“Ask ChatGPT”: Generative Artificial Intelligences in Digital Capitalism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24215/26183188e142Keywords:
Generative Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models, digital capitalism, technologyAbstract
This article analyzes the structural characteristics of Generative Artificial Intelligences. Economically, they are developed for profit, which conditions their other features: they are sustained by the unpaid appropriation of collective knowledge and generate productivity gains whose appropriation must be discussed. Philosophically, they challenge the notion of what it means to be human by producing effects that were previously exclusive to humans, such as making decisions, acting, or creating narratives. They also appeal to emotions: they imitate and manipulate affections, generate trust by not passing judgement on users, offer unlimited attention, and confirm prior expectations. They present errors and hallucinations, opacity in their processes, and a lack of signals that distinguish whether or not a digital good was produced by humans. The article concludes with a call for a policy to decommodify these technologies.
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