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> Sam Altman when he says there may someday be a billion-dollar company run by one person who is able to highly leverage future AI agents to automate most t

> Sam Altman when he says there may someday be a billion-dollar company run by one person who is able to highly leverage future AI agents to automate most traditional roles at a company. Altman is nearly right, but Warren Bennis had it better; The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment. It's not that companies will "leverage AI" but that AI will leverage humans. Companies are already "AIs", but that will become more and more apparent as time goes by.

hef19898 3y ago
Yeah, neither of those things is going to happen in our lifetimes. Regardless of what Altman says.
- nonrandomstring 3y ago
  Play the game "Flateye" [0,1]and come back to us on that :) [0] https://flateye-game.com/ https://flateye-game.com/ [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HdYFdcfdXk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HdYFdcfdXk
  - hef19898 3y ago
    Try flat eye at managing a factory, and come back to tell me how it went. A game as a reference, seriously? No idea which film I recently heard the term, but amateur hour doesn't even come close to decribe that...
    - nonrandomstring 3y ago
      Did you just actually take me giving you a joke game as a "reference" seriously? I'm not sure what worries me the most now.
      - hef19898 3y ago
        Unfortunately, I cannot tell anymore sometimes... As a joke, it is right down my alley! So please, take my apology.
        nonrandomstring 3y ago
        We're cool hef. At least I assume it's a joke. Maybe the jokes on me, but the review seemed to paint it that way.
- radiator 3y ago
  "in our lifetimes" is a very wide range here. There are probably both teenagers and octogenarians on HN. Did you mean your statement to apply also to the teenagers?
  - hef19898 3y ago
    When it comes to fuly automated factories owned by AI-powered one-person unicorns, that would include said teenagers children if not grand children. AI-powered billion dollar valuated over-hyped start-ups, well, those risk happening this decade.
- ok_computer 3y ago
  Lol I agree with you. I think ambitious ideas about automated factories are made by people who have never worked in a manufacturing, much less automated industry.
timeagain 3y ago
We build cybernetic systems called companies with the goal of creating/increasing profit. As we get better and better at making these systems, humans play less of a role and the roles we do play become ever more formulaic. I wonder when we will hit a turning point when over 50% of people in America would say “yes” to the question “is my boss a computer?” For instance if you work at MacDonalds, you probably have a shift supervisor, but the beeping monitor showing customer orders and wait times is the real head honcho. Piss off your boss and you’ll get a talking to. Piss off the computer and you’re out (quantifiably!)
- TapWaterBandit 3y ago
  Interesting observation about McDonald's. I work as a doordasher and have never once spoken to or interacted with anyone who works at the company.Well that's not quite true, I had an order with issues once that went to a CS rep in the Philippines who I chatted with via messaging. For all intents and purposes my "boss" is a computer.
- kelnos 3y ago
  Reminds me of "Manna" by Marshall Brain[0]. It's a short story about a fast-food restaurant where the manager is a computer that directs employees through an earpiece, with the power to hire and fire. [0] https://marshallbrain.com/manna1 https://marshallbrain.com/manna1
- alephnan 3y ago
  > We build cybernetic systems called companies with the goal of creating/increasing profit. Except CEOs such as Google's are incentivized to maximize their own payouts. It just happens that during their tenure, this happens to be aligned with shareholder value.
geodel 3y ago
Absolutely right. As I also put some past comment, forget cutting edge ML/DL/AI etc even basic tools from last couple of decades like timesheet/hours management, ticketing/issue management can totally control >90% of tech workforce and possibly even more non-technical workforce. The future I see AI deciding what minimum level of sustenance, if any, to be provided to humans based on their usefulness to prevailing economic systems. Most people already run in a tight loop routine all their life. The great learning for them with futuristic AI could just be realizing this plain old fact.
- throwanem 3y ago
  > The future I see AI deciding what minimum level of sustenance, if any, to be provided to humans based on their usefulness to prevailing economic systems. For this you believe you need to look to the future?
mvdtnz 3y ago
This is a total fantasy. The amount of hype around these "guess the next word" games is so far beyond ridiculous at this stage I just don't know what to say.
- nonrandomstring 3y ago
  It is a ridiculous fantasy, yes indeed. But the danger with AI is not what it's actually capable of, it's what people think (hope and fear) it's capable of, and how that cultural effect impacts real life.

