Long Reads: Aaron Benanav on Automation and the Long Downturn
Jacobin Radio
Jacobin
4.7 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 7 November 2022
⏱️ 66 minutes
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Summary
Science fiction has traditionally depicted a robot takeover as a conscious bid for global domination by our mechanical offspring. From The Terminator to The Matrix, we’ve been invited to picture a war to the death between man and machine. More recently however, figures like Elon Musk have spoken about the rise of the robots as a more insidious threat to humanity; the machines may bear us no ill will, but they’ll cast us on the scrap heap of technological unemployment anyway.
Aaron Benanav, author of Automation and the Future of Work, joins Long Reads to discuss what this conventional wisdom around technology and jobs gets wrong—and what a realistic path to a post-scarcity world might look like.
Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by Features Editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of Longreads is brought to you by Haymarket Books. |
| 0:04.1 | One title you might enjoy is A Bollishing State Violence, |
| 0:07.9 | a world beyond bombs, borders and cages by Ray Atchison. |
| 0:12.2 | The book analyzes the key structures of state violence in the world today |
| 0:16.4 | and erutes in patriarchy, racism and capitalism. |
| 0:20.6 | You can find a Bollishing State violence at haymarketbooks.org. |
| 0:24.6 | Readers in the US and the UK receive free shipping |
| 0:28.0 | on orders over $25 or 20 pounds. |
| 0:32.9 | Hello and you're very welcome to Longreads, a Jacquin podcast where we look in depth at |
| 0:36.9 | political topics and thinkers. My name is Daniel Finn and the featured editor here at Jacquin, |
| 0:42.9 | an argue presenting a show. Science fiction is traditionally depicted a robot takeover |
| 0:49.2 | as a conscious bid for a global domination by our mechanical offspring. |
| 0:53.8 | From a Terminator to the Matrix, we've been invited to picture a war to the death |
| 0:58.8 | between man and machine. The system goes online on August 4th 1997. |
| 1:04.2 | Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. |
| 1:07.1 | SkyNet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2.14am |
| 1:12.0 | eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug. |
| 1:18.6 | SkyNet fights back. Yes, it launches its missiles against the |
| 1:22.5 | targets in Russia. Why take Russia? Because SkyNet knows |
| 1:27.6 | that the Russian counterattack will eliminate its enemies over here. |
| 1:32.4 | More recently, however, figures like Elon Musk have spoken about the rise of the robots |
| 1:36.9 | as a more insidious threat to humanity. The machines may bear a snow ill will, |
... |
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