The Missing Element in Agentic AI: True User Agency as Collective Bargaining
By
ingve
The bagel they save for the regulars. Don't skim, savour.
Summary
The article argues that the current narrative around "agentic AI" is missing a crucial dimension: true user agency. While AI companies market agents as tools that act on behalf of users, the author contends that every online interaction is a lopsided negotiation where platforms and AI systems hold the power. The piece calls for moving beyond mere safety measures toward building genuine agency as a form of collective bargaining, where users have real control, transparency, and leverage over the AI systems they interact with.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledFor much of the history of computing, it was reasonably safe to assume that a machine was doing what you told it to do (and what its creators promised it would do), because its operations were local.
Every online interaction is a lopsided negotiation.
For AI to truly work for us, we need more than just safety -- we need to start building true agency as a form of collective bargaining.
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