Presented by Aaron CORTADO, Freelance Data Analyst and Multifaceted Industrial Expert,
 Silver City, New Mexico, U.S.A.

[LMGlobal.Org] The virtual panel titled “How Can We Prevent Harmful Consequences from ICTs, and Move Towards a Sustainable Future?”  was organized and presented by The Light Millennium Global through diverse multi-disciplined speakers from academia, NGOs/CSOs, experts, activists, private sector, and youth representatives on May 7, 2024. 
The panel has brought up to the surface both existing and potential harms of ICTs, along with recommendations for solutions. 
The concept was initially developed and proposed in connection with the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference‘s Theme #3, “Science, Technology and Innovation and Digital Cooperation“ in particular, with its ‘Technology and Innovation and Digital Cooperation” aspects, along with the theme #4, “Youth and Future Generations” since the youth populations are both the core users, and leaders of tomorrow, and being the leaders of today; shaping most ICT companies and related innovative technologies.
Via this panel and its outcome, LMGlobal.Org supports the #2024UNCSC & #WTISD (May 17).
The below speech was delivered by Aaron Cortado during the above-mentioned virtual panel on May 7, 2024.
PROGRAM & BIOS of the SPEAKERS
DESCRIPTION & CONCEPT

AI: A Manifestation of an Age Old Problem

“As the relentless march of technological progress accelerates and the demands for decisive action mount, it is imperative that we remain mindful of the profound influence we wield over the lives of those we advocate for and serve. The responsibility lies squarely upon us, for time is not a luxury we possess, unlike the centuries afforded for policy refinement in the wake of the printing press.”

When I was approached to participate in this panel, I was both honored and hesitant. For context, I studied to receive a Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health with an emphasis in Industrial Hygiene. Immediately after graduating, I began working in copper mining as a Health & Safety Specialist. Fast forward five years and I’m working at the same company in data analysis, process improvement, and leadership development among other skills that piqued my interest. But I never received any formal education on those subjects.

So… to read through the list of panelists and see so many accomplished masters of their craft, I was understandably hesitant. I really had to ask myself, “What do I bring to the table?” and to be quite honest, I’ll have to leave it up to all of you to decide if I brought a delicious dessert or a handful of toothpicks.

This is also a good analogy of my anxious thought process on the subject. I definitely didn’t want to be the third person to bring Jello and most certainly did not want to bring brisket to a salad party.

After a few nights of tossing and turning, I realized that I was never really asked to bring a dish. I was just asked to add a different cuisine to an already diverse table of food.

Well that makes it much easier. I’ll just cook a dish I’m passionate about.

Whether it takes the form of workplace safety, designing more intuitive data visualization, creating streamlined process, or developing leaders, my passion has always been to advocate for the working class. 

I’m confident that I can say the same for everyone here. You have all devoted significant time an effort honing yourselves to serve the people whose voices are, more often than not, washed out by profit margins, divisive rhetoric, and authoritarian force.

As I was thinking through the various impact A.I. could have on the working class, it kept coming back to scenarios that would limit the common person from being able to access and utilize A.I. or increase the ability for groups of privilege or high status to take advantage of the common person. After a few cycles of this, I settled on A.I. being just another tool; an effectiveness multiplier. In its current state, it only serves to amplify the effectiveness of the issues that we as a society have always been dealing with and if that’s the case, it could be argued that the root problems remain the same as it was during the time of A.I.’s distant ancestor; the printing press.

The printing press knocked down centuries worth of class segregation (Pettegree 2010) and it plummeted the cost to produce books and literature to the point where it was dramatically more available and more easily disseminated (Eisenstein 1982) (Lucien and Henri-Jean 1977) resulting in a huge debottleneck of the flow of information. But any time you remove a bottleneck from a process, new ones appear.

The increase in the production and distribution of ideas and information would also increase the amount of misinformation and propaganda spread, it still required society to make larger investments in developing literacy and educating the population to discern fact from fiction. I would also estimate an increase in the demand of ink, paper, and leather among other materials.

In response, European countries during the 15^th-17^th centuries enacted laws requiring licensing and registration requirements for printers, publishers and book sellers to solve the circulation of materials they believed to be misinformation or defamation resulting in an artificial bottleneck of information and a reduction in opportunities and freedoms for the working class. (Black 2002)

But the message here isn’t just that restrictions in A.I. will limit free speech. It is that as humans naturally innovate and remove bottlenecks to any process, new issues and limitations will arise and artificial bottlenecks put in place by a government, though their intent may be noble, could do more harm than good.

