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I highly recommend reading about luddites! This Smithsonian article covers the topic well: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fough

I highly recommend reading about luddites! This Smithsonian article covers the topic well: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-rea... Basically luddites were never the bad ones, they were protestors against abusive working conditions. They did sabotage the owners of the mills that paid them so poorly, sometimes by destroying machinery, but it was really an underground labor movement that’s super cool to learn about.

CamperBob2 2y ago
No, there was nothing "super cool" about the Luddites. Stop trying to rehabilitate these thugs. Failing that, do it someplace other than a site called "Hacker News."
- yyuugg 2y ago
  Luddites were highly educated, skilled workers whose work was being replaced by machines. They just wanted to operate the machines and share in the increased productivity. There's absolutely no parallels here, to AI. A machine that is taking work from highly skilled labor ohhhh wait
  - pineaux 2y ago
    [flagged]
  - CamperBob2 2y ago
    If a machine can take your work, perhaps you weren't as "highly skilled" as you thought you were.
    - yyuugg 2y ago
      [dead]
    - dyauspitr 2y ago
      Sounds like your idea of a machine is a little outdated.
      - CamperBob2 2y ago
        Or your idea of a human being. We're primates that make and use tools. AI is a tool, so we'll make it and use it. What we won't do is compete with it. We have better things to do.
- weweersdfsd 2y ago
  There's nothing wrong with resisting bad working conditions, unfair pay, or getting replaced by a machine without adequate social safety nets in place. If businesses decide to replace workers with AI, then it's also their collective responsibility to pay for their retraining, or if that isn't possible their social security.
  - HPsquared 2y ago
    Surely the morality depends on how they go about their protest.
- sensanaty 2y ago
  The Luddite "thugs" were the ones that were getting murdered by the people they were protesting against, a protest which happened because they were about to be replaced while already working in extremely dangerous conditions with terrible compensation. It's telling that the AI sycophants side with the group that was actually murdering people, however.
  - CamperBob2 2y ago
    a protest which happened because they were about to be replaced while already working in extremely dangerous conditions with terrible compensation. Gee. Being "replaced" in a job like that sounds like a good career move to me. The system that prevailed up to that point didn't give them many options, of course... but neither would their response to it. Sabotage doesn't bring progress, no matter who told you that it did, or how much you want to believe it.
    - willio58 2y ago
      Again I really hope you read about the luddites rather than draw conclusions from surface-level observations of them. Not only were they essentially one of the first organized labor protestors, they also protested against the poor quality of the products made by the machines. This is why they were extremely popular among most people who lived during this time, and would be sheltered by people unrelated to the workers of the mills. Someone who made quality garments for their town was put out of business by a mill mass-producing terrible quality products. It’s almost the first echoes of what we see coming over from Amazon/Temu now.
- whamlastxmas 2y ago
  Part of the hacker ethos is being counter to mainstream and challenging authority. Luddites fit in with that perfectly.
  - CamperBob2 2y ago
    Taking out your frustrations on the hardware isn't part of any hacker ethos I'm familiar with. I guess times have changed.
    - willio58 2y ago
      If you think the luddites were attacking the hardware because they were afraid of technology you’re mistaken. Please read the article I linked, it explains how the luddites’ motives are completely misunderstood by most people. This misunderstanding is furthered by people using the term Luddite as a pejorative. But this is somewhat like using the term “Black Panther” as a pejorative.

CamperBob2 2y ago

No, there was nothing "super cool" about the Luddites. Stop trying to rehabilitate these thugs. Failing that, do it someplace other than a site called "Hacker News."

yyuugg 2y ago
Luddites were highly educated, skilled workers whose work was being replaced by machines. They just wanted to operate the machines and share in the increased productivity. There's absolutely no parallels here, to AI. A machine that is taking work from highly skilled labor ohhhh wait
- pineaux 2y ago
  [flagged]
- CamperBob2 2y ago
  If a machine can take your work, perhaps you weren't as "highly skilled" as you thought you were.
  - yyuugg 2y ago
    [dead]
  - dyauspitr 2y ago
    Sounds like your idea of a machine is a little outdated.
    - CamperBob2 2y ago
      Or your idea of a human being. We're primates that make and use tools. AI is a tool, so we'll make it and use it. What we won't do is compete with it. We have better things to do.
weweersdfsd 2y ago
There's nothing wrong with resisting bad working conditions, unfair pay, or getting replaced by a machine without adequate social safety nets in place. If businesses decide to replace workers with AI, then it's also their collective responsibility to pay for their retraining, or if that isn't possible their social security.
- HPsquared 2y ago
  Surely the morality depends on how they go about their protest.
sensanaty 2y ago
The Luddite "thugs" were the ones that were getting murdered by the people they were protesting against, a protest which happened because they were about to be replaced while already working in extremely dangerous conditions with terrible compensation. It's telling that the AI sycophants side with the group that was actually murdering people, however.
- CamperBob2 2y ago
  a protest which happened because they were about to be replaced while already working in extremely dangerous conditions with terrible compensation. Gee. Being "replaced" in a job like that sounds like a good career move to me. The system that prevailed up to that point didn't give them many options, of course... but neither would their response to it. Sabotage doesn't bring progress, no matter who told you that it did, or how much you want to believe it.
  - willio58 2y ago
    Again I really hope you read about the luddites rather than draw conclusions from surface-level observations of them. Not only were they essentially one of the first organized labor protestors, they also protested against the poor quality of the products made by the machines. This is why they were extremely popular among most people who lived during this time, and would be sheltered by people unrelated to the workers of the mills. Someone who made quality garments for their town was put out of business by a mill mass-producing terrible quality products. It’s almost the first echoes of what we see coming over from Amazon/Temu now.
whamlastxmas 2y ago
Part of the hacker ethos is being counter to mainstream and challenging authority. Luddites fit in with that perfectly.
- CamperBob2 2y ago
  Taking out your frustrations on the hardware isn't part of any hacker ethos I'm familiar with. I guess times have changed.
  - willio58 2y ago
    If you think the luddites were attacking the hardware because they were afraid of technology you’re mistaken. Please read the article I linked, it explains how the luddites’ motives are completely misunderstood by most people. This misunderstanding is furthered by people using the term Luddite as a pejorative. But this is somewhat like using the term “Black Panther” as a pejorative.