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I continue to believe in the idea that automation/AI will destroy entire sectors currently requiring labor. It is something that happens gradually, then suddenl

by fleddr 5y ago

I continue to believe in the idea that automation/AI will destroy entire sectors currently requiring labor. It is something that happens gradually, then suddenly. I also believe there's "safe" sectors where this is unlikely to ever happen. Good luck making a robot plumber. By the time you solve that, you've solved everything and we're entirely obsolete. Package delivery, cash registry, retail jobs...there's plenty of high employment sectors at danger. And perhaps many office jobs are at even more danger. One idea is that "as always" we simply move on to "higher order" work. This is nonsense. We don't need billions of AI programmers, it would be really crappy AI if that was the case. Nor is it realistic that everybody can do such a demanding job. We're talking about billions of relatively lowly educated workers here. Another idea is UBI, or even better...post scarcity. For the optimists, I guess. I expect that neither will happen, instead we're already experiencing the solution. You just inject trillions of stimulation money into the economy, which creates (artificial) demand, hence allowing for jobs that otherwise might not exist. Right now, somebody is inventing potato chips flavor #31,122. Nobody asked for it, the world doesn't need it, and I hope we can agree that it's unimportant. But somebody invents it anyway, somebody designs the packaging, and somebody ships it. You buy it, and might just like it. All these activities aren't really demand or need driven, they're more like "because we can" jobs. Our world is largely supply and marketing driven, not demand driven from the bottom up. Fluff and endless meaningless luxuries. When I walk through a mall I wonder...do people really buy all this garbage? Put harshly, you can call all of this bullshit jobs. Keeping each other busy. And that's what we'll continue to do no matter the state of technology. It's just a few dials in the financial system. Have you never wondered why everybody deeply cares that one has a job (at any and all costs) yet there's never any serious inquiry about the point of the job? Nobody cares if you have a meaningless job, the point is that you have a job. Any job. This reality gives away how the system works.

scollet 5y ago
> Our world is largely supply and marketing driven Great way to put it. I've felt this way for awhile. Advertising, for example, is low-hanging fruit in the world of useless things, but it's so embedded in US culture that efforts to displace it are stopped at the door.
- fleddr 5y ago
  I'm thankful for my humble background. I grew up in the 80s in Europe in the lower working class. All I owned was a bicycle and a few sets of clothing, that's it. Importantly, I was super happy. There existed already lots of stuff, but I was mostly ignorant about it. To me this has been a key insight. Apparently, I can have limited stuff and be just fine and happy, but as soon as you're exposed to new options, advertising as you say, trouble arises. Two decades later, I learned that at least 4 years of that decade consisted of a truly deep economic crisis. Really? I had no idea. Couldn't tell. I find that hilarious to reflect on. Things are a whole lot more complicated now. Not only are we bombarded with stuff, it's also a social effect. Even if you manage to be an anti-consumer, you still may have a wife/husband, and you can't deny your kids the stuff their peers have. But still I try. I have stuff but when it comes to durable goods, I try to buy what I call "forever" stuff. My furniture will attend my funeral. Actually, it's such heavy oak that nobody can move it, so there's that. My TV is 17 years old and delivers a perfect picture at my viewing distance. My friends laugh at me for not replacing it, but I'm not the mad man. They are. The picture is fine and I engage with what I'm viewing. I actually had a time capsule moment. I buy very little, and the little I buy, I do online. So it had been a decade since I visited a mall. Just like young me, I was largely ignorant of what was out there. Unsuspecting I enter a home decoration shop. My mind was blown. Endless shelfs of garbage where for most items I feel sorry for the person needing to produce this. Angry about the misuse of resources in a world with so many issues. And disdain for the clueless people buying these absolutely meaningless products that have zero utility or quality. I went on to visit a BBQ shop. Apparently it's a science now, you can buy about 17 trillion accessories just to show others how very advanced you are at grilling meat. This isn't wealth. It's a pathetic fetishization of meaningless objects. None that make you happy, it's always about the next one. Until you have so many that you can't even keep track of it anymore. People sit in bullshit jobs so that they can afford garbage made by other people in bullshit jobs. Our economy is about keeping this circle going, regardless of meaning or happiness. Stop buying garbage. Cook a fresh meal and enjoy it with your family. Then go for a walk in the forest regardless of the weather and leave your silly devices at home. Take it slow, make time for friends, stop ignoring your pet and read a good book. That's happiness. It worked in the 80s, it works now.
mbrodersen 5y ago
Agree. The idea that having a job is the goal itself is crazy. A job is a tool that hopefully will help you achieve your real goals. Whatever they are.

by fleddr 5y ago

scollet 5y ago

> Our world is largely supply and marketing driven Great way to put it. I've felt this way for awhile. Advertising, for example, is low-hanging fruit in the world of useless things, but it's so embedded in US culture that efforts to displace it are stopped at the door.

fleddr 5y ago
I'm thankful for my humble background. I grew up in the 80s in Europe in the lower working class. All I owned was a bicycle and a few sets of clothing, that's it. Importantly, I was super happy. There existed already lots of stuff, but I was mostly ignorant about it. To me this has been a key insight. Apparently, I can have limited stuff and be just fine and happy, but as soon as you're exposed to new options, advertising as you say, trouble arises. Two decades later, I learned that at least 4 years of that decade consisted of a truly deep economic crisis. Really? I had no idea. Couldn't tell. I find that hilarious to reflect on. Things are a whole lot more complicated now. Not only are we bombarded with stuff, it's also a social effect. Even if you manage to be an anti-consumer, you still may have a wife/husband, and you can't deny your kids the stuff their peers have. But still I try. I have stuff but when it comes to durable goods, I try to buy what I call "forever" stuff. My furniture will attend my funeral. Actually, it's such heavy oak that nobody can move it, so there's that. My TV is 17 years old and delivers a perfect picture at my viewing distance. My friends laugh at me for not replacing it, but I'm not the mad man. They are. The picture is fine and I engage with what I'm viewing. I actually had a time capsule moment. I buy very little, and the little I buy, I do online. So it had been a decade since I visited a mall. Just like young me, I was largely ignorant of what was out there. Unsuspecting I enter a home decoration shop. My mind was blown. Endless shelfs of garbage where for most items I feel sorry for the person needing to produce this. Angry about the misuse of resources in a world with so many issues. And disdain for the clueless people buying these absolutely meaningless products that have zero utility or quality. I went on to visit a BBQ shop. Apparently it's a science now, you can buy about 17 trillion accessories just to show others how very advanced you are at grilling meat. This isn't wealth. It's a pathetic fetishization of meaningless objects. None that make you happy, it's always about the next one. Until you have so many that you can't even keep track of it anymore. People sit in bullshit jobs so that they can afford garbage made by other people in bullshit jobs. Our economy is about keeping this circle going, regardless of meaning or happiness. Stop buying garbage. Cook a fresh meal and enjoy it with your family. Then go for a walk in the forest regardless of the weather and leave your silly devices at home. Take it slow, make time for friends, stop ignoring your pet and read a good book. That's happiness. It worked in the 80s, it works now.

mbrodersen 5y ago

Agree. The idea that having a job is the goal itself is crazy. A job is a tool that hopefully will help you achieve your real goals. Whatever they are.