Abstract
During and soon after the UK General Elections on the 4th of July 2024, social media users expressed their disdain for the outgoing Conservative government. A series of artificially generated photographs were posted of social media platforms mainly on X, Reddit and Instagram depicting prominent Conservative politicians doing jobs and performing tasks generally associated with low paid migrant labour and considered to be demeaning for senior political figures. Under the titles “AI Re-imagines Tory Politicians in Regular Life”, “AI has the created the politician as an immigrant”, and “Tories without the privilege” this series of images show former ministers and senior Conservatives as Deliveroo riders, janitors, warehouse workers and taxi drivers among other recognisable social roles and professions allegedly below the high status of a politician.
Would it be safe to assume that the AI reimagining of Conservative politicians as immigrant workers is separate from reality? The fact that the reimagining in question is done by AI points towards the examination of the relationship between the imaginary, the real and the artificial with reference to the institution of work. The paper examines this relationship by constructing a theoretical and analytical framework around Karl Marx’s theory of surplus value and Terry Eagleton’s ideologization of the aesthetic. The paper makes three distinctive yet interconnected arguments. First, this series of AI generated images communicates in a strong and dismissive manner the low social status associated with employment in the gig economy. Second, the ethnic background of Conservative politicians reinforces the dominant political thinking and popular belief that essential service jobs are and should only be performed by immigrants. Third, AI is not designed to imitate biological intelligence but to reproduce the dominant ideology by imitating the existing social and labour relations.
Would it be safe to assume that the AI reimagining of Conservative politicians as immigrant workers is separate from reality? The fact that the reimagining in question is done by AI points towards the examination of the relationship between the imaginary, the real and the artificial with reference to the institution of work. The paper examines this relationship by constructing a theoretical and analytical framework around Karl Marx’s theory of surplus value and Terry Eagleton’s ideologization of the aesthetic. The paper makes three distinctive yet interconnected arguments. First, this series of AI generated images communicates in a strong and dismissive manner the low social status associated with employment in the gig economy. Second, the ethnic background of Conservative politicians reinforces the dominant political thinking and popular belief that essential service jobs are and should only be performed by immigrants. Third, AI is not designed to imitate biological intelligence but to reproduce the dominant ideology by imitating the existing social and labour relations.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Unpublished - 26 Apr 2025 |
| Event | Historical Materialism Athens: Organizing in the Capitalocene: Labor and the Struggle against Disaster and Genocide - Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece Duration: 24 Apr 2025 → 27 Apr 2025 https://hmathens.org/ |
Academic conference
| Academic conference | Historical Materialism Athens |
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| Country/Territory | Greece |
| City | Athens |
| Period | 24/04/25 → 27/04/25 |
| Internet address |