Collective Bargaining in the Information Economy Can Address AI-Driven Power Concentration

Nicholas Vincent, Matt Prewitt, Hanlin Li

Keywords: collective bargaining, information economics, AI safety

TL;DR: Collective bargaining by information producers--so they can jointly negotiate how their data is used and valued--is the most practical safeguard against AI-driven market failures and extreme concentration of economic power.

Abstract: This position paper argues that there is an urgent need to restructure markets for the information that goes into AI systems. Specifically, small-to-medium sized producers of information (such as journalists, news organizations, researchers, and creative professionals) need to be able to appoint representatives who can carry out "collective bargaining" with AI product builders in order to receive a reasonable terms and a fair return on the informational value they contribute. Obstacles to this market structure can be removed through technical work that facilitates collective bargaining in the information economy (e.g., explainable data value estimation and federated data management tools) and regulatory/policy interventions (e.g., support for trusted data intermediary organizations that represent guilds or syndicates of information producers). We argue that without collective bargaining in the information economy, AI will exacerbate a large-scale "information market failure" that will lead not only to undesirable concentration of capital, but also to a potential "ecological collapse" in the informational commons. On the other hand, collective bargaining in the information economy can create market conditions necessary for a pro-social AI future. We provide concrete actions that can be taken to support a coalition-based approach to achieve this.

Lay Summary: One way that researchers can make AI safer and less likely to harm society is by supporting "collective bargaining for information", so that people who contribute data to AI systems can maintain bargaining power and agency. In order to achieve this, we need both (1) action from public bodies (for instance, legal clarity around the ability for individuals and organizations to form new "data coalitions" and support for such coalitions) and research advances (for instance, new techniques to tell people about how their data impacts AI performance and new interfaces that support informed collective bargaining).

Submission Number: 36