AI - Slavery Redesigned?

Many champions of democracy claim that education is the cradle wherein we build democracy. Except for brief, intermittent periods over the last 600 years or so, the world has remained divided into the haves and the have-nots. As long as we walk on the face of this earth no two humans will ever be considered equal. Equality of all humans is only in the democracy of the dead.

The difference in development between European countries and Afro Asian nations are the result of complex historical, geographical, political, and socio-economic factors. European colonial powers extracted wealth and resources from African and Asian countries, rendering them impoverished and underdeveloped whereas they accumulated wealth, and industrialized themselves, and built advanced institutions that benefited their economies While the Industrial Revolution led to massive economic growth, technological advancements, and societal changes in Europe, the African and Asian countries remained agrarian and continued to lack access to similar technological advancements. The accumulation of technological knowledge created lasting advantages for European economies but Afro Asian countries were denied access to these technological advancements during the colonial period. European countries historically invested more in education systems, resulting in higher literacy rates, a skilled workforce, and greater innovation. Africa and Asia, especially under colonial rule, had limited access to quality education for the majority of their populations resulting in poor development of human capital and overall societal well-being. Today we have a vast economic divide amongst all continents. While North America, including Canada, has a broadly estimated GDP per capita of USD 54,000, Europe has a per capita GDP of USD 34,000. Asia has USD 7,000 while Africa is at the bottom with USD 2,000 only.

In the field of education, engaging or not with AI no longer remains an option. It is being increasingly integrated into schools and colleges around the world to enhance education. AI-powered tools are being used for classroom and personalized learning, intelligent tutoring systems, automated grading and assessment, administrative work, and is integrated into learning management systems (LMS) to help instructors manage student progress better, and provide insights into their performance. AI tools, such as Zoom and Microsoft Team, enable virtual classrooms and online learning platforms to provide high-quality education remotely. AI assists students understand complex subjects better in STEM, by providing simulations, visualizations, and interactive problem-solving. The US, UK, Germany, China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and India are few examples where it is being used.

It is claimed by many, adept at manipulating ones and zeroes, and writing software, that AI will bring about digital equity. Yes, AI does have the capacity to bridge the digital divide, but only when certain conditions are fulfilled. How can AI bring about educational equity when thousands of schools and students lack access to regular electricity, not to talk of the internet and other digital infrastructure necessary to use AI-driven tools? In the US 28.5% public schools are classified as ‘rural’ whereas in India, for example, we have 1.234 million schools in the rural areas while only 254,000 schools are in towns and cities classified as ‘urban areas’. The Indian government’s criteria for defining an area as ‘urban’ is that it should have a population of not less than 5000 with a density of 400 persons per square kilometre, and that3.75 per cent of the workforce must be employed in the non- agriculture sector. Electricity supply across the country, with exception of very few large cities, is very unreliable. In large Indian cities, IT, or AI infrastructure varies widely from school to school. So, while a student in one school in Delhi may have access to advanced AI learning platforms, another student in the same city but in a different school may not have access to even a fraction of that of his counterpart. As AI adoption is typically faster in urban areas with better infrastructure, students in rural schools or in underdeveloped regions may fall further behind those in urban centres because of a lack of access to AI-enabled learning tools. The digital divide is also impacted by economic disparity amongst students. Higher the student’s family’s paying status, the better school he attends, and better the school, more the facilities at his disposal. Thus, we have a multi-tiered education system, where wealthier students in better-funded schools benefit from AI-driven personalized learning and resource management, while students in low-income schools remain stuck with outdated educational methods. With more than 2.6 billion people worldwide currently without basic internet access, how can we expect AI to bridge the existing equity gaps in education in the persistent presence of such issues? It will only exacerbate the existing divide, where students with means and resources will continue to benefit from AI, while the have-nots will be ultimately trapped into economic slavery.

The latest and the best technology shall be rendered junk if teachers do not use, or are unable to use it. AI, esp. Gen AI is data driven. Not only the data needs to be relevant and contextual, it has to be accurate too. Tools and models for use in a specific country must be devised with educational content that addresses its specific needs or learning styles. An AI tutoring platform developed for U.K. may not be suitable for students in India, or Africa, due to differences in curriculum, cultural context, and available resources. Hence, customization shall have to be given due priority before deploying AI tools in education. One size fits all will not do.

