Vampire AI

AI is sold to us as neutral, inevitable and transformative, but whose interests does it truly serve?

Drawing on Marx’s image of capital as a vampire – viciously sucking in living labour – this book shows how AI is deeply entangled with capitalism. From the optimisation choices that embed capitalist ethos within, to the platforms that operationalise bad low-paid work, the book demystifies how AI shapes everyday life.

Vampire AI asks what it would mean to redirect the technology to collective ends, serving people rather than capital. The book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand and challenge the political economy of artificial intelligence.