As commencement ceremonies across the nation are marred by students protesting the growing influence of artificial intelligence, it's clear that their concerns extend far beyond job security. These young graduates have been schooled in the harsh realities of the digital age, where the promise of innovation and progress has given way to a culture of exploitation and manipulation. They've witnessed firsthand how the tech elite's pursuit of profit has led to the erosion of personal autonomy, the commodification of personal data, and the spread of misinformation. In a stark rebuke to the notion of benevolent capitalism, these students are signaling that they've had enough of the tech industry's empty promises and are demanding a more equitable and just digital landscape.
The students booing artificial intelligence at commencements across the country are not just worried about jobs. They have learned an urgent lesson from the not-so-distant past. They know that the familiar promise of empowerment and creativity will continue to give way to the pathologies of the online surveillance economy: viral slop, commercial manipulation and addictive […] The post OPINION: The days of ‘good guy’ capitalists are over. College students are right to turn against the tech elites appeared first on The Hechinger Report.
