5 ms·

Satya Nadella on knowledge work

33 points by hosolmaz 2y ago

submeta 2y ago
> He thinks that white collar work will become more like factory work, with AI agents used for end-to-end optimization. Yeah, let’s replace every kind of human work (planning, counselling, engineering, research, plain everything), and let us make them all unemployed. And let only the owners of the tech make money. Well if this new tech served all makind by sharing the profit, it would be like utopia. But these greedy oligarchs won’t share a single bit of the wealth that’s generated by tech. And we‘ll have tech oligarchs, as the former greek finance minister have written in his book.
- DarkCrusader2 2y ago
  I believe you are referring to Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis. Recently read it and found it to be quiet insightful. Explanation of how the the current trend is more Feudalism instead of super charged capitalism was very well done. But i don't think the solutions proposed will work out in practice.
  - mxxx 2y ago
    Good read that seems more relevant by the day.
ChiMan 2y ago
With AI, I'd say white collar work should become less like factory work. Generative AI is non-deterministic, the opposite of factory work.
- redrove 2y ago
  The ruling class clearly does not seem to grasp the concept and believes they can fire us all and replace us with next-level markov chain auto completes.
  - npodbielski 2y ago
    I say they should go with it. Those companies should loose few billions just to learn.
    - asdff 2y ago
      It doesn't matter how companies actually do anymore. All that matters is the implication. See PE ratios of tech darlings. Most of that value proposition is purely hype. They can turn a profit on hype for a lot longer than you or I can last without work that's for sure. How long is your runway? Better yet, how long until you are radicalized against the system beating you down?
zenmaster10665 2y ago
I don't read this as him saying it will become factory work... He is saying that the work flows will change, like lean changed factory work. This seems like a misinterpretation of the interview?
- hosolmaz 2y ago
  Yes, this sounds more accurate
iLoveOncall 2y ago
Meanwhile he admits that AI has generated no value so far in another interview: https://futurism.com/microsoft-ceo-ai-generating-no-value https://futurism.com/microsoft-ceo-ai-generating-no-value This article is a sales pitch, the one I'm linking is what all those CEOs really think.
- riffraff 2y ago
  It is the same interview mentioned in both TFA and your link. The two reports just chose to highlight different things, and TBH, neither seems to be hyping AI.
- SpicyLemonZest 2y ago
  Headlines are, unfortunately, often intentionally fabricated for clickbait purposes. Nadella clearly believes AI is valuable today and will become more so over time. What he actually said, as the text of the article describes, is that he's uninterested in chasing benchmark results because he thinks the real goal of AI should be growing the world GDP at a 10% annual rate.
  - thefz 2y ago
    Why don't we try for once to grow happiness
    - SpicyLemonZest 2y ago
      GDP per capita is quite well correlated with happiness (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gdp-vs-happiness https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gdp-vs-happiness). There’s reasonable concerns about microtargeting, but being able to afford expensive stuff solves quite a lot of the problems that make people unhappy.
  - iLoveOncall 2y ago
    > he thinks the real goal of AI should be growing the world GDP at a 10% annual rate. Hum, no. He is saying the world GDP is currently growing at 10% annual rate, and for AI to have a value it would need to disrupt this and make it grow much faster. > Nadella clearly believes AI is valuable today Despite saying the exact contrary? I'd argue not a single tech CEO sees AI as valuable today. They just don't want to be left in the dust IF it ever becomes valuable.

33 points by hosolmaz 2y ago

> He thinks that white collar work will become more like factory work, with AI agents used for end-to-end optimization. Yeah, let’s replace every kind of human work (planning, counselling, engineering, research, plain everything), and let us make them all unemployed. And let only the owners of the tech make money. Well if this new tech served all makind by sharing the profit, it would be like utopia. But these greedy oligarchs won’t share a single bit of the wealth that’s generated by tech. And we‘ll have tech oligarchs, as the former greek finance minister have written in his book.

DarkCrusader2 2y ago
I believe you are referring to Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis. Recently read it and found it to be quiet insightful. Explanation of how the the current trend is more Feudalism instead of super charged capitalism was very well done. But i don't think the solutions proposed will work out in practice.
- mxxx 2y ago
  Good read that seems more relevant by the day.

ChiMan 2y ago

With AI, I'd say white collar work should become less like factory work. Generative AI is non-deterministic, the opposite of factory work.

redrove 2y ago
The ruling class clearly does not seem to grasp the concept and believes they can fire us all and replace us with next-level markov chain auto completes.
- npodbielski 2y ago
  I say they should go with it. Those companies should loose few billions just to learn.
  - asdff 2y ago
    It doesn't matter how companies actually do anymore. All that matters is the implication. See PE ratios of tech darlings. Most of that value proposition is purely hype. They can turn a profit on hype for a lot longer than you or I can last without work that's for sure. How long is your runway? Better yet, how long until you are radicalized against the system beating you down?

zenmaster10665 2y ago

I don't read this as him saying it will become factory work... He is saying that the work flows will change, like lean changed factory work. This seems like a misinterpretation of the interview?

hosolmaz 2y ago
Yes, this sounds more accurate

iLoveOncall 2y ago

Meanwhile he admits that AI has generated no value so far in another interview: https://futurism.com/microsoft-ceo-ai-generating-no-value https://futurism.com/microsoft-ceo-ai-generating-no-value This article is a sales pitch, the one I'm linking is what all those CEOs really think.

riffraff 2y ago
It is the same interview mentioned in both TFA and your link. The two reports just chose to highlight different things, and TBH, neither seems to be hyping AI.
SpicyLemonZest 2y ago
Headlines are, unfortunately, often intentionally fabricated for clickbait purposes. Nadella clearly believes AI is valuable today and will become more so over time. What he actually said, as the text of the article describes, is that he's uninterested in chasing benchmark results because he thinks the real goal of AI should be growing the world GDP at a 10% annual rate.
- thefz 2y ago
  Why don't we try for once to grow happiness
  - SpicyLemonZest 2y ago
    GDP per capita is quite well correlated with happiness (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gdp-vs-happiness https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gdp-vs-happiness). There’s reasonable concerns about microtargeting, but being able to afford expensive stuff solves quite a lot of the problems that make people unhappy.
- iLoveOncall 2y ago
  > he thinks the real goal of AI should be growing the world GDP at a 10% annual rate. Hum, no. He is saying the world GDP is currently growing at 10% annual rate, and for AI to have a value it would need to disrupt this and make it grow much faster. > Nadella clearly believes AI is valuable today Despite saying the exact contrary? I'd argue not a single tech CEO sees AI as valuable today. They just don't want to be left in the dust IF it ever becomes valuable.