hef19898 3y ago

Yeah, neither of those things is going to happen in our lifetimes. Regardless of what Altman says.

nonrandomstring 3y ago
Play the game "Flateye" [0,1]and come back to us on that :) [0] https://flateye-game.com/ https://flateye-game.com/ [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HdYFdcfdXk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HdYFdcfdXk
- hef19898 3y ago
  Try flat eye at managing a factory, and come back to tell me how it went. A game as a reference, seriously? No idea which film I recently heard the term, but amateur hour doesn't even come close to decribe that...
  - nonrandomstring 3y ago
    Did you just actually take me giving you a joke game as a "reference" seriously? I'm not sure what worries me the most now.
    - hef19898 3y ago
      Unfortunately, I cannot tell anymore sometimes... As a joke, it is right down my alley! So please, take my apology.
      - nonrandomstring 3y ago
        We're cool hef. At least I assume it's a joke. Maybe the jokes on me, but the review seemed to paint it that way.
radiator 3y ago
"in our lifetimes" is a very wide range here. There are probably both teenagers and octogenarians on HN. Did you mean your statement to apply also to the teenagers?
- hef19898 3y ago
  When it comes to fuly automated factories owned by AI-powered one-person unicorns, that would include said teenagers children if not grand children. AI-powered billion dollar valuated over-hyped start-ups, well, those risk happening this decade.
ok_computer 3y ago
Lol I agree with you. I think ambitious ideas about automated factories are made by people who have never worked in a manufacturing, much less automated industry.

timeagain 3y ago

We build cybernetic systems called companies with the goal of creating/increasing profit. As we get better and better at making these systems, humans play less of a role and the roles we do play become ever more formulaic. I wonder when we will hit a turning point when over 50% of people in America would say “yes” to the question “is my boss a computer?” For instance if you work at MacDonalds, you probably have a shift supervisor, but the beeping monitor showing customer orders and wait times is the real head honcho. Piss off your boss and you’ll get a talking to. Piss off the computer and you’re out (quantifiably!)

TapWaterBandit 3y ago
Interesting observation about McDonald's. I work as a doordasher and have never once spoken to or interacted with anyone who works at the company.Well that's not quite true, I had an order with issues once that went to a CS rep in the Philippines who I chatted with via messaging. For all intents and purposes my "boss" is a computer.
kelnos 3y ago
Reminds me of "Manna" by Marshall Brain[0]. It's a short story about a fast-food restaurant where the manager is a computer that directs employees through an earpiece, with the power to hire and fire. [0] https://marshallbrain.com/manna1 https://marshallbrain.com/manna1
alephnan 3y ago
> We build cybernetic systems called companies with the goal of creating/increasing profit. Except CEOs such as Google's are incentivized to maximize their own payouts. It just happens that during their tenure, this happens to be aligned with shareholder value.

geodel 3y ago

Absolutely right. As I also put some past comment, forget cutting edge ML/DL/AI etc even basic tools from last couple of decades like timesheet/hours management, ticketing/issue management can totally control >90% of tech workforce and possibly even more non-technical workforce. The future I see AI deciding what minimum level of sustenance, if any, to be provided to humans based on their usefulness to prevailing economic systems. Most people already run in a tight loop routine all their life. The great learning for them with futuristic AI could just be realizing this plain old fact.

throwanem 3y ago
> The future I see AI deciding what minimum level of sustenance, if any, to be provided to humans based on their usefulness to prevailing economic systems. For this you believe you need to look to the future?

mvdtnz 3y ago

This is a total fantasy. The amount of hype around these "guess the next word" games is so far beyond ridiculous at this stage I just don't know what to say.

nonrandomstring 3y ago
It is a ridiculous fantasy, yes indeed. But the danger with AI is not what it's actually capable of, it's what people think (hope and fear) it's capable of, and how that cultural effect impacts real life.