Latest news with #ThomasUrbain
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
US labor unions fight to contain AI disruption
By Thomas Urbain New York: As artificial intelligence threatens to upend entire sectors of the economy, American labor unions are scrambling to protect workers, demand corporate transparency, and rally political support-an uphill battle in a rapidly changing world. "As laborers, the ability to withhold our labor is one of our only tools to improve our lives," explained Aaron Novik, a key organizer with Amazon's ALU union. "What happens when that disappears (to AI)? It's a real existential issue," he added. Automation has already transformed most industries since the 1960s, typically reducing workforce numbers in the process. But the emergence of advanced "physical AI" promises a new generation of intelligent robots that won't be limited to repetitive tasks -- potentially displacing far more blue-collar workers than ever before. The threat extends beyond manufacturing. The CEO of Anthropic, which created Claude as a competitor to ChatGPT, warned last week that generative AI could eliminate half of all low-skilled white-collar jobs, potentially driving unemployment rates up to 10-20 percent. "The potential displacement of workers and elimination of jobs is a significant concern not just for our members, but for the public in general," said Peter Finn of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, America's largest union. Vetoes The Teamsters have focused their efforts on passing legislation limiting the spread of automation, but face significant political obstacles. California's governor has twice vetoed bills that would ban autonomous trucks from public roads, despite intense lobbying from the state's hundreds of thousands of union members. Colorado's governor followed suit last week, and similar battles are playing out in Indiana, Maryland, and other states. At the federal level, the landscape shifted dramatically with the change in the White House. Under former president Joe Biden, the Department of Labor issued guidelines encouraging companies to be transparent about AI use, involve workers in strategic decisions, and support employees whose jobs face elimination. But US President Donald Trump canceled the protections within hours of taking office in January. "Now it's clear. They want to fully open up AI without the safeguards that are necessary to ensure workers' rights and protections at work," said HeeWon Brindle-Khym of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which represents workers in the retail sector. Rush to AI Meanwhile, companies are racing to implement AI technologies, often with poor results. "By fear of missing out on innovations, there's been a real push (to release AI products)," observed Dan Reynolds of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The CWA has taken a proactive approach, publishing a comprehensive guide for members that urges negotiators to include AI provisions in all collective bargaining agreements. The union is also developing educational toolkits to help workers understand and negotiate around AI implementation. A handful of unions have successfully negotiated AI protections into their contracts. Notable examples include agreements with media company Ziff Davis (which owns Mashable) and video game publisher ZeniMax Studios, a Microsoft subsidiary. The most significant victories belong to two powerful unions: the International Longshoremen's Association, representing dock workers, secured a moratorium on full automation of certain port operations, while the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) won guarantees that actors must be consulted and compensated whenever their AI likeness is created. These successes remain exceptional, however. The American labor movement, as a whole, lacks the bargaining power enjoyed by those highly strategic or publicly visible sectors, said Brindle-Khym. "Smaller contract-by-contract improvements are a long, slow process," she added. Despite frequent accusations by corporate interests, the unions' goal isn't to halt technological progress entirely. "Workers are usually not seeking to stop the march of technology," noted Virginia Doellgast, a Cornell University professor specializing in labor relations. "They just want to have some control." As AI continues its rapid advance, the question remains whether unions can adapt quickly enough to protect workers in an economy increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
US labor unions fight to contain AI disruption
By Thomas Urbain New York: As artificial intelligence threatens to upend entire sectors of the economy, American labor unions are scrambling to protect workers, demand corporate transparency, and rally political support-an uphill battle in a rapidly changing world. "As laborers, the ability to withhold our labor is one of our only tools to improve our lives," explained Aaron Novik, a key organizer with Amazon's ALU union. "What happens when that disappears (to AI)? It's a real existential issue," he added. Automation has already transformed most industries since the 1960s, typically reducing workforce numbers in the process. But the emergence of advanced "physical AI" promises a new generation of intelligent robots that won't be limited to repetitive tasks -- potentially displacing far more blue-collar workers than ever before. The threat extends beyond manufacturing. The CEO of Anthropic, which created Claude as a competitor to ChatGPT, warned last week that generative AI could eliminate half of all low-skilled white-collar jobs, potentially driving unemployment rates up to 10-20 percent. "The potential displacement of workers and elimination of jobs is a significant concern not just for our members, but for the public in general," said Peter Finn of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters , America's largest union. Vetoes The Teamsters have focused their efforts on passing legislation limiting the spread of automation, but face significant political obstacles. California's governor has twice vetoed bills that would ban autonomous trucks from public roads, despite intense lobbying from the state's hundreds of thousands of union members. Colorado's governor followed suit last week, and similar battles are playing out in Indiana, Maryland, and other states. At the federal level, the landscape shifted dramatically with the change in the White House. Under former president Joe Biden, the Department of Labor issued guidelines encouraging companies to be transparent