> Previous machines only replaced humans at tasks that are tedious and boring This is a common misunderstanding. Industrialization and automation metamorphosed

> Previous machines only replaced humans at tasks that are tedious and boring This is a common misunderstanding. Industrialization and automation metamorphosed work from what could be described as "holistic and artisanal" to what could be described as "a living hell of tedium". Before machinery, a person made an item from materials to finished product. With machines that automate tasks and apply power, a person now performs a fraction of a task repeatedly until they're numb in body and spirit. This also made people more replaceable, as no single person "owns" a process, they just perform an easily-taught segment of it, assisting a machine with the fuzzy / procedural glue parts. GPT does not exhibit intellect, nor does it have agency. It is very good with language manipulation, so good in fact that it appears to have reasoning powers - but all that is are echoes of all the reasoning that went into writing all the things that were consumed in its training corpus. One final note -- the "nobody has to work" thing will not happen. Like any other technological improvement, GPT will be used by those who have to further exploit those who have not. To this point, you're right to dread it. For a long while now we (the "laptop class") have owned our means of production, and have enjoyed a relatively good existence. Now we stand on the threshold of an age where again a massive technological change will leave power in the hands of those with capital.