changes are real and what are fake? From Ford Motors to Facebook, many companies talk the talk but do not walk the walk.
The rise of Black Lives Matter protests is exposing societies’ crooked and oppressive ways, bringing discussions about systemic and structural racism out in the open. It’s a problem that can’t be fixed with empty promises and window dressing. Trying to solve deep problems isn’t easy and is a sort of “all hands on deck” type of situation. But it’s no longer an option for companies around the world to ignore these issues. That’s when the hypocrisy comes in.
Facebook, Amazon, Ford Motor Company, Spotify, Google, are a few examples of big companies that took a stand against racial inequality on their social media. Most of them also donated money to help the cause. They publicly acknowledged that a change has to be made. It is a start. But it means nothing if this change doesn’t happen inside the company itself.
Today I intend to expose a little bit about Facebook and Amazon’s diversity policies and actions. You can make your own conclusions.
Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his personal Facebook page: “To help in this fight, I know Facebook needs to do more to support equality and safety.”
In Facebook’s business page, it claims some actions the company is making to fight inequalities. But it mostly revolves around funding. Of course money is important, but changes regarding the companies structure are ignored. They also promised to build a more inclusive workforce by 2023. They aim for 50% of the workforce to be from underrepresented communities. Also working to double the number of Black and Latino employees in the same timeframe.
But in reality, in the most recent FB Diversity Report, White people take up 41% of all roles, Followed by Asians with 44%, Hispanics with 6.3%, Black people with 3.9% and Native Americans with 0.4%. An even though it may seem that Asians are taking benefit in this current situation, White people take 63% of leadership roles in Facebook, reducing only 10% since 2014. Well, can you see the difference between the promises and ACTUAL reality?
Another problem FB employees talk about is leadership opportunities. Even though the company started hiring more people of color, it still doesn’t give them the opportunity to grow and occupy more important roles. Former Facebook employees filled a complaint with with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission trying to bring justice for the community. Read more about this case here.
Amazon is also investing in this type of propaganda creating a “Diversity and Inclusion” page on their website. They also made some tweets talking about police abuse and the brutal treatment black Americans are forced to live with. What Amazon didn’t expect, is that it would backfire.
Amazon fabricated and sold technology that supports police abuse towards the Black population. In a 2018 study of Amazon’s Rekognition technology, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found people of color were falsely matched at a high rate. Matt Cagle, an attorney for the ACLU of Northern California, called Amazon’s support for racial justice “utterly hypocritical.” Only in June of 2020, Amazon halted selling this technology to the police for one year. And in May of 2021, they extended the pause until further notice.
The ACLU admits that Amazon stopped selling this technology, is a start. But the US government has to “end its use by law enforcement entirely, regardless which company is selling it.” In previous posts, AI Theology talked about bias on facial recognition and algorithmic injustice.
Another problem Amazon faces is in their workforce. At first sight, white people occupy only 32% of their entire workforce. But it means nothing since the best paid jobs belong to them. Corporate employees are composed of: 47% White, 34% Asian, 7% Black, 7% Latinos, 3% Multiracial, and 0.5% Native Americans. The numbers continue reducing drastically when you look at senior leaders that are composed of: 70% White, 20% Asian, 3,8% Black, 3,9% Latinos, 1.4% Multiracial and 0.2% Native Americans. You can find this data in this link.
What these numbers show us is that minorities are under represented in Amazon’s leadership ranks . Especially in the best paid and more influential roles. We need to be alert when big companies say their roles are equally distributed. Sometimes the hypocrisy is there. The roles may be equal, but the pay isn’t.
So if the companies aren’t practicing what they preach, how can we change that?
Numbers show that public pressure can spark change. We should learn not to only applaud well built statements but demand concrete actions, exposing hypocrisy. We need to call on large companies to address the structural racism that denies opportunities from capable and innovative people of color.
Consultant Monica Hawkins believes that executives struggle to raise diversity in senior management mostly because they don’t understand minorities. She believes that leaders need to expand their social and business circles, referrals are a key source of important hires as she mentioned in Reuters.
