Amir H. Payberah - 2025-02-01

We kicked off our 2025 book club at the "Co-liberative Computing" research group with a great discussion on "Resisting AI: An Anti-Fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence". Resisting AI by Dan McQuillan argues that AI deepens inequality and reinforces authoritarian control rather than addressing real-world problems. The book examines how AI can align with fascist ideology and crisis-driven politics, legitimizing exclusionary practices and authoritarian responses to instability. It explores AI's ties to austerity, the far right, and the failures of ethical regulation, showing how it entrenches social control instead of promoting justice. The author calls for a radical shift away from AI's current structure, advocating for fairness, collective well-being, and democratic governance. He proposes workers' and people's councils as alternatives to ensure AI serves society while safeguarding human freedom.

The book is divided into two main parts. The first four chapters expose AI's harms, illustrating how it perpetuates oppression, fails in practice, and deepens social and economic inequalities. The final three chapters discuss theoretical and practical approaches to counteracting AI's limitations and explore solutions, drawing on alternative epistemologies, collective action, and historical resistance movements to pave the way toward a more just and inclusive technological future.

You can find a summary of the book here.