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I know there were similar hysterias when automated weaving looms and other extreme labor saving machines came out. These machines did actually put a lot of peop

by api 3y ago

I know there were similar hysterias when automated weaving looms and other extreme labor saving machines came out. These machines did actually put a lot of people out of work, but they grew the economy so much that the net number of jobs increased. In a way it's actually a bit dystopian that the "everyone will be put out of work" predictions never come true, because it means we never get that promised age of leisure. Here we are with something like a hundred thousand times the productivity of a medieval peasant working as much or more than a medieval peasant. The hedonic treadmill and the bullshit job creating effects of commerce and bureaucracy eat all our productivity gains. The economy is actually a red queen's race: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queen%27s_race https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queen%27s_race

musicale 3y ago
Automation has increased income inequality for the past few decades, and is likely to continue to do so as more tech jobs and service jobs are automated in addition to office jobs and manufacturing jobs. > In a way it's actually a bit dystopian that the "everyone will be put out of work" predictions never come true, because it means we never get that promised age of leisure. It's disappointing that the economy seems to be structured in such a way for most people "leisure" is equivalent to "unemployment." It probably doesn't help that increases in housing, health care, and higher education costs have outpaced inflation for decades, or that wages have stagnated (partially due to an increase in benefit costs such as health insurance.)
- api 3y ago
  Not globally: https://kagi.com/proxy/th?c=lUfv1nYBTMKYtKYO-rQ4Vg_QAA9uQJ07x_miHo4CAuO90QGjluUOcocJ6twN5jAEnkFNmJRVdt88SgP7REH4QrvCUBffjoHbWgXHy5VR5BkueBhkYtH5NYDOnpxufaan https://kagi.com/proxy/th?c=lUfv1nYBTMKYtKYO-rQ4Vg_QAA9uQJ07... Outsourcing has stagnated wages in the developed world, but the cost of manufactured goods has also plummeted. The only reason people aren't better off is that the developed world (especially the anglosphere) has a "cost disease" around things like real estate that prevents people from benefiting from global scale price deflation. It doesn't help you much if gadgets are super cheap but housing is insanely expensive. The high cost of housing is unrelated to automation.
  - musicale 3y ago
    > The high cost of housing is unrelated to automation Housing, health care, higher education... all drastically more expensive. The point about outsourcing is a good one. However, automation still appears to drive income inequality (at least in the US.) "Job-replacing tech has directly driven the income gap since the late 1980s, economists report."[1] [1] https://news.mit.edu/2020/study-inks-automation-inequality-0506 https://news.mit.edu/2020/study-inks-automation-inequality-0...

by api 3y ago

musicale 3y ago

Automation has increased income inequality for the past few decades, and is likely to continue to do so as more tech jobs and service jobs are automated in addition to office jobs and manufacturing jobs. > In a way it's actually a bit dystopian that the "everyone will be put out of work" predictions never come true, because it means we never get that promised age of leisure. It's disappointing that the economy seems to be structured in such a way for most people "leisure" is equivalent to "unemployment." It probably doesn't help that increases in housing, health care, and higher education costs have outpaced inflation for decades, or that wages have stagnated (partially due to an increase in benefit costs such as health insurance.)

api 3y ago
Not globally: https://kagi.com/proxy/th?c=lUfv1nYBTMKYtKYO-rQ4Vg_QAA9uQJ07x_miHo4CAuO90QGjluUOcocJ6twN5jAEnkFNmJRVdt88SgP7REH4QrvCUBffjoHbWgXHy5VR5BkueBhkYtH5NYDOnpxufaan https://kagi.com/proxy/th?c=lUfv1nYBTMKYtKYO-rQ4Vg_QAA9uQJ07... Outsourcing has stagnated wages in the developed world, but the cost of manufactured goods has also plummeted. The only reason people aren't better off is that the developed world (especially the anglosphere) has a "cost disease" around things like real estate that prevents people from benefiting from global scale price deflation. It doesn't help you much if gadgets are super cheap but housing is insanely expensive. The high cost of housing is unrelated to automation.
- musicale 3y ago
  > The high cost of housing is unrelated to automation Housing, health care, higher education... all drastically more expensive. The point about outsourcing is a good one. However, automation still appears to drive income inequality (at least in the US.) "Job-replacing tech has directly driven the income gap since the late 1980s, economists report."[1] [1] https://news.mit.edu/2020/study-inks-automation-inequality-0506 https://news.mit.edu/2020/study-inks-automation-inequality-0...