Disrupter U.; Humans in the Loop; Lowriders of New Mexico | 60 Minutes Full Episodes

The University of Austin: A New Approach to Higher Education

• Across America, people have strong opinions on "wokeness," especially on college campuses, where politics should be studied, not be the operating system of the university 9s.
• A new university in Texas, the University of Austin, is prioritizing open debate to reset the marketplace of ideas, with the goal of not being a politicized campus 18s.
• The university's founders believe that if universities are "screwed up," it will negatively impact America as a whole 23s.
• The University of Austin started classes in the fall, with a philosophy of open debate, free tuition, and a focus on pursuing the truth 2m33s.
• The university has 92 students in its inaugural class, who are described as outspoken and intellectually diverse, with students from various political persuasions 3m21s.
• The students come from different backgrounds, with roughly half from Texas, a third female, and averaging in the 92nd percentile on the SAT 4m25s.
• Some students were accepted at schools like the University of Chicago and Georgetown but chose the University of Austin for its unique approach 4m35s.
• The university's focus is on the "Fearless Pursuit Of Truth," with students encouraged to assume they are wrong and be prepared to be challenged 3m50s.
• The university's founders aim to create a campus culture that values open debate and the pursuit of truth, rather than being driven by politics 2m49s.

The State of Academia and the Rise of Self-Censorship

• A visit to a college in the northeast US revealed different dorms for various student groups, highlighting the importance of being in a college environment where diverse views are not just accepted but also welcomed and understood, allowing for friendships despite disagreements 4m44s.
• College campuses have long been sites of protest and have leaned left, but the atmosphere has intensified over the past decade, with speakers being shouted down, professors being cancelled, and students feeling unheard 5m24s.
• The chaos on campuses led to Congressional hearings and the resignation of presidents at Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard 5m51s.
• Historian Niall Ferguson, co-founder of uatx, believes that something is "rotten in the state of Academia," citing a shift in the past 10 years that has stifled free expression and led to a culture of self-censorship 6m31s.
• Data shows that less than 3% of Harvard faculty identifies as conservative, while over 75% identifies as liberal, creating a huge disconnect between the academic elite and the average American voter 6m58s.
• Ferguson attributes this imbalance, combined with social media and campus administrators monitoring speech, to a culture where nearly 80% of students self-censor on campus for fear of being ostracized 7m20s.
• Faculty members also feel the pressure, with one university president receiving daily emails calling for someone to be fired for something they said, reminiscent of the Stalin Soviet Union era 7m37s.
• Ferguson believes that if the university system fails, it will have far-reaching consequences for society, as the ideas that start on campus quickly spread to corporations and media organizations 7m53s.

The Launch and Mission of UATX

• In response, Ferguson launched uatx in 2021 with the goal of reforming and revitalizing America's universities, which received initial approval from the state of Texas and raised nearly $200 million from private donors 8m20s.
• uatx aims to "stir up settled ideas" and provide an alternative to traditional universities, with Pano Kanelos as its president 8m59s.
• Colleges have become "Echo Chambers" where people expect two versions of everything, leading to a right and wrong version, rather than encouraging better opinions through the meeting of different opinions 9m5s.

UATX's Unique Learning Environment and Faculty

• The Chatham House rule is a principle that allows participants in a discussion to refer to information gleaned without attributing it to a person, promoting open discussion without fear of being quoted out of context 9m42s.
• UATX, a university, adopts the Chatham House rule to encourage open discussion in its small, seminar-style classes, which focus on Western civilization, including the Bible and Greek classics 9m47s.
• The university's faculty includes a former Navy Captain, a Greek Orthodox priest, and a tech entrepreneur, who aim to provide students with a well-rounded education 10m22s.

UATX's Location, Funding, and Admissions

• UATX is located in Austin, Texas, to take advantage of the city's booming startup culture, allowing students to link with companies like Elon Musk's Neuralink and develop their tech skills 10m36s.
• The university has a nonprofit and startup side to help stem the high cost of higher education, with a bare-bones campus and no dorms or meal plan 10m51s.
• Students live in apartments next to the University of Texas and are encouraged to cook for themselves, promoting independence 11m3s.
• UATX prioritizes merit, excellence, and intelligence in its admission decisions, without considering factors like gender, race, or ethnicity 11m38s.
• The university is working to find talented students from diverse intellectual backgrounds, rather than focusing on traditional diversity metrics 12m11s.

Donors, Critics, and the Role of Politics at UATX

• UATX has high-profile donors, including billionaire Bill Amman and Harlan Crowe, who have been critical of liberal universities and supportive of conservative causes 12m25s.
• Critics have labeled UATX as a "right-wing university" or the "anti-woke university," but the university's founders argue that politics should be studied, not be the operating system of the university 12m38s.
• The University of Austin (UATX) is a new institution that aims to promote free speech and open discussion on campus, with a mission that may not align with the views of some donors, 13m15s.
• Nadine Strossen, a liberal legal scholar and former president of the ACLU, is an adviser to UATX and believes that all speech should be allowed, even if it is considered hate speech, as censorship can lead to worse outcomes, 13m30s.
• UATX has attracted academics who were previously disciplined or "canceled" at their previous institutions, but the university is not intended to be a shelter for those individuals, 14m18s.
• The university has received thousands of job inquiries and applications, and its national accreditation will be decided after the first class graduates, 14m16s.

