4 ms·
> Could AI usher in a new era of wealth where nobody has to work? Sure, if you ignore the fact that the most likely scenario is that the value is captured by th
by zone411 3y ago
> Could AI usher in a new era of wealth where nobody has to work? Sure, if you ignore the fact that the most likely scenario is that the value is captured by the current owning class, which is already well underway.
What "fact"? The average working hours per worker have been declining (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-working-hours-per-worker https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-working-hours-per-...). I assume you have compelling evidence that this trend will reverse?
- kahnclusions 3y agoThe fact is that worker productivity has tremendously increased, but worker income/wealth is stagnant. Only the owning class is reaping the benefits of increasing worker productivity. Working hours will continue to fall as you say, but inequality will only get worse. Working 30 hours instead of 40 hours won’t change how poor everyone is.
- danaris 3y agoFortunately, the new wave of unionization and pro-labor sentiment is likely to start changing that. The young people growing up today have seen firsthand the devastation 40+ years of increasing concentration of wealth have wrought, and they are much less willing to accept it than the intervening generations have been. In particular, I found one of Cory Doctorow's recent pieces[0] both informative and very hopeful. [0] https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norms-code-laws-markets https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norm...