Five steps we can take to survive the AI hype
The earlier you take them, the better your chances.
Beyond the story
The AI hype is the story that AI will create wealth for everyone. It will cure all diseases and bring us fantastic new products that we can’t even dream of today. And new types of jobs will emerge so that we can afford it all.
At the point when this story will crash, it might be too late for us to stand up.
In “AI will not replace you”, I made a case that the real threat of artificial intelligence is not mass unemployment, but the loss of economic value of our human labor. When more and more of the sophisticated, well paid work can be done by automated systems and robots, what will be left for humans is the less paid work.
We already see this when the big AI labs focus on optimizing their systems for software development. The salaries of developers have been rising for years, making this profession interesting for automation.
Robots are currently used in complex assembly lines for expensive products like electric vehicles. In theory, most of the work in the t-shirt factories of Bangladesh could be done by robots, even with the technology available today. But it’s simply cheaper to have it done by exploiting humans.
If we stay on the current trajectory where the future is determined by the corporate logic, we will eventually all end up in the situation of the exploited workers in Bangladesh.
It’s not too late
We are in a moment of transformation. It’s up to us to decide whether this transformation disrupts our lives and leaves us without agency, or whether we take the steps to live more healthy, fulfilling, and free.
It’s an interesting paradox that the same AI systems that threaten to undermine the social and economic fabrics we live in, could also be used to transform the systemic flaws that seem so difficult to overcome, from casino capitalism, to the patriarchy, to global inequality.
In this article, I want to suggest five things we can start doing right now.
1. Reduce your exposure to corporate social media
Every time we scroll, like, and share on corporate platforms, we feed the systems that are being built to replace us. The best thing we can do is use corporate social media less. And convince our friends to do the same.
The existing alternatives like Mastodon still lack the user numbers that can match the big corporate apps. But it’s important to strengthen them and just by creating an account and making an occasional post, we can already make a contribution.
The same applies to AI tools and chatbots. Some are useful for our jobs and daily lives. But every time we use them, we help the big tech corporations who own them to collect more data for building the systems that will eventually be used against us.
Of course, it would be best to use self-hosted AI tools, so that we don’t give any data away. But for most of us this is too complicated (though we’re working on making it as simple as using a corporate chatbot, see step 5.).
2. Change your bank
The AI hype is fueled by enormous amounts of investment capital. Every euro or dollar we put into corporate banks, retirement funds, stocks, or ETFs expands this capital source. Banks and investment funds can “leverage” your money and your “assets” to effectively use your savings multiple times over to finance the very infrastructure that threatens our future.
Cooperative banks operate differently. They don’t speculate on financial markets, but rather invest in local economies. If you’re unsure where to find a cooperative bank or ethical investment alternative in your region, try asking an AI chatbot. It’s definitely better to feed them with this type of data, than with details about your personal struggles.
3. Build strong communities
The one real thing that makes us stronger and more resilient is true, local, human connection.
The stronger our communities are, the more we can resist the pressures of a system that profits from our isolation. And the more power we have collectively to shape the structures we live in, rather than having them shaped for us by corporations whose interests run against ours.
An in-person meeting with a human you know personally can’t be faked by an AI agent. Taking time to build and deepen connections with our neighbors and friends makes us stronger. Spending our evenings on screens weakens us and worsens our sleep.
Of course, it’s not always easy to build connections. This is why it’s as important to take good care of our own mental state, and to encourage and support our friends and family in doing the same.
4. Take care of your mental health
Our societies and economic systems already put enormous stress on us. Social media and other forms of digital entertainment can be addictive and generally harmful to our mental health. If we suffer mentally, it becomes more difficult to connect with others, leading to vicious circles that weaken our communities.
Much of what’s happening now is enabled through manipulation. Powerful actors are taking advantage of the uncertainty and the feeling of being overwhelmed that many of us currently share. The AI hype accelerates the very pressures that keep us disconnected from ourselves. The more data we give to the big tech corporations, the better they can capture our attention. And the general sense of uncertainty drives us further into insincerity.
This is why it’s so important to actively work against this. When we are grounded in ourselves, we are harder to manipulate. When we can see our own patterns more clearly, it becomes easier to see the patterns around us. When we are less afraid, we are less controllable.
It’s important to not see this as our own private problem. The more we join together with others to strengthen our inner balance, the easier and more motivating it becomes. And doing this can strengthen our communities and friendships, making us generally more resilient.
A great example are the Alcoholics Anonymous. They focus on people who struggle with alcohol addiction, but their brilliant methods of peer-to-peer sharing and collective healing could be useful to all of us.
5. Join the alternative infrastructure
This is the decisive step that really has a chance to change the trajectory we’re on. If we really want a different future, we need infrastructure that is specifically designed to avoid extraction and power games. We need platforms, tools, and organizational models that protect and support healthy communities rather than exploiting them. Once these alternatives exist and work, all the other steps can fully pay off.
For more than ten years, the Platform Cooperativism Movement is bringing together people and organizations from around the world who are working on solidarity-based approaches to digital infrastructure. The next conference on Solidarity AI that will gather researchers, activists, and practitioners from around the world will happen in Bangkok in November.
I personally decided to invest my time in building CosyAI. The vision is to create a cooperative framework for AI that puts ownership into the hands of the people who use it. We start with making it easy to use AI in a way that your data doesn’t feed the big tech giants.
By building a global coalition of companies, organizations, and individuals who share our goal, and by making sure that we pool our resources in a structure that prevents the dynamics of the corporate logic, we seek to create enough momentum to change how AI will impact our lives.
We’re in this together
The most important thing I can say about these five steps is: don’t try to do them alone.
Find people to take the steps with. Discuss the steps with your communities, families, friends, and colleagues. This is our collective challenge, and the answer to it is to unite.
Also, don’t wait for tomorrow. The earlier we begin, the easier the transition and the less we will be hit by the hard landing of the AI hype. We can see this as a chance for real change in our life and to leave the old, draining, corrupting game behind.
I’m happy to connect with anyone who is already working on building a movement around this, or who wants to get actively involved.
In any case, you can subscribe to my newsletter if you’re interested in being kept up to date as I continue exploring how we can reclaim control of our future.
Whatever you chose to do, this is a time when your choice matters. Just continuing what we’ve done yesterday might be a very risky choice. But there are many things we can do differently today. And we’re working on making it easier so that more of us find the strength to join.