Lack of quality teachers, absenteeism and poor remuneration, poor infrastructure, lack of electricity, and inaccessibility to learning tools contribute to low productivity on part of the teachers. AI requires teachers to have digital literacy and training to use AI tools effectively in the classroom. Teachers in under-resourced schools or in underdeveloped regions are AI-untrained, or may not have access to adequate training; they may not be able to effectively leverage AI for their students. So, while teachers in wealthier countries and cities with access to professional development on AI–powered learning management systems may be in a position to enhance their teaching with AI tools, how will the teachers manage in poorer or rural areas with no access to such tools or training?

While AI holds within itself the capability to boost productivity and create new job opportunities, it also carries within itself the power to displace millions of workers in vulnerable sectors and regions especially if its adoption and impact on labour markets is not carefully managed. These inequalities can manifest in various ways, including between different skill levels, industries, regions, and countries. AI adoption is high in advanced economies that have the infrastructure, education systems, and capital to develop and implement AI technologies. Developing countries, relying on labour intensive industries, and being without the capacity to benefit from new AI-driven industries, will face job losses. Similarly, developed countries will benefit through growth in high-tech industries while developing and underdeveloped countries will enter significant unemployment phase in sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries. Already, we see countries like the U.S., China, and Germany leading the AI revolution and benefiting from economic growth in AI-driven sectors. Countries in geographical regions like the sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia that depend on cheap manual labour will face widespread unemployment in key industries because the existing workforce will not only be rendered redundant, but also left without the ability to re-skill themselves, or develop alternative industries. Africa and Asia have a large workforce in what we refer to as the ‘unorganized sector’ which includes street vendors, cottage industry workers, and manual labourers. Small-scale farmers and farm workers will be acutely affected by AI and automation which will drastically reduce the need for manual labour. These jobs are often more vulnerable to AI and automation. Even in developed countries with AI enabled work force, job growth will be concentrated in urban tech hubs where there is access to infrastructure, education, and investment. Rural areas, relying more on traditional industries, could face greater job displacement with fewer opportunities to benefit from AI-driven growth. This may result in a widening urban-rural divide, where rural areas may stand to face widespread unemployment, economic stagnation or decline. It could also result in mass migration, from smaller towns and cities to the urban centres, and bring with it many other implications and affects.

The affect of AI does not stop above. While AI will increase the demand for workers with specialized skills in technology, data science, and engineering, access to quality education and re-skilling opportunities will not be evenly distributed across countries or socioeconomic groups. Those in regions with poor educational infrastructure or those who cannot afford advanced education may be left behind, exacerbating educational and income inequalities. While workers in wealthier countries or urban areas may have access to online courses and re-skilling programmes, those in rural or developing regions or countries may not be that fortunate, and thus, will deepen the digital divide.

David Edwards, the General Secretary of Education International, a global teachers' union that has about 383 member organizations across 178 countries, claims he is “not so worried” about the technology replacing the world’s teachers. A report pertaining to the impact of AI on education by World Economic Forum says that teachers must remain at the centre of education systems aided by AI, rather than replaced by it. The use of the ‘must’ is perplexing, and gives rise to doubts in my mind. The billions of dollars, and mind you, these figures are rising by the day, being invested by investors in AI will have to bring in adequate returns to them. This may be only through for mass deployment of AI models, tools, humanoids, to be used in school classrooms. How can one expect that teachers will remain unaffected?

The global artificial intelligence (AI) market size was an estimated USD 538.13 billion in 2023, calculated at USD 638.23 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 3,680.47 billion by 2034. The United States remains at the forefront of AI. Google, Intel Capital, Meta, Microsoft, IBM Watson, Amazon-AWS, Accel-Partners, Nvidia, Micron Technology, and Open AI (to name just a few) are all US –based tech giants.

Given below is an approximation of the investment for the period 2019-2023 by European and American AI companies and institutions.

United States: $328.5 billion

United Kingdom: $25.5 billion

Germany: $14.3 billion

Canada: $5.82 billion

These investments are a combination of government funding, private sector commitments, and public-private partnerships aimed at advancing AI research, development, and commercialization across different sectors. That no sector of the economy is being spared gives us a likely picture of the future.

Modern slavery is the domination and exploitation of an individual, or a society, or a country, for economic or political gain. Whether by trick, coercion, or force, they lose their freedom, and are no longer able to exercise their rights, or use the national resources for themselves. If man’s greed for power and domination is the motivation, then progressively increasing economic strength, which AI is expected to provide, shall be used as the tool for domination.

Is technology, or AI, going to become a new tool for subjugating humanity?