Digital Feudalism: Capitalists Exploit Laborers

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Outline

The presentation starts with an explanation of digital feudalism and proceeds to examine the various readings. The author includes personal take on each reading. From this assessment, it is clear that capitalists globally still exploit laborers in an attempt to meet global demand for products and services.

Digital Feudalism

The modern digital ecosystem seems to be organizing rapidly into a feudal power structure similar to the European feudal system where kings and nobles are on top of the pyramid, followed by knights, while peasants are at the bottom. Supposedly, kings, nobles, and knights offer land and protection to the peasants as reward for the services they render to the royal class. The same system now applies to the digital environment where users participate in various platforms and unknowingly surrender a large amount of personal and other data to the platform owners.

Anatomy of an AI System

One can use an AI system’s anatomy to comprehend human labor. With human labor, material resources, and data, an individual can successfully run a large-scale artificial intelligence system (Crawford and Joler 2018). Unfortunately, these artificial intelligence systems consume a significant amount of resources from the earth’s, threatening the continued survival of different life forms, including humans (Crawford and Joler 2018). The examination of the life cycle of a single Amazon Echo speaker reveals deep interconnections between the literal hollowing out of the earth’s materials and the data capture and monetization of human communication practices in AI. Thus, in the present moment of the 21st century, a new form of extractivism that reaches the furthest corners of the earth and the deepest human cognitive layers and affective being has emerged.

I agree that the seemingly convenient use of the Amazon Echo and similar products could have a detrimental effect on human life and sustainable utilization of resources given the number of steps involved to produce a single unit. The Amazon Echo is a creative device that increases the user’s convenience and enjoyment. People can give it such commands as “turn the lights on,” and it will do so. However, what is not evident to the user is that a single command like that invokes numerous processes and interactions that require data, interconnectedness, and efficiency (Crawford and Joler 2018). Also, with each command, the Amazon Echo learns new information that it can use to respond better and faster in the future. Unfortunately, much labor goes into the production of a single Amazon Echo device. There are miners working under harsh conditions in different parts of the world and factory employees under pressure to produce goods on time to satisfy global demand. In all this, the manufacturer or copyright owner contributes to environmental pollution and endangers biodiversity in different ecosystems. In other words, the process of creating a gadget such as the Amazon Echo takes many resources and labor.

Phone Story

Phone story is a mind-boggling revelation of the dark side of what is arguably the most popular gadget on the planet – the smartphone. Ironically, the only way to access the game is by owning a smartphone. Apple already banned the application from the App Store (Molleindustria, n.d.). The mobile game tells the sad story of the process of making a phone. It begins by examining the armed struggle for control of coltan mines in the Congo, which have destabilized the central African nation and prevented its people from leading normal and peaceful lives. The game also examines increased suicide cases in Chinese phone-making factories due to too much pressure to meet deadlines and produce smartphones for global consumers. The fact that mobile phones become outdated quickly exacerbates the problems and human sufferings associated with its production. It also creates the global problem of electronic waste, which is slowly but steadily becoming a pandemic.

Smartphones have become one of the most important gadgets in most people lives, so much so that some people own several designs and models. Others are so addicted to the newest versions that they can do anything to get the latest release (Molleindustria, n.d.). Yet, nobody seems to care about the process that goes into the manufacture of the gadget. If this trend continues, resources will become depleted, and enmity and internal feuds will increase as people fight for limited resources. To avert a possible worst case scenario in the future, there is a need for humans to exercise self restraint in the exploration and exploitation of resources. Fairer labor practices are also needed to prevent exploitative practices.

Everyone Will Be An Artist

Jason Zhao commissioned hundreds of artworks on hot-button topics, which he sells on a vending machine for $3 a piece. He paid artists upfront a small amount to make the art, and pays them again every time the piece is bought (Zhao, n.d.). He did not edit the art; he sells them as he receives them. He recruited artists using open calls on web-based hiring platforms like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.

The idea of selling art in a vending machine seems plausible, especially because it depends on the economies of scale. Theoretically, it is possible for an artist to make a good amount of money from this project (Zhao, n.d.). Unfortunately, that good pay is not guaranteed. The concept does not seem as exploitative as it sounds, but artists should receive higher initial payments for purposes of fairness.

Doing Tiny Jobs for Tinnier Pay

Amazon Mechanical Turk offers a variety of irregular piecework at low prices to those registered on the platform. People post task on the platform, and Mechanical Turks will accept and work on those tiny projects. People can do the job for extra income. To do so, one must complete a series of tasks fast and move on to better paying ones (Newman, 2019). The person hoping to earn a considerable living from the platform must also remain online at most times.

The online space offers numerous opportunities for personal and economic development. However, some aspects of it are unconventional and difficult to understand. Thus, the concept of the Mechanical Turk as conceived by Amazon is intriguing. Although the pay is small in absolute dollar terms per task, the jobs are easy and short (Newman, 2019). However, there is a need to ensure that all participants agree on the terms and conditions of their job to increase mutually beneficial relationships.

References

Crawford, Kate and Joler, Vladan. 2018. Anatomy of an AI System. Web.

Molleindustria. n.d. Phone Story: Video walkthrough and demo of the game. Web.

Newman, Andy. 2019. Doing Tiny Jobs for Tinier Pay.Web.

Zhao, Jason. n.d. Everyone Will Be An Artist. Web.

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