‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies | AI (artificial intelligence)

‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies | AI (artificial intelligence)

‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies | AI (artificial intelligence)

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/24/cory-doctorow-on-elon-musk-ai-bubble-bosses-cruel-fantasies

Publish Date: 2026-06-24 05:00:00

Source Domain: www.theguardian.com

  • Reverse Centaur Concept: The term “reverse centaur” describes humans who are compelled to assist machines, including warehouse workers monitoring self-driving trucks and lawyers using AI to check legal precedents.

  • AI Hype and Reality: Cory Doctorow argues that claims about AI replacing human jobs are exaggerated; AI’s capabilities are overstated, and it doesn’t possess intentionality.

  • Investment Bubble: He warns of a significant investment bubble in AI worth $1.4 trillion, which echoes past financial bubbles resulting in economic downturns.

  • Class Dynamics and Automation: Doctorow believes the drive for AI partly stems from bosses’ desire to eliminate workers’ bargaining power, seeing AI as a tool to replace human labor entirely.

  • Market Irrationality: Likens the AI investment market to irrational financial behaviors, where belief in AI’s potential overshadows its practical limitations.

  • Cultural and Ethical Concerns: Highlights ethical issues with AI, like its role in generating inappropriate content, questioning the true motivations behind its investment surge.

  • Marxist Perspective: Discusses the fundamental conflict between labor and capital, emphasizing that despite potential value loss, capital will exploit labor.

  • Speculation on Billionaires’ Motives: Suggests that extreme wealth can lead to solipsism, affecting how billionaires like Elon Musk perceive the value of others.