“Waiting for Robots: The Hired Hands of Automation”

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A recent financial advice column on MSN from The Motley Fool, included the following breathless assessment of the future of artificial intelligence: “With AI, software and systems are being empowered to reason, act and evolve, all without the need for human intervention.”  A CNN report from 2024 claimed that “AI is Replacing Human Tasks Faster Than You Think.”  Ever since the era of John Henry and the steam driver, industrialists have crowed about machines replacing human labor, opening up a future of leisure and prosperity.  But workers feel more exploited than ever.  Why does that day seem always to be some time in the future?  Just how autonomous are artificial intelligences any way?  These questions are the focus of the book “Waiting for Robots” by Antonio Casili, now out in English translation from the University of Chicago Press.  Casilli joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on February 24, 2025.

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