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The industrial revolution had a much greater impact on labour than anything we are seeing happening today. Previous to this era - humans and animals did everyt

The industrial revolution had a much greater impact on labour than anything we are seeing happening today. Previous to this era - humans and animals did everything. Can you imagine how many buggies the steam engines put out? But the factories employed a lot of people who would have been doing other things. Since then, we've constantly been going through this process. Moreover - the biggest impact on labour today is not automat ion - it's cheaper labour in the rest of the world. As factories become a little more automated, it will start at the bottom - with the simplest tasks. Those jobs are already mostly outsourced. 'Automation' is going to hit China harder than it hits the US. As for 'basic income' - even applied in a normal context without the treat of disastrous unemployment ... 'means tested welfare' is one option. If we adjusted it a little so that people could possibly find work while still on welfare without losing benefits, this would take away some of the limitations.

aminorex 10y ago
The difference is that the industrial revolution amplified labor, while AI actually replaces it in many cases. AI + human is less productive than AI sans human. It's not just a difference in magnitude, but one of sign. Cheaper labor elsewhere does not obsolete labor itself, it merely implies repricing or arbitrage. It doesn't really matter how hard the labor market is hit, once it is already dead. Means tested welfare fosters dependency, crime and generational poverty, and implies support of a vast administration and enforcement apparatus. It is used as a coercive stick to compel behaviors, and often those behaviors are harmful to the individual recipient - e.g. families that go fatherless, to protect AFDC.
- jomamaxx 10y ago
  "AI + human is less productive than AI sans human." This is totally speculative on your part and it depends on the task.

aminorex 10y ago

The difference is that the industrial revolution amplified labor, while AI actually replaces it in many cases. AI + human is less productive than AI sans human. It's not just a difference in magnitude, but one of sign. Cheaper labor elsewhere does not obsolete labor itself, it merely implies repricing or arbitrage. It doesn't really matter how hard the labor market is hit, once it is already dead. Means tested welfare fosters dependency, crime and generational poverty, and implies support of a vast administration and enforcement apparatus. It is used as a coercive stick to compel behaviors, and often those behaviors are harmful to the individual recipient - e.g. families that go fatherless, to protect AFDC.

jomamaxx 10y ago
"AI + human is less productive than AI sans human." This is totally speculative on your part and it depends on the task.