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What you describe is certainly possible, but it's not what's happening. You can go on Blind, Fishbowl, any work related subreddit, etc. and hear the same story

What you describe is certainly possible, but it's not what's happening. You can go on Blind, Fishbowl, any work related subreddit, etc. and hear the same story over and over and over - "My company replaced half my department with H1Bs or simply moved it to an offshore center in India, and then on the next earnings call announced that they had replaced all those jobs with AI". There's a reason why "AI = Actually Indians" is a meme everywhere on the internet, and it isn't racism, it's just people observing the reality around them.

agentcoops 1y ago
I’m not describing what’s happening right now — I’m saying the data shown in the article is insufficient to ground what it claims. The testimony you mention better supports the argument, but also is insufficient to show that this shift to H1-B is not in addition to a reduction of overall projected headcount due to AI.
- DebtDeflation 1y ago
  Multiple things can be true at once. Some jobs have been eliminated by AI. The H1B system is being abused by employers. Offshoring has replaced more American jobs than H1Bs. Corporations are lying to investors about the impact of AI on their headcount. All of the above are true.
  - jiveturkey 1y ago
    Again, however, the data in the article does not show that. The article is attempting to argue this point with facts (hard data), while not presenting said hard data. It's especially egregious because of the naming of specific companies.
    - ethanwillis 1y ago
      Why is it especially egregious to name companies?
      - jiveturkey 1y ago
        It's a false accusation. The numbers have no meaning. Is that not obviously the point of contention? It's one thing to say, this is aggregate in the industry (and still be misleading), or say group by MAG7, or AI companies, or some sector. It's another to name Amazon as the ringleader when the data don't show that.
Scarblac 1y ago
The US is getting outcompeted by India, basically.
- franktankbank 1y ago
  On short term price.
- ramesh31 1y ago
  >The US is getting outcompeted by India, basically. And it almost completely comes down to housing costs. If half of your $150k salary wasn't going directly into a landlord's pocket in the US, we would easily be able to compete.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - rchaud 1y ago
    There's also the small matter of healthcare and education costs.
  - semi-extrinsic 1y ago
    If that explains most/all of it, why don't we see more tech companies moving into areas of the US with low housing prices? I guess some of it is the "captive" effect for an individual - if you leave the expensive property market for somewhere cheaper with a lower salary, it becomes very hard to move back to the expensive place. But is that a strong enough effect? Surely an efficient free market should theoretically make tech companies much more geographically distributed?
    - mixmastamyk 1y ago
      Many expanded to Texas, for example. Also Hollywood left LA. There aren’t any/many desirable locations left in the US that have low housing costs.
      - 1y ago
helsinki8 1y ago
> There's a reason why "AI = Actually Indians" is a meme everywhere on the internet As a good reminder of the weird information bubbles the modern Internet has become, this is literally the first time I have ever seen this. It might seem like it's "everywhere on the Internet" but it's really just what your Twitter/discord/subreddit/TikTok cohort are talking about. And keep in mind, I'm a fellow HN user and likely overlap with you far more than even the average Internet user.

agentcoops 1y ago

I’m not describing what’s happening right now — I’m saying the data shown in the article is insufficient to ground what it claims. The testimony you mention better supports the argument, but also is insufficient to show that this shift to H1-B is not in addition to a reduction of overall projected headcount due to AI.

DebtDeflation 1y ago
Multiple things can be true at once. Some jobs have been eliminated by AI. The H1B system is being abused by employers. Offshoring has replaced more American jobs than H1Bs. Corporations are lying to investors about the impact of AI on their headcount. All of the above are true.
- jiveturkey 1y ago
  Again, however, the data in the article does not show that. The article is attempting to argue this point with facts (hard data), while not presenting said hard data. It's especially egregious because of the naming of specific companies.
  - ethanwillis 1y ago
    Why is it especially egregious to name companies?
    - jiveturkey 1y ago
      It's a false accusation. The numbers have no meaning. Is that not obviously the point of contention? It's one thing to say, this is aggregate in the industry (and still be misleading), or say group by MAG7, or AI companies, or some sector. It's another to name Amazon as the ringleader when the data don't show that.

Scarblac 1y ago

The US is getting outcompeted by India, basically.

franktankbank 1y ago
On short term price.
ramesh31 1y ago
>The US is getting outcompeted by India, basically. And it almost completely comes down to housing costs. If half of your $150k salary wasn't going directly into a landlord's pocket in the US, we would easily be able to compete.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- rchaud 1y ago
  There's also the small matter of healthcare and education costs.
- semi-extrinsic 1y ago
  If that explains most/all of it, why don't we see more tech companies moving into areas of the US with low housing prices? I guess some of it is the "captive" effect for an individual - if you leave the expensive property market for somewhere cheaper with a lower salary, it becomes very hard to move back to the expensive place. But is that a strong enough effect? Surely an efficient free market should theoretically make tech companies much more geographically distributed?
  - mixmastamyk 1y ago
    Many expanded to Texas, for example. Also Hollywood left LA. There aren’t any/many desirable locations left in the US that have low housing costs.
    - 1y ago

helsinki8 1y ago

> There's a reason why "AI = Actually Indians" is a meme everywhere on the internet As a good reminder of the weird information bubbles the modern Internet has become, this is literally the first time I have ever seen this. It might seem like it's "everywhere on the Internet" but it's really just what your Twitter/discord/subreddit/TikTok cohort are talking about. And keep in mind, I'm a fellow HN user and likely overlap with you far more than even the average Internet user.