‘Context’ is my comfort word. Thinking about resistance to AI it’s become almost a mantra – any question, no matter the forum or the voice, can be answered with ‘it depends on the context’.
Sometimes it feels like a cop out, an evasion designed to obscure an absence of concrete suggestions for resistance. Certainly I’m slowly learning to catch it before it leaves my mouth and replace it with at least some kind of practical action that can be taken in opposition to AI mobilisations. Some kind of assertive statement that offers a first, tangible step towards rejecting harmful technologies.
In truth though ‘context’ is King, especially when it comes to everyday resistance.
Granted, within my research and communal context there are certain things that can be pointed to as to some degree universal. Switching away from big tech platforms is one thing, denying them the money and data (or easy access to it) that allows for the ongoing push for more AI in everything. Lying is another, never knowingly feeding the machine parts of yourself unless it’s inescapable. But even those things are opportunist, reliant on the freedom to act beyond the sight of bosses or while dealing with a state that increasingly views surveillance as right and obscurity as sin. I can lie to Tescos about my name, I can’t lie to the DWP for Universal Credit – I can refuse to use AI despite institutional pressure at work, I can’t escape the platforms they’ve locked us into. Which isn’t to devalue the attempt, it’s still worth looking for the spaces where we can make those choices but still, context rings out again, how much any of us can do is confined by the levels of freedom, privilege even, we can practice at any given time.
So, how can that totemic word be re-framed to be practically useful rather than just observational? That’s something I’m still struggling with. Saying context isn’t supposed to be dismal or dismissive, it certainly doesn’t seem that way to me. From my perspective it’s a beautiful thing even, it speaks to endless potentials and endless opportunities for the implementation of otherwise vague and abstract conceptions of resistance. Negation, rejection, destruction, mockery – they all do find unique and wondrous expressions in varied and unexpected contexts as individuals and communities figure out where they have agency and how it can be best applied. Programmers indulge in malicious compliance, burning through tokens to avoid engaging, people mock the material manifestations of surveillance – giving dogs abuse to those they see wearing ‘pervert glasses‘ on the street, others smash Flock cameras or say yes and do no when eager managers tell them AI is the future they must engage with… If there’s one ever reassuring pattern it’s that wherever you look people will have found some way to oppose AI even if it never dawns on them that is what they’re doing. But that’s a hard potential to sell in a fleeting discussion.
That’s where context comes into its own. Certainly as a researcher but also as an opposition voice it’s not my place to prescribe resistance. It’s not for me to say smash the camera or lie to the boss, in both cases it’s for the individual or community to find out what works for them. It’s an act of exploration, of experimentation and, ultimately, self-respect to ask yourself what you can do and when. It’s a job of self-reflection and communal discussion to decide where your agency lays and give yourself credit for truly having it, even as so much of the world declares that, in the face of the inevitable surge of AI, you don’t.
So while I can suggest what basic steps I can, in the immediacy of my own contexts, the real hope is that there’s inspiration in the idea of resistance, a small flickering flame which can be carried into the reality that matters to each individual, there to find what fuel it can. The best I can say is that you will find kindling in your own space, no matter how meagre it may seem, and in using that resource you can never guess just how far the fire will spread.
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If you are thinking of switching away from Big Tech then Rebel Tech Alliance is one of the best resources for suggesting alternatives.
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