Contrary to popular belief, the 1800’s Luddite Revolution was not just a fight against progress, but one for agency. Highly skilled weavers, including women, fought for autonomy and labour rights amidst the fear of their employment and agency being snatched away by machines. This new technology threatened to tip the balance of power in favour of the textile-mill-owning elites who controlled the means of production. Today, these old technology gods have been replaced by newer algorithmic ones. As Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered machines take control of our decisions, it might already be too late to take back control of what makes us human—free will and autonomy.
Be it users or citizens, almost all behaviours performed have a digital fingerprint. In the age of surveillance capitalism, the fight for free will is a losing battle. In a post-Cambridge Analytica world, algorithms challenge the bedrock of individual freedom and choices; preserving human choice would need to go beyond mere consent and focus on accountable regulatory mechanisms.
When Algorithms decide and regulating those decisions | ORF (orfonline.org)
