by Alison Despathy

The AI wars are on. The battle for data to host the ‘smartest’ most comprehensive, interoperable, machine learning capable AI for human consumption is the ultimate goal. AI destroys the soul of entire sectors and human capacity as all of life is commodified and infinitely extracted for data to feed and train the AI and scale the data markets.

There will never be enough, it will never be complete. More wireless systems and technologies, including apps, sensors, surveillance cameras, smart meters, vehicles, QR codes, biometrics, devices and digital records are designed for this key aspect of AI- the ravenous need for ever more data through surveillance, monitoring and tracking.

Extract, extract, extract.

This extractive economy is invasive and abusive and government and many companies either via force –or under the silicon valley spell– fall prey to the shiny new profitable tech that commodifies life in ways never witnessed. Data breaches are the norm, privacy is dead. It’s hard to escape, as all sectors– health, education, government, banking, accounting, insurance, finance, sports and entertainment–often without choice, move to dependency on these systems that require your digital data to participate.

In her books, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism and In the Age of the Smart Machine, Shoshana Zuboff, a social physiologist at Harvard Business School, documents the history of data commodification and the precipice humanity faces as we decide if machines or humans will run the world. She reveals that, “Technology users are no longer customers but the raw material for an entirely new industrial system.”  An extractive system continually amalgamizing itself, all the while creating human dependence on tech layers that track, store, sell, manipulate and digitally twin your data.

This conversation is not new. In his 1973 book, Tools of Conviviality, Ivan Illich offered a life philosophy centered on technology that empowers and supports humans versus dominating, subverting or harming. Illich’s warning encouraged a deep understanding of the role tools and tech should or should not play in our world. AI is the ultimate Pandora’s box, how will it be used to serve or destroy, what place does it have in our lives or not?

Eyes are opening as humans bear witness to AI systems consuming as much energy as entire countries, while still only in this early phase of the AI era. Increases in all energy sources—petroleum based, nuclear, renewable– are rapidly ramping up to fuel this AI and data center demand, while countries and communities fight for resources, water and bare necessities.

Most disturbing is the delusion of an energy transition, as humans are to reduce consumption of water and power and pay more in order to allow this ‘high priority’ tech the resources needed to operate. All to supposedly offer humanity infinite, immediate “knowledge” efficiency, ease and understanding. Talk about a bite from the apple,

Some embrace AI and are mesmerized by its ‘intelligence’ and potential. Others cringe at this infringement, this dependence, the inhumane mission creep into traditional human capacity. Not to mention AI’s high potential for abuse, fraud, privacy invasion, surveillance, manipulation, deception, and overall dumbing down of society.

Will our children be able to write and think and create?

AI is clearly an ethical issue, one of the greatest of our time. We must assess the role it should or should not play in our world, its potential for harm or good and its capacity to be a tool or weapon.

With this in mind, back in 2022, the Vermont Agency of Digital Services entered a $29 million contract with Workday Enterprise Resource Planning, an AI driven, cloud based system to replace Vermont’s existing systems for Human Resources, Budget, Finance, Labor and Transportation.

Embedding this AI based program into the state government increases taxpayer costs and energy consumption exponentially. Workday is antithetical to long time Vermont goals of reduced energy consumption, stewardship, affordability and human connection and community.

Workday is trending and their products, marketing and PR have many captured. As a cloud computing, subscription based program, regularly increasing costs and ever changing terms and conditions are a given. Vermont will be bound and dependent on this expensive system with high demands for energy, water and land resources due to its reliance on large data centers and wireless infrastructure continuously emitting unregulated levels of radiation and data mining all users.

Existing state systems are functional and have capacity for upgrades at lower costs. Vermont’s Joint Fiscal Office offered a review estimating $72 million to kick start this system by 2031 with NO promises that it will work as required. A formal bid process to weigh options in relation to needs was never implemented. Estimated costs have since increased to $139 million, potentially more, with an annually projected operating cost of $5 million per year after the initial investment and installation.

Maine and Iowa have backed out of contracts with Workday, after spending $35 million and $16 million respectively. It was determined Workday would not perform as needed. Oregon spent $15 million in a class action lawsuit after the Workday payroll program caused wage law violations.

With AI as the centerpiece of Workday, not only will Vermont’s energy consumption skyrocket, employees will be data mined while training the AI to put them out of a job as AI and the upcoming robot revolution is forecasted to do across many sectors. All system users will be exposed to this extractive Workday AI embedded data mining design.

Workday utilizes cloud storage which is highly vulnerable to hack attacks and fraud. News regularly reports breaches in data security and private information. As cyber warfare escalates and the price paid for profitable data sets increases, needs for cyber security will rise, bumping up subscription costs and further burdening tax payers.

In November 2024, the Vermont’s Joint Information Technology Oversight Committee (JITOC) met and approved an additional $11.8 million for the next phase of the Workday contract. Senator Wrenner was the sole NO vote. Wrenner submitted a memo to JITOC and published an article with her detailed and legitimate concerns on this project and further expenditures. Additionally, two independent reviews outlining risks, costs and deficiencies were also submitted to JITOC.

The Modest Proposal

Vermont should keep human resources and communications within government human. Government is by the people and for the people. Holding onto humanity in this moment is pivotal for the future of government and for ensuring oversight and accountability in an ever more expansive machine learning, dependency based, technocratic world.

Humans using tools versus being used by tools is a better scenario and will prove an ongoing challenge. How many layers of dependency and interference must we create in order to do business and participate in society. You should not need a device, app or Digital ID to interact with your government, and local institutions. Keep in mind the opportunity for profits when companies, individuals, or governments are dependent on ever more complicated and layered tech systems in order to operate, communicate and transact business.

Reality check, you cannot or should not have an energy guzzling AI Workday program with a Global Warming Solutions Act mandating greenhouse gas reductions and higher costs. These are diametrically opposed and expose the existing hypocrisies within the State House

Vermont’s legislature should simultaneously reject the GWSA and Workday. It is immoral to unnecessarily charge people more for basic necessities such as heat and transportation under the guise of a falsified energy transition; while in the same moment supporting exorbitant costs and energy demands embedded in the Workday AI, data mining system. Workday is hypocritical to Vermont’s deeply rooted values of community, environment, reduced energy consumption and affordability.

When people can pick up their smartphone, take a picture of their groceries and have immediate AI generated recipes and tech companies have massively increased energy consumption and spend millions of extra dollars because people are polite to AI, it becomes crystal clear that creating laws that unnecessarily charge people more for living expenses is beyond cruel, it is a hypocrisy like none other.

It is well past time for a GWSA repeal and an end to Vermont’s Workday contract before more money is wasted and more damage is done. Keeping Vermont centered on humanity and the environment while supporting Vermonters’ ability to afford VT are key goals. Putting AI in its place early on and moving past Workday and the GWSA would allow this ultimate win-win for Vermonters.  

The author is a clinical nutritionist in St. Johnsbury.