A Brief Presentation of Rezgar Akrawi’s Book on Artificial Intelligence

“Contemporary capitalism, with cunning intelligence, has turned the digital space into a den that deepens alienation: from algorithms that crush the rights of the masses and control their consciousness, to platforms that transform revolutionary activity into ‘likes’ stripped of action. In this landscape, the presence of leftist organizations—at best—resembles dancing to the rhythm of their opponent; their reliance on posting leaflets and managing traditional websites is like an army fighting enemy missiles with sticks.”

These words may be the most expressive in the book of my dear friend Rezgar Akrawi, Capitalist Artificial Intelligence: Challenges for the Left and Possible Alternatives. In them, he summarized the condition of the Left as a whole: fragmented and scattered, suffering from weakness and frustration, its practice shrinking to “posting” and “following likes,” which only reinforces its estrangement and alienation within this ruthless capitalist world.

Rezgar explores in this book two contrasting perspectives on the use of artificial intelligence technology: the capitalist model and the leftist movement’s vision. He presents these two perspectives in a table that highlights their differences, starting with the very purpose of artificial intelligence. Capitalism seeks to maximize profits regardless of any ethical or legal consideration, while the leftist vision aspires to achieve social justice, distribute technology for the benefit of all, and turn it into a tool for the development of society. This distinction forms the basis for the subsequent points.

Rezgar illustrates, in engaging language, examples of how the capitalist world amasses profit with complete disregard for anything else. He notes: “Every click, every search, every interaction becomes raw material accumulated by digital capitalism without any legal or contractual recognition.” He cites, for example, the “Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018,” mentioning that Facebook’s revenues from digital advertising alone reached $117 billion in 2021, while Apple’s profits in 2023 exceeded $100 billion.

In what he calls the “knowledge economy,” knowledge has become capitalism’s new fuel. Artificial intelligence has tightened its grip on human beings, measuring the speed and performance of manual and intellectual workers—particularly in Amazon’s warehouses where AI is used—without regard for workers’ health or social conditions.

Through this relentless corporate competition, “human alienation is reproduced in digital form, as people become estranged from their intellectual and creative faculties.” This digital alienation penetrates human consciousness and social relations, reducing individuals to “reflections of algorithms designed to serve the market.”

Rezgar’s book, written in an accessible and enjoyable style, arrives at a time when leftist forces are far behind in this context. He calls on them to acquire a full understanding of these technologies and insists that “the conscious and critical use of these tools can open new horizons of resistance and struggle for leftist organizations.”

He expresses hope that leftist alternatives can find their way in a capitalist world riddled with flaws and gaps—if approached with awareness, planning, and strategy. He concludes the book with a fundamental question:

“Are we, as leftist and progressive forces across the world, truly prepared to engage in this complex, protracted, and multi-front digital war?”

In conclusion, we can only extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to our dear friend Rezgar Akrawi for his valuable study, which illuminated—even if only in part—this dark and ruthless digital world. We wish him continued success in producing such important works.

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