4 ms·

Because developer and other white-collar job salaries are the top expense of most companies.

kulahan 1y ago
Oh boy I can’t wait until we get rid of the highest paying jobs! Your response doesn’t explain why so many people are hyped about it, just why CEOs are.
- fnimick 1y ago
  There's a lot of non-engineering people who are very happy to see someone else get unemployed by automation for a change. The people who formerly were automating others out of a job are getting a taste of their own medicine.
  - linotype 1y ago
    Of course that would cause a tremendous drop in demand for the services the schaudenfreuden folks provide, hurting them as well.
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      > that would cause a tremendous drop in demand for the services the schaudenfreuden folks provide, hurting them as well You're correct. But it doesn't matter. Remember the San Francisco protests against tech? People will kill a golden goose if it's shinier than their own.
      - oytis 1y ago
        If this goose is also pricing others out of housing market it's not entirely unreasonable
        JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        > If this goose is also pricing others out of housing market it's not entirely unreasonable It's self-defeating but predictable. (Hence why the protests were tolerated to backed by NIMBY interests.) My point is the same nonsense can be applied to someone not earning a tech wage celebrating tech workers getting replaced by AI. It makes them poorer, ceteris paribus. But they may not understand that. And the few that do may not care (or may have a way to profit off it, directly or indirectly, such that it's acceptable).
        oytis 1y ago
        I don't quite follow. What exactly have non-tech people of San Francisco got from all the tech people working there? How did they become richer (ok, apart from landlords) or how would they become poorer if they lose their jobs?
        rcpt 1y ago
        Tech workers pay a lot of taxes in addition to supporting the local economy. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-multiplier-effect-of-innovation-jobs/ https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-multiplier-effect-of...
    - daedrdev 1y ago
      The services will get cheaper, since most companies make much profit and the moat of high salaries will be gone.
  - satyrun 1y ago
    I am not an engineer and I expect my white collar job to be automated. The reason to be excited economically for this is if it happens it will be massively deflationary. Pretending CEOs are just going to pocket the money is economically stupid. Being able to use a super intelligence has been a long time dream too. What is depressing is the amount of tech workers who have no interest in technological advancement.
    - overgard 1y ago
      I'm not sure exactly what you mean by deflationary, but in general deflation in an economy is a very bad thing. The most significant period of economic deflation in the US was 1930-1933, ie, the great depression, and the most recent period was the great recession. And since when do business executives NOT pocket the money? Pretty much the only exception is when they reinvest the savings into the business, for more growth, but that reinvestment and growth usually is only something the rest of us care about if it involves hiring..
- crystal_revenge 1y ago
  CEOs run every major media outlet and public platform for communication, people that hype AI will get their content promoted and will see more success which creates and incentive to create content. This doesn't even require any "conspiracy" among CEOs, just people with a vested interest in AI hype who act in that interest, shaping the type of content their organizations will produce. We saw something lessor with the "return to office" frenzy just because many CEOs realized a large chunk of their investment portfolio was in commercial real estate. That was only less hyped because I suspect there were larger numbers of CEOs with an interest in remaining remote. Outside of the tech scene, AI is far less hyped and in places where CEOs tend to have little impact on the media it tends to be resisted rather than hyped.
citrin_ru 1y ago
White collar jobs as a white - yes, but even in software companies it is not uncommon when sales and marketing cost more than engineering.
mulmen 1y ago
I don’t think software developer is a white collar job. It’s essentially manufacturing. There are some white collar workers at the extremes but the overwhelming majority of programmers are doing the IT equivalent of building pickup trucks.

Oh boy I can’t wait until we get rid of the highest paying jobs! Your response doesn’t explain why so many people are hyped about it, just why CEOs are.

fnimick 1y ago
There's a lot of non-engineering people who are very happy to see someone else get unemployed by automation for a change. The people who formerly were automating others out of a job are getting a taste of their own medicine.
- linotype 1y ago
  Of course that would cause a tremendous drop in demand for the services the schaudenfreuden folks provide, hurting them as well.
  - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
    > that would cause a tremendous drop in demand for the services the schaudenfreuden folks provide, hurting them as well You're correct. But it doesn't matter. Remember the San Francisco protests against tech? People will kill a golden goose if it's shinier than their own.
    - oytis 1y ago
      If this goose is also pricing others out of housing market it's not entirely unreasonable
      - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        > If this goose is also pricing others out of housing market it's not entirely unreasonable It's self-defeating but predictable. (Hence why the protests were tolerated to backed by NIMBY interests.) My point is the same nonsense can be applied to someone not earning a tech wage celebrating tech workers getting replaced by AI. It makes them poorer, ceteris paribus. But they may not understand that. And the few that do may not care (or may have a way to profit off it, directly or indirectly, such that it's acceptable).
        oytis 1y ago
        I don't quite follow. What exactly have non-tech people of San Francisco got from all the tech people working there? How did they become richer (ok, apart from landlords) or how would they become poorer if they lose their jobs?
        rcpt 1y ago
        Tech workers pay a lot of taxes in addition to supporting the local economy. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-multiplier-effect-of-innovation-jobs/ https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-multiplier-effect-of...
  - daedrdev 1y ago
    The services will get cheaper, since most companies make much profit and the moat of high salaries will be gone.
- satyrun 1y ago
  I am not an engineer and I expect my white collar job to be automated. The reason to be excited economically for this is if it happens it will be massively deflationary. Pretending CEOs are just going to pocket the money is economically stupid. Being able to use a super intelligence has been a long time dream too. What is depressing is the amount of tech workers who have no interest in technological advancement.
  - overgard 1y ago
    I'm not sure exactly what you mean by deflationary, but in general deflation in an economy is a very bad thing. The most significant period of economic deflation in the US was 1930-1933, ie, the great depression, and the most recent period was the great recession. And since when do business executives NOT pocket the money? Pretty much the only exception is when they reinvest the savings into the business, for more growth, but that reinvestment and growth usually is only something the rest of us care about if it involves hiring..
crystal_revenge 1y ago
CEOs run every major media outlet and public platform for communication, people that hype AI will get their content promoted and will see more success which creates and incentive to create content. This doesn't even require any "conspiracy" among CEOs, just people with a vested interest in AI hype who act in that interest, shaping the type of content their organizations will produce. We saw something lessor with the "return to office" frenzy just because many CEOs realized a large chunk of their investment portfolio was in commercial real estate. That was only less hyped because I suspect there were larger numbers of CEOs with an interest in remaining remote. Outside of the tech scene, AI is far less hyped and in places where CEOs tend to have little impact on the media it tends to be resisted rather than hyped.

citrin_ru 1y ago

White collar jobs as a white - yes, but even in software companies it is not uncommon when sales and marketing cost more than engineering.

mulmen 1y ago

I don’t think software developer is a white collar job. It’s essentially manufacturing. There are some white collar workers at the extremes but the overwhelming majority of programmers are doing the IT equivalent of building pickup trucks.