The Human Cost of AI: Exploitation of Low-Wage Workers

• The common narrative that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace human jobs is unlikely, as there is a growing need for "humans in the loop" to sort, label, and sift through data to train and improve AI systems, 15m12s.
• These "humans in the loop" are often located in countries with low-wage populations, such as Kenya, India, and the Philippines, where they work on tasks such as labeling images and videos to teach AI algorithms to recognize objects, 15m32s.
• Naali Walo, a college-educated math graduate from Nairobi, Kenya, is one such worker who spends eight hours a day labeling images and videos to train AI algorithms, 16m7s.
• The work of "humans in the loop" is essential for the development of AI systems, as they provide the data needed to train and improve these systems, and their work will continue to be needed even as AI becomes more advanced, 17m29s.
• However, some critics argue that the use of low-wage workers in developing countries to perform these tasks is a form of "modern day slavery" due to the cheap labor involved, 17m58s.
• Narima Wako Oiwa, a civil rights activist, claims that big American tech companies are exploiting workers in Kenya by offering them low-paying AI jobs with short-term contracts, which she describes as "modern-day slavery" 18m5s.
• The contracts for these jobs can be as short as monthly, weekly, or even daily, leaving workers with little to no job security 18m36s.
• Wako Oiwa refers to these workspaces as "AI sweat shops" where workers are paid very low wages, often around $2 per hour, which is not enough to make ends meet 18m45s.

Kenya's Silicon Savannah: Tech Investment and Labor Exploitation

• The Kenyan government has been courting tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Intel to invest in the country, promoting it as the "Silicon Savannah" 19m5s.
• President Ruto has been offering financial incentives and lax labor laws to attract these companies, but the workers are not hired directly by them, instead, they are hired through outsourcing firms, mostly American 19m35s.
• These outsourcing firms, such as Sama, pay workers low wages, while charging the tech companies a higher rate, for example, Open AI agreed to pay Sama $12.50 per hour per worker, but the workers only received $2 per hour 20m58s.
• Workers, like Naali Nathan and FICA, who were hired by Sama, report that the jobs are not only low-paying but also draining, with unrealistic deadlines and punitive measures for not meeting them 20m45s.
• Many workers feel that they are being taken advantage of, with one worker stating that $2 per hour is an insult and that they are only working to have something to do and feed their families 21m43s.
• Workers also report that they are often fired if they complain about the working conditions or the low pay, and that they are not paid for the extra time they work if they finish a project ahead of schedule 22m6s.

The Mental Health Toll of AI Content Moderation

• Digital workers, including Navali, were assigned to train AI to recognize and remove content such as pornography, hate speech, and excessive violence, which involved sifting through disturbing content for hours on end 22m57s.
• Workers were tricked into this work by ads that described the jobs as call center agents, and they were not informed about the actual nature of the work 23m34s.
• The workers were exposed to graphic and disturbing content, including dismembered bodies, drone attack victims, and child abuse, which caused them to experience flashbacks and mental health issues 23m55s.
• The workers reported that they were a different person after having this job, and they found it hard to socialize with others or have conversations 24m10s.
• One worker reported that they hated sex after being exposed to countless sexual activities and pornography on the job 24m41s.
• The workers were provided with mental health counseling, but they reported that it was woefully inadequate and that they wanted to see psychiatrists and psychologists who knew exactly what they were going through 24m58s.
• Nearly 200 digital workers are suing Sama and Meta over unreasonable working conditions that caused psychiatric problems, and a psychiatrist has proven that they are thoroughly sick 25m32s.
• Sama has terminated the projects, but the company would not agree to an on-camera interview, while Meta and Open AI stated that they are committed to safe working conditions, including fair wages and access to mental health counseling 26m9s.

Exploitation and Lack of Protection for Digital Workers in Kenya

• Another American AI training company, Scale AI, is facing criticism in Kenya for its website Remotasks, where workers reported that they were not paid for their work and had no recourse to complain 26m33s.
• Workers reported that Remotasks would close their accounts and claim that they had violated a policy, resulting in non-payment for their work 26m55s.
• The company responded that any work done in line with their community guidelines was paid out in March 27m17s.
• Workers in Kenya began publicly complaining about their working conditions, which led to Remo tasks being shut down abruptly, highlighting the lack of labor laws in the country, particularly in the digital labor sector 27m23s.
• Kenya's labor law is approximately 20 years old and does not address digital labor, making it essential to update the laws to recognize and protect digital workers 27m32s.
• The fear of companies shutting down and moving to neighboring countries if workers complain or governments push for better protections is a significant concern in Kenya 27m52s.
• Kenya has become a global hotbed for technology, earning the title of the tech capital of East Africa 28m31s.

