Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT Jan 31st to Feb 4th, 2022 (pages 4711 to 4715)

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Sorflakne:
It never occurred to me that an AI could be automated away.  And now I have even more questions...

Torlek:
I'm also confused about the number of AIs in question here. "The assembly line is really the AI's body, so if they get laid off they're not just unemployed, they're disembodied." Are we talking third-person singular they or is the assembly line home to a collective of AIs?

If singular, how would a single entity unionize? There's no need for collective bargaining at the local level there.

If collective, what about AIs that don't want to join the union? If the union requires a closed shop, they're disembodied. If not, how do you delineate the boundaries between the union and non-union parts of the line? If the unionized parts of the line go on strike, are they holding the non-union parts of the line hostage and/or blocking them from work?

In either case, what right does(do) the AI(s) have to the assembly line equipment? Let's allow that they were probably put in place instead of paying human workers before AI emancipation and, once emancipation happened, the company was required to pay them. Most likely, embodiment via the assembly line could be considered a benefit of employment equivalent to health insurance or a retirement package. Has(have) the AI been required to pay the company rent? Electricity bill? Internet bill? If not, they're basically a (literally) digital squatter. And any equipment dealing with semiconductor production is EXPENSIVE.

Cornelius:
So, this means we finally move away from the principle that AI automatically owns their body?

BenRG:
I'm pretty sure that at least part of resolving this is getting someone to confront the level of precedent any union would set. I'm not sure about the legal ins and outs but can a workforce of one start a union, even if that one employee is controlling dozens of tools and other systems simultaneously? What price collective bargaining when the 'collective' is dozens of robot arms controlled by one mind?

I'm pretty sure that this is actually going to turn out to be about fair treatment. The AI at the chip factory is a living mind with, presumably, a need for down-time and non-work occupation to prevent mental and emotional decay. How are they treated though? Is the owner demanding the usual automated factory operation schedule of 23 hours/day with the hour for mechanical maintenance only? The AI needing a 'mandatory eight' recreation time to maintain their mental health would eat into profits quite considerably and I think that the unionisation is a precursor to a strike to try to get that right.

traroth:
Time to organize a massive strike, with demonstrations in the whole city!

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