Idiocracy is now a dated movie in its use of biased, stereotyped language and norms, but its broader warning still resonates. Our world is heading towards a society reminiscent of the technology-dependent, corporate-dominated world of Idiocracy, where our increasing reliance on AI could lead to a society that becomes less educated, less social, and less healthy, which is quite worrying.
AI may be as unfair as automated phone systems that often ignore groups like the elderly, Southerners, non-standard accents, speech disabilities, children, and non-Western European accents, excluding many from benefits. Even if it understands you, it only hears preset “secret” key phrases, not our real intent. Play by the secret rules or be hung up on. Do not ask for a “representative.”
In the movie, the main character (Luke Wilson) is suddenly transported to the future, where having a national ID tattoo is essential for everyday life—without it, survival isn’t possible. When he is given his ID tattoo, he experiences his first encounter with an AI system failure. As his tattoo is being printed, the system asks a series of preset questions without understanding the context, resulting in his being permanently identified as Not Sure. For the rest of his life, he is now named Not Sure.
As silly as the movie makes Not Sure’s experience, the real-life implications of what AI can do outside of employment are jarring.
AI is already unreliable and not sure with health readings. Pulse oximeters can distort or may not deliver the blood oxygen or heart rate readings on dark skin. AI is not sure what to do with non-European-sized humans. Flawed BMI algorithms that categorize Black and Brown folks as overweight, closing the door on medical interventions, health care, and fertility options. Health Insurance and Government AI systems are unsure what to do with more than two genders or more than one race, which could affect voting, census, Social Security, marriage, immigration status, education, and health care. AI systems that scan environments for criminal investigations cannot be sure about darker-skinned individuals or women because they are based on data of White males.
I am sure I do not want an AI system so powerful that it decides:
- If I can be educated.
- What I can read and what history I can learn.
- If I can be recognized as an equal human or if I can vote.
- If I can adopt or marry.
- If I am a criminal or if I can get justice.
- Where and how I can live.
- What quality of life and how long I can live.
- How much money I can make, save, borrow, invest, and retire with.
- If I can have preventive or necessary healthcare.
- If I have a pulse.
AI is a system built from data input by low-paid, educated “ghost workers” who are being exploited to feed the AI industry machine. They spend hours feeding AI crowd-sourced data, which ultimately produces biased information. AI is not a thinking, creating machine; it is, in essence, a crowdsourcing machine built on human inputs.
AI is a system that accommodates some while perpetuating a new form of segregation. We need to be clear: we have an inequitable AI system. And we continue to surrender more of our thinking and decision-making to it. We are in an “idiocracy.”
Once again, a population of people will be cut out of voting, healthcare, education, criminal justice, and economic improvement, all because we are rushing towards a system that refuses to accommodate everyone and because we are “not sure” how to fix it. What are we doing? I am just not sure we know yet. AI is not just an issue about jobs and banking; it is a very real issue that will impact life. Before we dive further in, we need to be sure we are building systems that are truly inclusive and equitable.
About the Author
Femina Ajayi-Hackworth, is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Consultant. She is an experienced leader who uses evidence-based practices to strategically integrate the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion into complex multi-layered systems. For almost 20 years, Femina excels in creating and presenting educational DEI Training. Femina uses best practices and maintains extensive knowledge of current events, equity, recruitment, community outreach, and retention issues which she incorporates into her work. She is a Certified Affirmative Action Professional, CAAP level.
