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I’m optimistic - perhaps naively - about my ability to retool within work. 10 years ago, I was building WordPress websites for motivational speakers. Today, I

I’m optimistic - perhaps naively - about my ability to retool within work. 10 years ago, I was building WordPress websites for motivational speakers. Today, I build web apps for the government. Certainly in 10 years we will be in a different place than we are today. Your argument, taken in a broader sense, would have us tending to corn fields by hand to avoid a machine taking our job.

thinkingtoilet 1y ago
That was a terrific non-answer. The difference is the industrial revolution created jobs, at some point technology will remove jobs. I'm sure you'll be thrilled to be out of a job in the name of good software. It's amazing how the tune changes so quickly when it's your job on the line.
- iambateman 1y ago
  Sure, AI may break the American economic system – which would be negative both for me, you, and the entire world. I would not relish that and I think we should ask our brightest young thinkers to imagine a world in which the productivity gains from AI don't simply accrue to capital holders. Getting back to Cal's point, I think there's a lot of legitimate questions and uncertainties about what knowledge work will look like over the next decade. You say that technology will remove jobs...and I think you're right directionally, but I can't tell you the timeline for that, nor it's effects. While I love being a software engineer, what that actually looks like on a daily basis has materially changed _a lot_ every few years. Sitting for a day debugging why my SCSS won't render is not the core value I bring to this world as a human.
gishglish 1y ago
> Your argument, taken in a broader sense, would have us tending to corn fields by hand to avoid a machine taking our job. To play off another analogy commonly used in this topic: you are the horse, not the rider. Sure some horses will find new work, at the grace of their owners. Some lucky individuals may even get a carefree life of mostly leisure. But for many, it’s off to the glue factory, and not for a job.

thinkingtoilet 1y ago

That was a terrific non-answer. The difference is the industrial revolution created jobs, at some point technology will remove jobs. I'm sure you'll be thrilled to be out of a job in the name of good software. It's amazing how the tune changes so quickly when it's your job on the line.

iambateman 1y ago
Sure, AI may break the American economic system – which would be negative both for me, you, and the entire world. I would not relish that and I think we should ask our brightest young thinkers to imagine a world in which the productivity gains from AI don't simply accrue to capital holders. Getting back to Cal's point, I think there's a lot of legitimate questions and uncertainties about what knowledge work will look like over the next decade. You say that technology will remove jobs...and I think you're right directionally, but I can't tell you the timeline for that, nor it's effects. While I love being a software engineer, what that actually looks like on a daily basis has materially changed _a lot_ every few years. Sitting for a day debugging why my SCSS won't render is not the core value I bring to this world as a human.

gishglish 1y ago

> Your argument, taken in a broader sense, would have us tending to corn fields by hand to avoid a machine taking our job. To play off another analogy commonly used in this topic: you are the horse, not the rider. Sure some horses will find new work, at the grace of their owners. Some lucky individuals may even get a carefree life of mostly leisure. But for many, it’s off to the glue factory, and not for a job.