Artificial intelligence as a means of production and monopoly

Introduction

In the modern digital age, artificial intelligence is one of the most influential innovations in the economy and society, as artificial intelligence is used in a wide range of applications, from improving productivity to changing ways of working. As the adoption of this technology increases, there is growing interest in how it affects various aspects of the production and reproduction of life.

The term artificial intelligence was coined in 1955 by American computer scientist John McCarthy as part of a request for funding to the Rockefeller Foundation for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence, a research project carried out in the summer of 1956 by a group of 20 people. Scientists studied the topic for about 8 weeks¹.

​​ Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that deals with intelligent behavior automation and machine learning. It is difficult to define this term mainly because there is no precise definition of intelligence, which makes the definition of artificial intelligence complex.

There are several attempts to define intelligence depending on the premise of dealing with it or benefiting from it, artificial intelligence is defined in industry, research and policy, either through the applications to be achieved or through its scientific basics:

"Artificial intelligence is the ability of an IT system to display intelligent​​ behaviour​​ that is 'human-like,'²" according tothe German association BTCOM and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. A Microsoft company defines "artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that complement and enhance human abilities to see, hear,​​ analyse, make decisions and act."³​​ On the other hand, the official website of the European Parliament defines "artificial intelligence as the ability of a machine to imitate human capabilities such as logical thinking, learning, planning and creativity."​​ ⁴

The importance of artificial intelligence is evident in its profound impact on how production processes work andare managed. AI is a key catalyst for structural​​ change in labor and production markets, raising questions about its potential impacts, with significant social, economic and​​ social impacts.

Digital Divide

On the economic front, the McKinsey report shows⁵​​ that AI could contribute to increasing global GDP by $13 trillion by 2030. For example, AI technologies can improve labor productivity and reduce costs, boosting profitability and boosting economic growth. On the other​​ hand, its​​ impact extends to automation on jobs and future job losses or the production of new jobs: about 800 million jobs are expected to be replaced by 2030, requiring strategies to train workers in new skills. For example, in manufacturing, robots may replace workers in production lines, affecting traditional jobs.

Artificial intelligence will also contribute to the widening of the economic and technological gap between rich and poor countries as it can increase productivity and reduce operational costs, which will boost the profits of large companies that can invest in this technology. This will widen the gap between rich countries that have the resources to invest in AI and poor countries that lack these resources.Its​​ ⁶​​ increased use could lead to traditional job losses due to automation, increasing unemployment among low-skilled workers in poor countries. At the same time, it is creating new high-skilled jobs in rich countries that have the necessary educational and technological infrastructure.​​ ⁷

The impact of artificial intelligence on production;​​ Increased productivity

​​ Reducing the cost of production and improving its efficiency is one of the most important uses of artificial intelligence, which will affect the nature of production in the future, as research has shown that artificial intelligence systems can lead to improving production efficiency by up to 40% in some industries. ​​ Siemens, for​​ 

example, used AI techniques to optimize manufacturing processes, reducing production time and increasing efficiency. ​​ 

Reducing the cost of production and improving its efficiency will also play an important role in competitiveness and in increasing profits. AI is expected to save more than $6 trillion annually for businesses by 2035 by improving production processes, which contributes to greater profits.

On the other hand, these profits will​​ pose a​​ social risk of job losses: about 14% of global jobs are expected to be replaced by 2030, requiring strategies to train workers in new skills. For example, the use of automation technologies in the automotive industry has replaced many traditional jobs. The use of robots in manufacturing or logistics to improve the efficiency of production processes.​​ 

Thus, the profit cycle will move the job cycle by dispensing with the traditional jobs with other jobs associated with the new production cycle, on the one hand it will threaten thousands of jobs with extinction and on the other hand it will open up prospects for more jobs.​​ 

The leaps achieved by artificial intelligence in various production processes​​ push large​​ companies to invest heavily in artificial intelligence to develop new products, and this is on the one hand, which enhances the support of innovation in this field and the race for global competitiveness, which in turn contributes to creating job opportunities to provide new technologies such as data analysis and machine learning. The need for data scientists and AI engineers has increased significantly due to the increasing reliance on data.

On the other hand, the ability to invest in this field needs a lot of money, and this is what constantly imposes the control of large companies over knowledge capital, as market data shows that about 10% of companies control 80% of the available data, giving them a strong competitive advantage. For example, companies like Google and Amazon​​ dominate the​​ market thanks to the availability and effective analysis of data and their ability to invest in this area, which can hinder new companies from entering the market.

Increasing innovation does not mean fairness at all, but innovation itself becomes a commodity subject to the monopoly of large companies, and this monopoly contributes to their increased competitiveness and the concentration and concentration of knowledge capital through the ingestion of small companies by large companies.​​ 

Data acquisition and data aggregation increase competition between big companies like Google and Facebook to collect data, affecting users' privacy. AI techniques are used to​​ analyse​​ users'​​ behaviour​​ and target ads based on their interests. From this​​ standpoint,​​ the policy of using data analysis aims to enhance user experience and increase sales. AI algorithms are used on e-commerce sites like eBay and Amazon to provide personalized recommendations to users based on their past purchases.

The monopoly of artificial intelligence can be attended in four main forms:

• Big tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Nvidia, control the development of AI by controlling models, training data, and apps. Companies have huge resources to develop advanced technologies quickly, making it difficult for small businesses to compete.⁸

• Vertical integration: Large companies seek to integrate themselves with providers of AI core components such as chips and data, as well as with providers of consumer products that use AI⁹. This can lead to increased market concentration and an increase in the gap between large and small businesses.

• Big data: Big companies like Google and Microsoft have huge amounts of data that they use to train AI models, giving them a significant competitive advantage over startups that may have a hard time getting enough data.¹⁰

• High training costs: Training advanced AI models requires enormous computational power and high costs, making it difficult for small businesses to get into the field.

These four forms can lead to the monopoly of artificial intelligence and to constrain innovation and increase economic inequality. Which poses a real challenge on the ​​ importance of promoting the ethics of using artificial intelligence, which is a central topic, where responsibility must be defined and transparency must be ensured as there must be transparency in how AI-powered systems are used. Lack of transparency can lead to distrust of these systems. In addition to the need to adhere to human rights principles to avoid potential harm. ​​ Countries must establish clear rules on the use of AI.​​ 

Communities collaborate to use AI responsibly for the benefit of all. The intelligent and ethical use of this technology can contribute to improving the quality of life, but this must be accompanied by an awareness of the potential shifts that may occur in the social and political structure.