Frank Mathews, Administrative Director for District 4 of the Communication Workers of America joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss a letter from the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA about the importance of regulating AI. Mathews also discussed funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
Mathews began by discussing the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. He said that under President Claude Cummings, the CWA has been actively working to research and prepare for the use of AI. There was recently a letter from NABET-CWA Local 54412 President Mike Horace to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on predatory AI practices in the news industry. Mathews discussed how he hoped the letter would impact voice actors and on-air personnel.
It’s not just the use of AI in the workplace that concerns Mathews. He talked about how there are programs for writing articles, college papers and books. Mathews also said he wouldn’t be surprised if commercials generated through AI programs could be made cheaper than normal commercials with any message a company wants. He believes that if left unchecked, AI could negatively impact the future of our society and create a world completely reliant on smart technology.
Finally, Mathews talked about the updates to the ACP that would help 23 million American households access broadband internet. Mathews said there is a growing concern that funding for the program could run out. The current funding is set to run out in May, and there are several bipartisan efforts to get ACP fully funded for a longer time, Mathews said. He discussed how the work previously done by the CWA to assist states in developing their broadband expansion plans has now transitioned into helping with the efforts to fund the ACP.
Listen to the show above to hear more from Mathews.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.
