Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolven
Sorry, I was clunky in my wording. I specifically trying to say that "fear of AI" is low priority. AI policies are a big deal and I agree that the NDP (and all of the parties) should really wrap their heads around how to handle it.
I am curious on the different approaches that people would support whether it is "pro-labour" or "populist":
- Pro-Labour might try to fight against AI in order to save jobs and when that fails, try and pump a lot of money into re-skilling people to get them into new jobs
- Populists might put less emphasis on saving jobs, admit that AI is coming whether we want it or not, and take steps to soften the blow to the people. Taxing AI agents as if they are workers is going to need to become a requirement and then using those tax dollars to stand up a UBI will be a big deal as more and more of the workforce gets laid off. Then, while the people are in the UBI safety net they can then focus on re-skilling to get back into the workforce.
The Liberal party's plan looks to be "support AI Development and investment" and "ensure monitoring of the impact of AI" and then a $15,000 upskilling benefit for workers but that might just be for people who are employed, not people who have been replaced by AI... I would say they have the corporatist approach locked in. I do not really see anything that helps people in their latest platform document. |
A "pro-labour" plan that tries to slow or block AI is pointless, though; you can't regulate automation out of existence, especially as it has already been around for decades in some form or another. The real labour position is what happens after the jobs go, ie: basic economic protection. If a company replaces a thousand workers with automation then it should pay into the same tax base those workers used to support, funding a real income floor for people who get displaced. How do you accomplish that? F-ck knows, but it's at least the start of a conversation that the other parties aren't having. An NDP with a real pro-labour stance could hammer on the Liberal plan as the classic corporatism it is, really. Cheer on AI adoption, monitor the fallout, hand out a small upskilling credit (ie: "welp, you're on your own now"). It does nothing for someone who already lost their job. Re-skilling will help a minority, but there will not be enough new roles to absorb everyone who gets replaced.
If the NDP wants relevance, they gotta be the ones sounding the alarm bells that the other parties aren't: Automation is coming fast, it will erase huge numbers of jobs, and -- as neither the Liberals nor Cons seem to have a sensible plan to address it -- their platform is to make sure workers don't get crushed by it.