Barnsley rebranded UK’s first ‘tech town’ as US giants join AI push
www.theguardian.com
Minister announces Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe to help apply AI to local schools, hospitals, GPs and businesses
  • MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com
    17·
    3 days ago

    This should really go without saying, but the government should not allow, much less endorse, companies experimenting on their citizens. I’m pretty sure the government should protect people from corporations, not feed people to them.

    the hospital will test AI tools for check-ins, triage and outpatient care and AI will be tested in schools and at Barnsley College, all in an effort to improve pupils’ results and teachers’ workloads

    AI has no place in these settings, certainly not yet. Why do you even need AI for checking in? This is extremely sad to see, and I highly recommend reading the whole article. There’s a nursing and teacher shortage in the UK. Why not bolster those programs instead? I understand wanting to give your community options, but I certainly don’t want to hire someone who thinks asking AI to do their work for them is a life skill. I do see people hiring for positions that use AI, but you have to know how to do their job first. Why not focus on that?

        • AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.netEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          As someone who grew up down the road from Barnsley, I often semi-affectionately describe it as a bit of a shithole. The poor socioeconomic conditions mean that growing up there makes you feel hopeless about your future. You internalise the idea that you either have to escape to somewhere with better prospects, or resign yourself to being left behind, like you’re the unpleasant gritty bits at the bottom of a drink.

          I’d wager that this is why they’ve chosen Barnsley for this. It’s like the metropolitan equivalent of a wealthy bastard predating upon a desperate woman who can’t afford her bills. I’d wager that some of the local officials involved in this decision believe that AI is bad, but that some investment in the area is better than nothing. Unfortunately, I’m fairly sure that’s wrong. Rolling out AI into the areas they’re planning to will just increase workload for the already overstressed humans in those fields, which may be worsened if some of those lose their jobs due to the overpromised savings from the AI.

  • DFX4509B@lemmy.wtfEnglish
    16·
    3 days ago

    Fuck that, we trying to bring back mining-era company towns that will inevitably fail now?

    I hope people like having a ‘New Appalachia,’ because the situation in Appalachia is exactly what happens when company towns go under.