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Economics is a pseudo-science typically used to launder political ideology, but this "fallacy" is particularly ill suited to this discussion. Yes, it's true tha
by viccis 1y ago
Economics is a pseudo-science typically used to launder political ideology, but this "fallacy" is particularly ill suited to this discussion. Yes, it's true that automation doesn't necessarily cause a net unemployment across the board to go up. But it can still decimate employment in the automated sectors. From that link:
>While many workers fear that automation or artificial intelligence will take their jobs, history has shown that when jobs in some sectors disappear, jobs in new sectors are created. One example is the United States, where a century of increasing productivity and technological improvements changed the percentage of Americans employed in the production of food from 41% of the workforce in 1900 to 2% in 2000.
The problem with AI is that it tends to automate away skilled jobs, ones that sometimes required many years of study and educational debt to get.
So the net result, with respect to software engineering, which was the context of the discussion is here, is not "job creation." The net result is that people (especially the junior ones who just got out of school with a pile of debt) are now forced to compete for jobs they aren't necessary any more qualified for than people without those degrees.
This applies to other things where AI massively reduces the number of people needed. Journalism, art asset creation, etc. These are the kinds of cushy and often fulfilling jobs that are only possible because our grandparents and their parents, and so on, worked backbreaking or mind numbing jobs to build the kind of economy that would support these kind of careers. Thanks AI! My kid might never have to worry about the horrors of creative engineering or artistic careers, freeing up room for the real joy of being a gig economy slave or a factory shift worker!
- emp17344 1y ago>Economics is a pseudo-science typically used to launder political ideology This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard on here. Perfect example of conspiratorial thinking. Automation has always resulted in economic growth. This time will be no different.
- const_cast 1y agoEconomics is inherently tied to politics, and economic theory is merely created to satisfy various political desires. Our economic understanding is inherently limited to just capitalism. That's all we know, and our theories are constrained within that environment. However, throughout human history there have been a plethora of economies that operated under different rules. > Automation has always resulted in economic growth This, while true, does not mean that further automation will result in economic growth. For example, under a capitalist economy, 100% automation results in the entire economy collapsing. Because the economy is predicated on consumerism, which requires employment. In order to produce things, you need people to buy them. Seems simple, but it's a huge problem with capitalism that we repeatedly bandaid. Obviously, we can't let people who can't work just rot in the street, because that's unpleasant. So we develop systems like disability, Medicaid, Social Security, education, etc to bolt-on top of capitalism to fill in the gaps. We are completely and utterly not prepared for extreme automation.
- viccis 1y agoThere's nothing conspiratorial about it. Maybe you were thinking of a different word? But if economic growth is your only goal then there are plenty of reliable options, like another major war, that are even better for long term economic growth. Whatever it takes to make line go up. The worst part is that AI is absolutely not going to achieve any real "intelligence" or automate anything truly difficult. It's just going to nibble away at a bunch of formerly desirable careers.