@GeofCox@climatejustice.social
2026-09-27 06:56 UTC
An AI executive's description of their business as "the largest theft of labour in human history" prompts comparisons with slavery - but it occurs to me that this comparison might run deeper than they realise.
David Olusoga's new BBC series 'Finding Britain’s Slave Traders' takes an interesting approach - instead of focusing on the brutality and racism at the sharp end of the slave trade, it shows us the documents, houses and peaceful private lives of those that invested in the business of slavery, and made huge fortunes out of it.
With AI, we tend to focus on the actions of the tech broligarchy - exploitation at the sharp end - and forget its other indispensable driver: investors seeking to maximise returns, the amorality of capital.
Replies (3)
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@necne@todon.eu 2026-09-27 07:27
@GeofCox@climatejustice.social oh, but surely, the market stimulates the rational allocation of resources :-(
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@riggbeck@mastodon.social 2026-09-27 07:36
@GeofCox@climatejustice.social He did something like this in an earlier programme, analyzing the register of slave owners who were paid compensation as a result of the 1833 act. Many were middle class people, owning maybe one or two slaves at a distance, as a sort of pension fund. Looking forward to watching the new series. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002zkrm/finding-britains-slave-traders-with-david-olusoga
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@MokhtarStork@zirk.us 2026-09-27 07:45
@GeofCox@climatejustice.social Really good...