Another take that companies could consider taking is, instead of only making generic affirmations, they could put out campaigns recognizing their own flaws and challenges and what they are doing to change that reality. This type of action can not only improve the company’s rating but also press other companies to change as well.
It’s also important that companies keep showing their workforce diversity numbers publicly. That way, we can keep track of changes and see whether they are actually working to improve from the inside.
In other words, does the company talk openly about inequalities? That’s nice. Does it make donations to help social justice organizations? Great. But it’s not enough, not anymore. Inequalities don’t exist just because of financial problems. For companies to thrive and continue alive in the future, they need to start creating an effective plan on how to change their own reality.
Politicians lack the knowledge to regulate technology. This was comically demonstrated in 2018 when Senator Hatch asked how Zuckerberg could keep Facebook free. Zuckerberg’s response became a viral meme:
Taken from Tenor.com
Zuckerberg’s creepy smile aside, the meme drives home the point that politicians know little about emerging technologies.
What can be done about this? Lawmakers cannot be experts on everything – they need good counsel. An example of that is how challenging it was for the governments to contain COVID with no help from microbiologists or researchers. The way we get to good policy is by having expert regulators who act as referees, weighing the pros and cons of different strategies to help the lawmakers deliberate with at least some knowledge.
When we take a look at monopolies around the world, it’s clear that digital monopolies are everywhere, and alongside them are the finance companies and banks. We live in a capitalist world. Technology walks holding hands with the urge to profit and make money. That is why it is so hard to go against these monopolies.
But not all hope is lost. If we look across the globe, we can find different countries regulating big tech companies. Australia has been working for more than a year now, proposing a legislation that would force tech platforms like Google and Facebook to pay news publishers for content. The tension was so big that Facebook took an extreme measure and blocked all kinds of news in Australia. The government thinks that Facebook’s news ban was too aggressive and will only push the community even more further from Facebook.
The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, shared on his Facebook page his concerns and beliefs saying that this behavior from Facebook only shows how these Big Tech Companies think they are bigger than the government itself and that rules should not apply to them. He also says that he recognizes how big tech companies are changing the world, but that does not mean they run it.
Discussions on how to stop big companies using every content for free is also happening in other countries like France, Canada and even the United States. Governments around the world are considering new laws to keep these companies in check. The question is how far they can go against the biggest digital monopolies in the world.
Fortunately, there are many examples where governments are working with tech companies to help consumers. Early this year, the French government approved the New Tech Repairability Index. This index is going to show how repairable an electronic is, like smartphones, laptops, TVs, and even lawnmowers. This will help consumers buy more durable goods and force companies to make repairs possible. It is not only a consumer-friendly measure but also environmentally friendly as it helps reduce electronic waste.
Another example that big technology companies have to hear from the government is in Brazil. On February 16, a Brazilian congressman was arrested for making and sharing videos that go against the law by uplifting a very dark moment in Brazilian history, the military dictatorship they had to go through in the 60s. And a few days later, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram had to ban his accounts because of a court order, since he was still updating his account from inside prison.
Brazil still doesn’t know how this congressman’s story will end, but we can at least hope that the cooperation between big companies and the government will increase even more. These laws and actions by the people in charge of countries have already waited too long to come along. We have to fight for our rights and always remember that no one is above the law.
Technological monopolies can make us feel like they rule the world. But the truth is that we are the consumers, so we need to have our voices heard and rights respected.
I believe that the most efficient way to deal with tech monopolies is by creating committees that will assist the government to make antitrust laws. These committees should have experts and common citizens that don’t have any ties with big tech companies. Antitrust laws are statutes developed by governments to protect consumers from predatory business practices and ensure fair competition. They basically ensure companies don’t have questionable activities like market allocation, bid rigging, price-fixing, and the creation of monopolies.
Protecting consumer privacy and deterring artificially high prices should be a priority. But can these committees really be impartial? Can we trust the government to make these laws?
The only way is for consumers to act as citizens. That is, we need to vote for representatives that are not tied to Big Tech lobbies. We need to make smarter choices with our purchases. We need to organize interest groups that put humanity back at the center of technology.
How are you standing up to digital monopolies today?