Similar practices not specifically related to the regulation of information can be seen in U.S. legislation. It could be argued that the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the War on Drugs are examples of U.S. legislation that were passed with the intent to solve for a symptom or group of symptoms but only exacerbated the root causes leading to unintended widening of socioeconomic disparity. (Long, et al. 2022) (The Global Commission on Drug Policy 2011)

Another example are zoning laws. The intent of zoning laws is to ensure that development expands sustainably, portions of land are used synergistically to the development as a whole and to stabilize property value. (Bassett 1922) However, requirements established through zoning laws may also drive up the price of land and housing in areas that have access to higher quality infrastructure or services like schools or grocery stores thus creating an entry barrier for the lower class. (Bower, et al. 2014) (Hanley 2023)

These are all examples of governments with the intent to solve a perceived or stated problem but creating or amplifying unintended divides between socioeconomic classes and though A.I. presents novel and unforeseen harm across many of the different levels of societal and individual contexts, our response through legislation could have the same or larger impact. 

With all of this in mind, this is not a statement claiming that A.I. cannot be responsibly governed nor is it meant to disregard or discount that the output speed and exponential development of A.I. is of major concern. In the 2016 book, “Weapons of Math Destruction”, the author Cathy O’Neil illustrates examples of how opaque and unregulated mathematical models are widening socioeconomic disparities. Understanding that these mathematical models were a stepping stone to A.I. and Large Language Models (LLM) leads me to estimate that A.I. would be capable of negatively impacting these socioeconomic disparities much more efficiently than its predecessor. 

However, Cathy also lays out what she believes is a good start to regulate these mathematical models sustainably. Cathy suggests regulation should “…begin with the modelers themselves. Like doctors, data scientists should pledge a Hippocratic Oath, one that focuses on the possible minuses and misinterpretations of their models…” among other approaches.

Another thing more unique to A.I. that I believe we can start doing now, in the same way we had to start teaching more people how to read, is to prioritize the widespread education of Prompt Engineering. Prompt Engineering is the process of guiding generative A.I. to produce desired outputs as well as how to discern the bias of “desired outputs” as they relate to the prompt.

As a very simple example of a type of prompt called “Text Summarization”, I asked ChatGPT to describe an apple. ChatGPT replied, “An apple is a fruit known for its round shape, typically with shades of red, green, or yellow, though there are many varieties with different colors and flavors. It has a smooth or slightly textured skin and is often crisp and juicy when fresh. Inside, it contains a fibrous core that houses seeds. Apples are commonly associated with a sweet or tart taste, depending on the variety, and they are a popular snack worldwide. They are also used in various culinary dishes, from pies and cakes to salads and sauces. Apples are not only delicious but also nutritious, containing vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, making them a healthy choice for many diets.”

Next, I asked ChatGPT to describe an apple in one sentence to which ChatGPT replied, “An apple is a crisp, juicy fruit with a smooth or slightly textured skin, available in a variety of colors and flavors, and often enjoyed as a snack or used in culinary dishes.”

But it’s not just the detail that matters. The answer will change based on the context you provide as well. Lastly, I asked ChatGPT to describe an apple through the perspective of a person lobbying against apples in one sentence. ChatGPT replied, “An apple, with its deceptive allure, hides a core of potential harm, promoting a false image of health while concealing the risks of pesticides and genetic modification.”

The ability to craft and understand the mechanics of prompts will be crucial as A.I. continues to become more prominent in our working-class lives.

In conclusion, as the relentless march of technological progress accelerates and the demands for decisive action mount, it is imperative that we remain mindful of the profound influence we wield over the lives of those we advocate for and serve. The responsibility lies squarely upon us, for time is not a luxury we possess, unlike the centuries afforded for policy refinement in the wake of the printing press.

Works Cited:

• Bassett, Edward M. 1922. Zoning. New York City: National Municipal League.
• Black, Jeremy. 2002. Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. London: Routledge.
• Bower, Kelly M., Roland J. Thorpe, Charles Rohde, and Darrell J. Gaskin. 2014. “The intersection of neighborhood racial segregation, poverty, and urbanicity and its impact on food store availability in the United States.” Preventative Medicine 33-39.
• Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. 1982. The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Hanley, Allison. 2023. “Rethinking Zoning to Increase Affordable Housing.” Journal of Housing & Community Development. 
• Long, Joe, Carlo Medici, Nancy Qian, and Marco Tabellini. 2022. “The Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act on the U.S. Economy.” Working Paper 53.
• Lucien, Febvre, and Martin Henri-Jean. 1977. “The Coming of the Book: The Impact of Printing, 1450-1800.” Journal of Social History 289-291.
• Pettegree, Andrew. 2010. The Book in the Renaissance. Yale University Press.
• The Global Commission on Drug Policy. 2011. The War on Drugs. https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/reports/the-war-on-drugs: The Global Commission on Drug Policy.

Special Thanks to: Prof. Olcay Ünver & Colby Howell

#2024UNCSC, #WTISD, #SOTF, #AaronCortado, #ICTsForCooperation, #ICTsForHumanAdvancement, ICTsForHumanRights, #ICTsForInclusion, #ICTsForPeace, #ICTsForSustainableFuture, #InnovateForProsperity, #TextSummarization, #LLM, Large Language Model, #lightmillennium, #LMGlobalOrg, #unverbircan, #UNWithCivilSociety

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