Neo-Luddite Reading Group

Schedule Resources Resisting A.I.

NOTE THIS IS AN ARCHIVED PAGE, EVENTS ARE PAST, TIME IS AN ARROW.

Time and Place:

"Progress imposes not only new possibilities for the future but new restrictions." -N. Wiener

Contact:
neoluddite@victorgom.es
Twitter
Bluesky
Substack 1st Tuesday each month 6:30-8:30 @ Iffy Books

Discord: Email neoluddite@victorgom.es for an invite!

Beginning Tuesday, October 3rd

The issues and harms surrounding emergin technologies are especially concerning given the lack of regulation in the tech industry generally, and the tendency of productivity-increasing technology to further concentrate power in the hands of the few. This reading group will explore these risks and engage with how they work in the hopes of better organizing to protect the rights of workers and individuals. The goal is to have a better understanding of the costs (data, carbon, human labor) and risks (misinformation, unpredictability, bias) of making these machines, as well as limitations in what they can learn about the world primarily through text.

We're currently reading The Human Use of Human Beings by Norbert Wiener, and next we will read Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin. So far, we've read "Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence" by Dan McQuillian and you can find the archived page with supplemental readings here. If you'd like to learn more about me, you can visit victorgom.es for a bio.

Schedule

The only expectation is that you read the chapter(s) of the book that's listed for that meeting. I tried keeping it around 50 pages on average. Even if you don't read the assigned chapters, you're still welcome to participate as long as you are mindful.

For each chapter, I've also noted some optional readings for context, so I'd suggest checking those out rather than reading ahead in the book! Optional readings are by no means required, but they may add to and deepen our conversation. They're a mix of news articles, essays, and journal articles, so you can pick from type of text is most engaging to you. They pull from a range of disciplines and schools of thought, which I hope serves to highlight and survey how many different people conceptualize issues with AI, though it is by no means exhaustive. If you ever find yourself struggling, reach out! Either directly or over discord to the group.

If you're joining for the first time, I'd suggest you read this before anything else for some historical context: What the Luddites Really Fought Against by Richard Conniff.

Additional resources