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No, I don't think anyone with the possible means is preparing meaningfully. Yang did a good job of grokking the implications, but he wasn't taken very seriousl
by dogman144 5y ago
No, I don't think anyone with the possible means is preparing meaningfully.
Yang did a good job of grokking the implications, but he wasn't taken very seriously and his messaging wasn't great I think. But the crux of it was solid - "XX thousand mid 30's truckers w/ iffy education all out of work, and that work was one of the last solid, fairly high paying long term jobs that demographic could land so how happy will that demographic be?"
Buttigieg is a smart guy and he might be thinking about it per his DoT seat, but I haven't followed his takes on it if they exist. Watching some of the cybersec-focused hearings and comments from Ben Sasse also seem to indicate technical awareness.
Overall, I do think some of the more tuned-in politicians have read some Jaron Lanier though based on the policy ideas that nod in this direction I've heard about and how they mirror his writing. He doesn't paint a great mid-term picture (tldr a lot of unemployment) but long term he offers some interesting ideas on how there might be a positive landing - data-aggregators collapse under the weight of their own data management costs vs. ability to really parse it well for profit ("siren servers"), automation/internet taxes which open up a UBI based on the robot labor, that sort of thing.
This sounds really cynical and ageist but I do think we're in a standstill until Buttigieg and his generation are the senior leaders. Even breaching the surface of the pretty good certainty of what you describe (to include the sci fi -> real life mapping trend you mention, which I agree with) when watching these tech hearings makes me think we have some time to wait.