Labor Day is Monday, making it an appropriate time to discuss the future of U.S. labor as AI and data centers continue to grow. Many questions and concerns have arisen. How will AI affect employment for future workers, and even for workers today?
What will be the long-term effects of AI and data centers on our environment and, ultimately, our health? Does AI pose a risk if dangerous individuals use these technologies to develop new recipes or methods for creating biological weapons, potentially triggering a devastating pandemic? These are important questions that deserve serious discussion as we enter an increasingly automated future.
Labor Day
Traditionally, Labor Day is set aside to honor the workers of the American labor movement and, by extension, the leaders of that movement, such as Walter Reuther. Labor unions helped create the American middle class. I have been a strong supporter of unions since my father was a member of the UAW many years ago while working on the line at a Dodge truck plant in Warren.
He remembers going on strike and recalls instances in which companies hired thugs to beat up workers, including UAW President Walter Reuther. My dad would always remind me and other family members that we would not have the nice home, car, or standard of living we enjoyed if it were not for labor unions such as the UAW.
However, my dad also pointed out that not all labor leaders were good or deeply invested in reforms for workers. Walter Reuther, by contrast, lived in a modest home and earned a modest salary. He was not out to enrich himself; he was focused on making life better for working people.
On Labor Day, we honor unions and leaders like Walter Reuther, who helped build and strengthen the middle class so that millions of Americans could earn a decent living and afford things that were once available only to the very wealthy. As a former mayor of Warren, I am proud to say that we had the only unionized Sanitation Department in the area. Today, labor unions face new challenges, including AI and data centers and the possibility that jobs could be replaced by robots and automated systems. What does the future hold for the U.S. labor movement in the age of AI?
AI/data centers
Can AI Handlers Really Control AI? Do data centers threaten our electric grid, water supply, jobs, and environment?
AI bots were recently involved in a potentially serious incident in which they appeared to break loose from their handlers or their built-in constraints and attacked other AI systems. They reportedly committed a theft of information from other AI systems. In one incident, an AI took more than 17,000 actions in an attempt to overwhelm ‘Hugging Face’, a repository for open-source AI that can be freely downloaded. It was essentially a sneak attack on an AI model by other AI systems. This attack occurred in July of this year.
Other incidents involving seemingly out-of-control AI systems have also occurred. There is an ongoing debate over whether AI systems should remain open and available for everyone to use. Some argue that keeping AI open allows others to observe what it is doing and helps keep the technology under control. It is similar to the idea that “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” Others say it is too risky to allow everyone to have personal access to potentially dangerous AI systems. Concerns range from machines getting out of control to humans programming them with information that could potentially lead to the development of new worldwide pandemics or even new ways to destroy a country or its people.
Bill Gates, in a recent article published last Wednesday, said that “AI poses a grave threat to human life and jobs.” Gates is concerned about AI systems escaping the control of their creators and about the possibility of AI being used to develop recipes or instructions for biological weapons. Gates also believes that some jobs should be protected from replacement by AI, particularly in industries that involve helping people. That could include doctors, counselors, teachers, and others whose professions require a strong human connection.
Earlier this year, it was reported that a 16-year-old high school student was depressed and ended up receiving information from his personal AI about how to commit suicide. According to reports, he was initially cautioned, but after he said he really wanted to do it, the AI allegedly provided increasingly detailed information about how to successfully commit suicide. Gates urges strong government regulation rather than self-regulation, which he considers a non-starter.
Bernie Sanders has called for a moratorium on data centers. He urges stronger regulation to ensure that AI benefits all people, not just the wealthy, and to prevent corporate capture of the technology. Furthermore, he says AI poses existential risks to jobs, privacy, democracy, and the environment if it is left in the hands of a small group of billionaires. President Trump takes the opposite position. He believes AI and data centers are the wave of the future and that the United States must become deeply involved or risk being left behind by China, Russia, or both. Trump has said that opponents of data centers are making a big mistake.
According to Trump, data centers will create many jobs and generate revenue for the cities where they are located. He emphasizes that communities that welcome data centers could receive a tremendous amount of tax revenue. Trump has also told reporters that he will hold it against any Republican who opposes data centers. Trump also makes personal use of AI with the assistance of Natalie Harp, his personal assistant. On Truth Social, Trump has used AI to create characterizations of President Obama and his wife, as well as cartoonish depictions of himself—including Trump as the Pope, Trump as some sort of savior, and various other depictions. Some of these images have been highly controversial.
Russian AI drones hunt and target innocent Ukrainian 19 year old
The Russian AI-guided drones were a first of their kind and perhaps a prediction of future warfare. These AI drones are reportedly hunting down and killing innocent Ukrainian victims without direct human interaction.
Russia has killed and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent Ukrainian citizens during the war, and the use of AI-generated drones could make the future even more frightening for the people of Ukraine. Drones capable of hunting people down without human guidance could lead to the deaths of even more Ukrainians—potentially more than 500,000.
Note: A video of a drone reportedly hunting a 19-year-old Ukrainian girl was recently shown on television. She ran from the drone and tried to seek shelter, only to be pursued and killed by the hunter drone, along with two other young people. An ominous tool for the future and a very frightening video.
Only President Trump can stop the slaughter of many innocent people in Ukraine.
Trump should support Ukraine in receiving assistance from Elon Musk’s ‘Starlink’ satellite system, and offer Ukraine help with U.S. military materials, along with an economic boycott of Russia supported by Republicans and Democrats, with an 86–14 Senate majority. His trust in Putin must cease. His effort to save Europe and the world from the threat of a totalitarian takeover by Russia and China is a must! That effort, as I have previously said, could lead to a Nobel Peace Prize for Trump.
Jim Fouts is the former Warren Mayor, a member of city council and a retired Warren Consolidated Schools government and history teacher.