It is foolish for us to predict what is to come, for life is full of variables, and none can see the whole. But sometimes, some things are so clear that they impress themselves upon the mind and leave a mark that cannot be undone. This seems to be such a time. The turning gears of this machine are not just the ruinous effects of tariffs, but the expressed intentions of the ultra rich class to transform the world of work through the introduction of AI-Artificial Intelligence.
These devices represent a profound change in the working place, so much so that AI will soon replace some 40% of entry level jobs in the economy, already replacing college students and college graduates who, despite their degrees, can’t find a job. This reality was reflected in a public statement made recently by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, when he said, “Work will be optional.” What this means in the real world is that for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, capital is able to use technology like AI, non-human labor, to generate its massive profits. These non-human technologies don’t sleep, they don’t eat, they don’t take vacations, they don’t strike. They perform complex tasks, as long as energy sources can be provided. Yes, work may be optional, but what about eating? Is that too, optional? AI only eats energy and data.
The ultra rich are reshaping the world literally before our very eyes, and not for the better. Marx said that capitalism breaks down all Chinese walls. In other words, it destroys anything in its hunger for profits. In Capital, Marx recounts how the working class came into being. It isn’t natural, like trees or grass. It was formed by the theft of the common lands of the common people, the so-called commoners. Their lands, the commons, were walled off and parliament outlawed the wood and growth on the trees to commoners by making it a crime. These laws and practices were designed to force commoners into noisy, dirty, factories to work for manufacturers of products. In fact, Marx explains, that governments terrorized the commoners by brutish punishments like hanging for pickpockets, who, by the way, were so bold that they picked pockets during public executions.
Let’s bring it back to the present and the future. What happens to the working class when there are no jobs? Do you expect the uber rich to take care of them, really? Do you expect the super rich, most of whom don’t even pay taxes, to take care of you? We shall see economic dislocation and destruction like generations haven’t seen since the 1930s. We live in an era, not of casino capitalism, nor even crony capitalism, this is gangster capitalism where everything not nailed down is stolen. That’s the real reasons behind tariffs – to take what is takeable, period. The investor class is betting its money on AI, non-human labor, to enrich itself perpetually. With love, not fear, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
