AI is portrayed as a false solution to societal crises, with 'decomputing' proposed as a necessary alternative for a more equitable future.
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Dan McQuillan is a lecturer and activist with interests in social computing, advocacy, and environmental issues, known for his work in digital innovation and grassroots movements.
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AI is examined as a symptom of deeper societal changes, with a call for 'decomputing' to counteract harmful technopolitical dynamics and promote sustainability.
The author presents an opening statement to the Irish Parliament's joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence, arguing that AI undermines truth and democracy. They assert that AI's reliance on correlations rather than causal relat...
The talk 'Decomputing as Resistance' argues that contemporary AI technologies, particularly neural networks and transformer models, reveal systemic flaws in our socio-economic structures. The author proposes 'decomputing' as a cou...
The text discusses a panel on resisting Generative AI (GenAI) and Big Tech in higher education, emphasizing the limitations and dangers of AI technologies. It critiques AI as a 'bullshit engine' that undermines critical thinking a...
The abstract discusses the European University of Technology's webinar on digital transformation, critiquing the EU's vision of decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions. It argues that the reliance on AI is revealing its f...
The talk for the LOCOS seminar at the University of Glasgow focuses on low carbon computing and advocates for collective decision-making in the development of computational technologies. It critiques the unsustainable nature of cu...
The text is a seminar given at the Goldsmiths Centre for Philosophy and Critical Thought, discussing the impact of AI on higher education and the need for resistance. It explores the environmental, creative, and decolonial implica...
0Q&A: AI and Disability
2025-06-18 • technology healthcare disability education ai
The text is a Q&A about AI and disability, discussing the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI for disabled people. It highlights the negative impact of AI on disabled people and the potential misuse of AI in various areas.
Dan McQuillan, senior lecturer in critical AI at Goldsmiths, University of London, criticizes the U.K.'s AI strategy, expressing concerns about the impact of AI on jobs, the environment, and independent thought. He advocates for a...
The abstract outlines a research seminar at the Centre for Philosophy and Critical Thought, discussing the role of the contemporary university in resisting AI and the impact of generative AI on critical thinking and independent th...
The text is a summary of prompts prepared for a debate with staff from Anthropic about the ethical and social impacts of LLMs, especially in the context of the project at the Tate and Anthropic's push into education.
The chapter examines the impact of AI infrastructures on sustainable social and ecological relations, addressing issues such as energy demand, degradation of labor and social relations, and AI's failure to deliver on its claims. I...
Labour has published its 'AI Opportunities Action Plan' (The Plan) which is full of claims that AI is essential and inevitable, and urges the government to pour public money into the industry. The Plan emphasizes the need to scale...
The interview with Diyar Saraçoğlu discusses the political construction of artificial intelligence, the historical development of AI, algorithmic authoritarianism, AI's techno-social nature, data dependency, labor relations in AI ...
The article discusses Labour's 'AI Opportunities Action Plan' and criticizes its claims about AI, emphasizing the potential harm to people and the environment. It highlights the connection between the plan and the rise of the far ...
The chapter discusses the connection between generative AI, its demand for energy, and the alignment of insider ideologies with the far right in Silicon Valley. It argues that the scaling of AI's infrastructure leads to environmen...
0A Just Transition Means Resisting AI
2024-09-01 •
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The talk introduces the concept of 'decomputing' as a hybrid of decolonial and degrowth approaches, challenging the expansionism of scale that AI brings and advocating for computing within limits to address environmental and socia...
The chapter argues that education is at risk of being taken over by AI due to neoliberalism shaping it to be standardized and optimized, matching the values of machine learning. The adoption of AI in education will widen the gap b...
The article discusses the potential negative impact of AI on society, drawing parallels between the Post Office scandal and the potential for AI to create similar problems. It highlights the fallibility of AI, its potential for le...
0AI as Algorithmic Thatcherism
2023-12-21 •
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