about AI use, involve workers in strategic decisions, and support employees whose jobs face elimination. But US President Donald Trump canceled the protections within hours of taking office in January. "Now it's clear. They want to fully open up AI without the safeguards that are necessary to ensure workers' rights and protections at work," said HeeWon Brindle-Khym of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which represents workers in the retail sector. Rush to AI Meanwhile, companies are racing to implement AI technologies, often with poor results. "By fear of missing out on innovations, there's been a real push (to release AI products)," observed Dan Reynolds of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The CWA has taken a proactive approach, publishing a comprehensive guide for members that urges negotiators to include AI provisions in all collective bargaining agreements. The union is also developing educational toolkits to help workers understand and negotiate around AI implementation. A handful of unions have successfully negotiated AI protections into their contracts. Notable examples include agreements with media company Ziff Davis (which owns Mashable) and video game publisher ZeniMax Studios, a Microsoft subsidiary. The most significant victories belong to two powerful unions: the International Longshoremen's Association, representing dock workers, secured a moratorium on full automation of certain port operations, while the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) won guarantees that actors must be consulted and compensated whenever their AI likeness is created. These successes remain exceptional, however. The American labor movement, as a whole, lacks the bargaining power enjoyed by those highly strategic or publicly visible sectors, said Brindle-Khym. "Smaller contract-by-contract improvements are a long, slow process," she added. Despite frequent accusations by corporate interests, the unions' goal isn't to halt technological progress entirely. "Workers are usually not seeking to stop the march of technology," noted Virginia Doellgast, a Cornell University professor specializing in labor relations. "They just want to have some control." As AI continues its rapid advance, the question remains whether unions can adapt quickly enough to protect workers in an economy increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Google makes case for keeping Chrome browser
By Thomas Urbain , AFP Photo: AFP / Anadolu Agency Google has urged a US judge to reject the notion of making it spin off its Chrome browser to weaken its dominance in online search. Rival attorneys made their final arguments on Friday (local time), before US District Court Judge Amit Mehta, who is considering imposing "remedies", after a landmark decision last year that Google maintained an illegal monopoly in search . US government attorneys have called on Mehta to order Google to divest itself of Chrome browser, contending that artificial intelligence is poised to ramp up the tech giant's dominance as the go-to window into the internet. They also want Google barred from agreements with partners like Apple and Samsung to distribute its search tools, which was the focus of the suit against the Silicon Valley internet giant. Three weeks of testimony ended early in May, with Friday devoted to rival sides parsing points of law and making their arguments before Mehta in a Washington courtroom. John Schmidtlein, an attorney for Google, told Mehta no evidence was presented showing people would have opted for a different search engine without the exclusivity deals in place. Schmidtlein noted that Verizon installed Chrome on smartphones, even though the US telecom titan owned Yahoo! search engine and was not bound by a contract with Google. Of the 100 or so witnesses heard at trial, not one said "if I had more flexibility, I would have installed Bing" search engine from Microsoft, the Google attorney told the judge. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney David Dahlquist countered that Apple, which was paid billions of dollars to make Chrome the default browser on iPhones, "repeatedly asked for more flexibility", but was denied by Google. Google contends that the US has gone way beyond the scope of the suit by recommending a spinoff of Chrome and holding open the option to force a sale of its Android mobile operating system. "Forcing the sale of Chrome or banning default agreements wouldn't foster competition," said Cato Institute senior fellow in technology policy Jennifer Huddleston. "It would hobble innovation, hurt smaller players and leave users with worse products." Google attorney Schmidtlein noted that more than 80 percent of Chrome users are outside the US, meaning divestiture would have global ramifications. "Any divested Chrome would be a shadow of the current Chrome," he contended. "Once we are in that world, I don't see how you can say anybody is better off." The potential of Chrome being weakened or spun off comes as rivals like Microsoft, ChatGPT and Perplexity put generative artificial intelligence (AI) to work, fetching information from the internet in response to user queries. The online search antitrust suit was filed against Google some five years ago, before ChatGPT made its debut, triggering AI fervour. Google is among the tech companies investing heavily to be a leader in AI, and is weaving the technology into search and other online offerings. Testimony at trial included Apple Vice President of Services, Eddy Cue, revealing that Google's search traffic on Apple devices declined in April for the first time in more than two decades. Cue testified that Google was losing ground to AI alternatives like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Mehta pressed rival attorneys regarding the potential for Google to share data as proposed by the DOJ in its recommended remedies. "We're not looking to kneecap Google, but we are looking to make sure someone can compete with Google," DOJ attorney Adam Severt told the judge. Schmidtlein contended that data Google is being asked to share contains more than just information about people's online searches, saying it would be tantamount to handing over the fruit of investments made over the course of decades. "There are countless algorithms that Google engineers have invented that have nothing to do with click and query data," Schmidtlein said. "Their remedy said we want to be on par with all of your ingenuity and, respectfully your honour, that is not proportional to the conduct of this case." - AFP
