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Noah Chomsky says technology is neutral: it can be used to empower companies, automate jobs away (as it's the case right now). It also could be used to empower

Noah Chomsky says technology is neutral: it can be used to empower companies, automate jobs away (as it's the case right now). It also could be used to empower employees (into super craftsmen??) but so far this direction isn't pursued.

jgtrosh 9y ago
Not to undermine the increasing inequalities between employees and employers in many aspects, but there is a strong increase in work-at-home thanks to telecommuting and there is an increase in self-employed people thanks to ease of access of new technologies.
contingencies 9y ago
Makerspaces are sort-of empowering supercraftspeople.
- madengr 9y ago
  I don't know. Anyone who I'd consider a supercraftsperson usually has their own shop & tools. Most of the stuff coming out of maker spaces are trinkets. You won't find there the old man who builds 1/10 models of steam locomotives.
  - paulus_magnus2 9y ago
    The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment. --Warren Bennis Bu imagine an alternative world without factories. The maker movement is still ahead of us. Imagine there exists an open-hape-wiki with 3d-models of every part of every thing we ever built (actually these models exist already but are not open source). The shop & tools are would be a 3d-printer plus remote controlled robot arms (so that a person from Ukraine can deliver service to you).
    - madengr 9y ago
      Sure, but why is the person from Ukraine in the loop? Don't get me started on 3D printing (I have one). It has its uses, and more so (with all the hype) it doesn't have its uses.
      - paulus_magnus2 9y ago
        The person from Ukraine is in the loop anyway, except currently they are employed by BigCo1 at $1/day and still BigCo1 charges you $100/h for services taking all the arbitrage profits. The goal is to dis-intermediate, to enable person to person (customer & supplier) to profit from the living cos / efficiency arbitrage.
crdoconnor 9y ago
That appears to be the case here: https://qz.com/962427/what-its-like-to-be-a-modern-engraver-the-most-automated-job-in-the-united-states/ https://qz.com/962427/what-its-like-to-be-a-modern-engraver-... If you think about it, wouldn't more advanced technology lead to higher consumption until everybody has literally everything that they could possibly want? Technology is more of a scapegoat for rising inequality than a proximate cause.
lhnz 9y ago
Technology might be neutral, but capitalism is directing it. (Nothing against capitalism. I just think the general direction will be profit maximisation.)
- paulus_magnus2 9y ago
  policy & regulation within capitalism determine whether corporations can be commoditised by customers (a lot of market competition) or labour can be commoditised by corporations (monopolies & job scarcity, collusion)

jgtrosh 9y ago

Not to undermine the increasing inequalities between employees and employers in many aspects, but there is a strong increase in work-at-home thanks to telecommuting and there is an increase in self-employed people thanks to ease of access of new technologies.

contingencies 9y ago

Makerspaces are sort-of empowering supercraftspeople.

madengr 9y ago
I don't know. Anyone who I'd consider a supercraftsperson usually has their own shop & tools. Most of the stuff coming out of maker spaces are trinkets. You won't find there the old man who builds 1/10 models of steam locomotives.
- paulus_magnus2 9y ago
  The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment. --Warren Bennis Bu imagine an alternative world without factories. The maker movement is still ahead of us. Imagine there exists an open-hape-wiki with 3d-models of every part of every thing we ever built (actually these models exist already but are not open source). The shop & tools are would be a 3d-printer plus remote controlled robot arms (so that a person from Ukraine can deliver service to you).
  - madengr 9y ago
    Sure, but why is the person from Ukraine in the loop? Don't get me started on 3D printing (I have one). It has its uses, and more so (with all the hype) it doesn't have its uses.
    - paulus_magnus2 9y ago
      The person from Ukraine is in the loop anyway, except currently they are employed by BigCo1 at $1/day and still BigCo1 charges you $100/h for services taking all the arbitrage profits. The goal is to dis-intermediate, to enable person to person (customer & supplier) to profit from the living cos / efficiency arbitrage.

crdoconnor 9y ago

That appears to be the case here: https://qz.com/962427/what-its-like-to-be-a-modern-engraver-the-most-automated-job-in-the-united-states/ https://qz.com/962427/what-its-like-to-be-a-modern-engraver-... If you think about it, wouldn't more advanced technology lead to higher consumption until everybody has literally everything that they could possibly want? Technology is more of a scapegoat for rising inequality than a proximate cause.

lhnz 9y ago

Technology might be neutral, but capitalism is directing it. (Nothing against capitalism. I just think the general direction will be profit maximisation.)

paulus_magnus2 9y ago
policy & regulation within capitalism determine whether corporations can be commoditised by customers (a lot of market competition) or labour can be commoditised by corporations (monopolies & job scarcity, collusion)