Lowriders in New Mexico: A Cultural Renaissance

• The term "low rider" refers to a customized car with a lowered chassis and the person driving it, which has been a potent cultural symbol, especially among Mexican Americans 28m49s.
• In the 1980s and 90s, many cities passed anti-cruising ordinances due to the perception of low riders being connected to drugs and gangs, but this perception is finally changing 29m9s.
• Northern New Mexico, particularly Espanola, is a low rider hotbed where the transformation of the perception of low riders is pronounced 29m25s.

Celebrating Lowrider Culture and Hydraulics in Espanola

• Epie Martinez, a low rider enthusiast, has been cruising with his family on Good Friday in his 1953 Chevy Bel Air, a tradition that has been passed down from his father 29m49s.
• Martinez is leading a caravan of cars from his Vito's car club, which is joined by other local car clubs, to celebrate their culture and showcase their hydraulic systems 30m19s.
• Martinez is known for installing hydraulics in cars and has done over 500 installations, including a modest setup in his own Bel Air 31m13s.
• The hydraulic systems used in low riders are often designed for aircraft and are controlled by switches at the driver's seat 31m33s.
• Martinez has installed hydraulics that allow cars to jump high, earning them the name "Hoppers," which attracts competitors and crowds to the Espanola parking lot on Good Friday 31m54s.

The Art and History of Lowriders in New Mexico

• Low riders in New Mexico are an expression of the owner's personality, with each car being unique and customized to reflect the individual's style and character 32m14s.
• The roots of the low rider culture in New Mexico date back to just after World War II, when Mexican-Americans returned from the war and were still treated as second-class citizens, leading to the creation of a counterculture to assert their belonging 32m58s.
• Low riders are often customized with elaborate interiors, intricate engraving, and kaleidoscopic colors, with some cars featuring up to 100 coats of paint, making them labors of love for their owners 34m8s.
• Rob Vanderslice, a legendary painter from Albuquerque, is known for using tape and spray paint to create unique designs and has been painting low riders since the late 1980s 34m16s.
• Vanderslice's clients in the past included gang members, but he has since turned his life around after struggling with addiction and is now clean for 13 years 35m27s.
• The low rider culture in New Mexico has evolved over time, from being associated with gangs and drugs to becoming more mainstream, with events like Low Rider Day in Santa Fe in 2016, which drew hundreds of cars and marked a shift in the city's perception of the culture 36m30s.
• Patricia Trujillo, a college professor and Deputy Cabinet Secretary of New Mexico's Department of Higher Education, notes that low riders are a way for individuals to express their identity and assert their place in American culture while also embracing their unique heritage 33m17s.
• The low rider culture is not just about the cars, but also about the community and the sense of belonging that comes with it, with many owners and enthusiasts coming together to share their passion and creativity 33m36s.

Lowriders: From Counterculture to Community and Hope

• Lowriders have become an important part of New Mexico's heritage and artistry, marking a new moment in the state's culture 36m40s.
• Joanne and Arthur Medina, also known as "Loo," have been part of the lowrider community for over 40 years and have helped to redefine its image in the Espanola Valley 36m52s.
• Loo's lowrider, which is now in a makeshift museum, features murals depicting the life of Jesus and is a statement piece that draws people to their artwork and community 37m40s.
• The lowrider community is now using their attention to help kids and serve their community, with a focus on family, community, and faith 38m14s.
• In the past, lowriders were associated with gangs, drugs, and crime, but the community has changed and now focuses on volunteering and helping those in need 38m17s.
• The community has redefined rebellion to mean healing and being a beacon of hope, particularly in Espanola, which struggles with poverty, crime, and drug addiction 39m11s.
• Ben Sandoval, director of the YMCA teen center in Espanola, has worked with the lowrider community to provide a safe space for at-risk kids and has received a grant from the DEA to build lowrider bicycles 39m30s.
• The lowrider bicycles project has given kids the opportunity to feel valued and creative, and the finished bikes have been displayed in a special exhibition at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art in Santa Fe 40m21s.
• The lowrider community has also expanded to include car shows featuring lowrider bicycles and radio-controlled cars, which have become a moving art exhibit 40m58s.

Lowrider Art and Community Impact

• Joanne Medina's art work is a glittering Grand Prix that she and her loved one showed off during an afternoon cruise in the Hills above Espanola, with the car being a moving art exhibit 41m21s.
• The car has a unique style when cruising, and its eye-catching appearance is what Joanne Medina intended 41m41s.

Program Sponsors and Upcoming Segments

• The last minute of the program is sponsored by United Healthcare, which provides reliable coverage for one's whole life 41m54s.
• Next Sunday on 60 Minutes, there will be a unique first look at the rebirth of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris after a devastating fire nearly destroyed it in 2019 42m5s.
• French President Emanuel Macron promised to have the Cathedral of Notre-Dame open again within 5 years after the fire, a promise that many people thought was unrealistic 42m20s.
• Workers are scrambling to complete the job of rebuilding the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, and it is impressive and moving to see the progress being made 42m37s.
• The program will bring viewers inside the Cathedral of Notre-Dame when 60 Minutes returns next week 42m50s.
• The program ends with a mention of a segment on CBS mornings about relying on AI to plan holiday trips 43m1s.