Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages
Source: The Verge
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One of the major issues workers are walking out over is how generative AI will be used at ProPublica — and disclosed to audiences — going forward. Many newsroom unions are negotiating AI language in contracts for the first time since tools have become widely accessible in the last few years. ProPublica management recently introduced an AI policy, which Mark Olalde, a member of the bargaining committee, described as “unilateral implementation.” The NewsGuild, which represents ProPublica staff, filed an unfair labor practice charge earlier this week over the implementation of the policy.
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ProPublica staff have varying opinions on AI in the workforce, Campbell says. (The union represents both editorial staff like reporters and editors as well as staff working in development and product.) Some staff see AI as a way to automate tedious tasks, freeing up their time to work on bigger things.
“I think that there are times when it can be very ethically, fairly, and accurately used as a tool, but when it starts to replace work that humans do and core functions that can be done better by humans, I think that’s kind of the thing that some folks are struggling with,” Campbell says.
Above all, workers want protections against layoffs as a result of AI, and for workers to have input into the use of these tools as the industry and technology evolves. The union also wants public disclosures when AI is used to produce stories.
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Read more: https://www.theverge.com/news/908401/propublica-union-strike-negotiations-ai-layoffs
This is a 24-hour strike, and the union is asking union supporters not to read ProPublica stories during this time.
I do need to point out that union member Katie Campbell is wrong when she says there are times when AI "can be very ethically, fairly, and accurately used as a tool." That might be true of some types of AI, but NOT of generative AI, the type they're talking about here.
Because generative AI models are illegally trained on datasets of stolen intellectual property, using them is never ethical. It might be ignorant usage, if the user is unaware genAI tools are built on theft. It might be AI usage under duress, if someone is forced to use AI by their school or employer. But voluntary AI usage by someone aware of how the AI models were trained is never ethical. It always shows someone has decided that the worldwide theft of IP that is the only reason these tools work isn't worth being concerned about.
That theft is every bit as much an important issue as the threat of people being laid off because of AI. Both these issues result from the AI industry being fundamentally unethical and exploitative.
I saw Bluesky users give the correct, and very angry, response to a teachers union head who unthinkingly posted AI slop as "fun" on Christmas morning:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220895856
Until we have genAI models that have been trained only on intellectual property the AI companies had a legal right to use, no union member or supporter of unions should suggest that genAI use is ethical.
Campbell also said AI can be accurately used, which was another error considering AI hallucinates so much it's always necessary to check for errors. But her suggesting it can be ethically used is a bigger problem.
Over the years I've belonged to two different unions for government workers, and a professional organization, all created to protect workers. Worker solidarity is important. And with generative AI so harmful, it's important that the people whose work was stolen by robber barons to train the AI never be forgotten. Even if your immediate concern is possible layoffs because of AI. Many of the people whose IP was stolen to train the AI have already suffered greatly because of that theft, and I've met some who sounded suicidal at times. No one should ever ignore how they were exploited and harmed.
I wish those workers striking today success in their negotiations. The fight against AI and AI companies is an existential fight for humanity.
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