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Except that the industrial revolution managed to mass produce goods of much higher quality and consistency than artisans.

ziddoap 1y ago
>much higher quality and consistency than artisans. Consistency, sure. Higher quality...? I'll take my artisan bread over Wonder bread, my hand-crafted table over Ikea, etc.
- 0x000xca0xfe 1y ago
  Just looking at the finely woven shirt I'm wearing right now, and I'm sure the average 17th-century artisan was not able to hand-craft something like that.
  - samus 1y ago
    Textiles is one of the first industries that was impacted by the industrial revolution, so it's unsurprising that the product is now as perfect as it can be. On the other hand I wonder how affordable it would be if it was not produced in low-income countries.
baq 1y ago
The first steam engine was worse than a horse (needs coal! and so much water! and tracks! useless, really), I fully expect the first AIs to be worse than a single software engineer.
rchaud 1y ago
If it's a choice between IKEA vs a carpentry shop, I'll go with the carpenters every time. My childhood bed from 35 years ago is still rock solid compared to the cardboard crap that's "logistically more efficient".
JohnFen 1y ago
Consistency, yes. Higher quality? A few things, yes, but for the majority of things, not even close. Mass production makes things cheaper, but at the cost of quality.
spacemadness 1y ago
That hot take probably needs a further qualifying statement.
- 0x000xca0xfe 1y ago
  I recommend "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. Small artisanal shops before the industrial revolution produced some of the absolutely, truly worst products (poisonous food for example) imaginable (fantastic things, too, of course). We like to hate on bland industrial mass-produced stuff nowadays but it wasn't all great before. Before I accept that AI is the next industrial revolution I'd like to see actual, superior, production ready software churned out at a quality the average human developer cannot match. Not just toy products or pelikans on bicycles. Wake me up when AI can one-shot something equivalent to Wordpress in quality and scope. Otherwise it's just another tool in the toolbelt for developers. Update: Sorry not really sure if I'm mixing up the book with another one. Was a long time ago...
  - spacemadness 1y ago
    To be clear, I wasn't questioning your statement on AI, but on artisans. One could easily argue that some modern day goods are built to break vs. an artisan that might build something of quality that stands the test of time. Furniture is a good example.
vinceguidry 1y ago
At the cost of human dignity, freedom, and health. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvk_XylEmLo&t=31s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvk_XylEmLo&t=31s
par 1y ago
No they didn't. A lot of those goods used cancerous chemicals and agents as we know today.

ziddoap 1y ago

>much higher quality and consistency than artisans. Consistency, sure. Higher quality...? I'll take my artisan bread over Wonder bread, my hand-crafted table over Ikea, etc.

0x000xca0xfe 1y ago
Just looking at the finely woven shirt I'm wearing right now, and I'm sure the average 17th-century artisan was not able to hand-craft something like that.
- samus 1y ago
  Textiles is one of the first industries that was impacted by the industrial revolution, so it's unsurprising that the product is now as perfect as it can be. On the other hand I wonder how affordable it would be if it was not produced in low-income countries.

baq 1y ago

The first steam engine was worse than a horse (needs coal! and so much water! and tracks! useless, really), I fully expect the first AIs to be worse than a single software engineer.

rchaud 1y ago

If it's a choice between IKEA vs a carpentry shop, I'll go with the carpenters every time. My childhood bed from 35 years ago is still rock solid compared to the cardboard crap that's "logistically more efficient".

JohnFen 1y ago

Consistency, yes. Higher quality? A few things, yes, but for the majority of things, not even close. Mass production makes things cheaper, but at the cost of quality.

spacemadness 1y ago

That hot take probably needs a further qualifying statement.

0x000xca0xfe 1y ago
I recommend "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. Small artisanal shops before the industrial revolution produced some of the absolutely, truly worst products (poisonous food for example) imaginable (fantastic things, too, of course). We like to hate on bland industrial mass-produced stuff nowadays but it wasn't all great before. Before I accept that AI is the next industrial revolution I'd like to see actual, superior, production ready software churned out at a quality the average human developer cannot match. Not just toy products or pelikans on bicycles. Wake me up when AI can one-shot something equivalent to Wordpress in quality and scope. Otherwise it's just another tool in the toolbelt for developers. Update: Sorry not really sure if I'm mixing up the book with another one. Was a long time ago...
- spacemadness 1y ago
  To be clear, I wasn't questioning your statement on AI, but on artisans. One could easily argue that some modern day goods are built to break vs. an artisan that might build something of quality that stands the test of time. Furniture is a good example.

vinceguidry 1y ago

At the cost of human dignity, freedom, and health. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvk_XylEmLo&t=31s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvk_XylEmLo&t=31s

par 1y ago

No they didn't. A lot of those goods used cancerous chemicals and agents as we know today.