5 ms·

Whenever one reads articles like this, it's a bit of a consolation to remember that the same factors are shaking up the journalists' world much more and much so

by eliben 2y ago

Whenever one reads articles like this, it's a bit of a consolation to remember that the same factors are shaking up the journalists' world much more and much sooner. This article, like many of its kind, could've easily been written by AI or by a contractor in a cheap country; in fact, this time it just may have been. My friend dubbed this effect "AIrony"

nkozyra 2y ago
Well seriously what profession is immune? Robotics took a lot of manufacturing and farming away in the 80s and 90s, AI added to that will kill off swaths of designers. Most of this country checks out their own groceries and AI has started stocking shelves. Creative industries are becoming commodities due to tooling. All I can come up with when I search for safe jobs is athletes, politicians, and live music performers.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- ben_w 2y ago
  > All I can come up with when I search for safe jobs is athletes, politicians, and live music performers. Anything where the point is specifically human effort rather than the actual result, plus ones that set their own rules. So yes, athletes and politicians; for the moment also prostitutes (pending better bioprinting, not because it's in either category); but also some art — not all art, just the art where the point is to show off how rich you are; most live music was automated away a century ago, what remains is likely also the category of art where the expense is the point.
  - the_af 2y ago
    There exists art where the human connection and effort is the point, and this is not because you want to show off how rich you are ("owning" this kind of art is not what most of us are after). However, Transformers movies and equivalent "art as a product" will be made by algorithm or GenAI, if they aren't already.
  - miki123211 2y ago
    > ones that set their own rules. So also doctors, lawyers, teachers, soldiers and government workers. It's not that they can't be replaced by AI, they just won't legally be allowed to.
    - the_af 2y ago
      I can see soldiers being replaced by AI if the latter becomes demonstrably more cost effective. Laws won't be able to stop this, because the other side will use AI if it's better (cheaper, cost effective, etc). Teachers cannot be replaced by AI if you see them as more than just "knowledge passing". If you think the human component of the teacher-student interaction is fundamental, as I do, teachers won't be replaced, though they may use AI to assist them.
      - Jensson 2y ago
        > If you think the human component of the teacher-student interaction is fundamental What is the "human component" to teaching? How can't that be solved via AGI? AGI can do human emotions, current AI already can pretty well for most things.
        the_af 2y ago
        "AGI can do human emotions" is a bold statement since AGI doesn't exist yet, and it's not a stated goal to do human emotions. The "human component" to (good) teaching is human beings teaching other human beings to be human. A teacher is not a mechanism for offloading knowledge into a child-shaped container.
        Jensson 2y ago
        > The "human component" to (good) teaching is human beings teaching other human beings to be human You learn that before you enter school, school teaches you how to be less human and more robotic.
        2y ago
- thunky 2y ago
  > Well seriously what profession is immune? Any job that requires general purpose hands and feet to to "real work". Like the thousands of people fixing infrastructure right now everywhere after Helene.
- eliben 2y ago
  I posit that computer programming is one of the least vulnerable among the creative professions, because how "meta" it is, and how we're all just abstracting on top of other abstractions. AI is yet another abstraction to build on top of. https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2022/asimov-programming-and-the-meta-ladder/ https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2022/asimov-programming-and-th... Well, until AGI, of course. But then we're probably all toast anyway
  - Yoric 2y ago
    I posit that programming is vulnerable, because upper management does not realize that even the most sophisticated AIs can only barely do the simplest jobs of junior developers. Of course, they're going to destroy their companies when they layoff their developers and replace them with under-skilled prompt engineers. But by then, the damage will be done, both among the employers and the employees.
- monkfish328 2y ago
  And capitalists! Those who _own_ the means of production (AI, robots....). If you have equity in an AI etc company, you'll be flying. Wealth concentration may increase, barring a revolution.
hooverd 2y ago
That's such a blah mindset. Sure my job might be on the line but at least they come for the other guys first.

by eliben 2y ago

nkozyra 2y ago

Well seriously what profession is immune? Robotics took a lot of manufacturing and farming away in the 80s and 90s, AI added to that will kill off swaths of designers. Most of this country checks out their own groceries and AI has started stocking shelves. Creative industries are becoming commodities due to tooling. All I can come up with when I search for safe jobs is athletes, politicians, and live music performers.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ben_w 2y ago
> All I can come up with when I search for safe jobs is athletes, politicians, and live music performers. Anything where the point is specifically human effort rather than the actual result, plus ones that set their own rules. So yes, athletes and politicians; for the moment also prostitutes (pending better bioprinting, not because it's in either category); but also some art — not all art, just the art where the point is to show off how rich you are; most live music was automated away a century ago, what remains is likely also the category of art where the expense is the point.
- the_af 2y ago
  There exists art where the human connection and effort is the point, and this is not because you want to show off how rich you are ("owning" this kind of art is not what most of us are after). However, Transformers movies and equivalent "art as a product" will be made by algorithm or GenAI, if they aren't already.
- miki123211 2y ago
  > ones that set their own rules. So also doctors, lawyers, teachers, soldiers and government workers. It's not that they can't be replaced by AI, they just won't legally be allowed to.
  - the_af 2y ago
    I can see soldiers being replaced by AI if the latter becomes demonstrably more cost effective. Laws won't be able to stop this, because the other side will use AI if it's better (cheaper, cost effective, etc). Teachers cannot be replaced by AI if you see them as more than just "knowledge passing". If you think the human component of the teacher-student interaction is fundamental, as I do, teachers won't be replaced, though they may use AI to assist them.
    - Jensson 2y ago
      > If you think the human component of the teacher-student interaction is fundamental What is the "human component" to teaching? How can't that be solved via AGI? AGI can do human emotions, current AI already can pretty well for most things.
      - the_af 2y ago
        "AGI can do human emotions" is a bold statement since AGI doesn't exist yet, and it's not a stated goal to do human emotions. The "human component" to (good) teaching is human beings teaching other human beings to be human. A teacher is not a mechanism for offloading knowledge into a child-shaped container.
        Jensson 2y ago
        > The "human component" to (good) teaching is human beings teaching other human beings to be human You learn that before you enter school, school teaches you how to be less human and more robotic.
        2y ago
thunky 2y ago
> Well seriously what profession is immune? Any job that requires general purpose hands and feet to to "real work". Like the thousands of people fixing infrastructure right now everywhere after Helene.
eliben 2y ago
I posit that computer programming is one of the least vulnerable among the creative professions, because how "meta" it is, and how we're all just abstracting on top of other abstractions. AI is yet another abstraction to build on top of. https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2022/asimov-programming-and-the-meta-ladder/ https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2022/asimov-programming-and-th... Well, until AGI, of course. But then we're probably all toast anyway
- Yoric 2y ago
  I posit that programming is vulnerable, because upper management does not realize that even the most sophisticated AIs can only barely do the simplest jobs of junior developers. Of course, they're going to destroy their companies when they layoff their developers and replace them with under-skilled prompt engineers. But by then, the damage will be done, both among the employers and the employees.
monkfish328 2y ago
And capitalists! Those who _own_ the means of production (AI, robots....). If you have equity in an AI etc company, you'll be flying. Wealth concentration may increase, barring a revolution.

hooverd 2y ago

That's such a blah mindset. Sure my job might be on the line but at least they come for the other guys first.