6 ms·
The Company Man
- renewiltord 1y agoI thought Von Neumann had a pretty good line for this kind of weepy writing: > Some people confess guilt to claim credit for the sin.
- bryanrasmussen 1y agoI don't think that line is supposed to apply to fiction.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- limaoscarjuliet 1y agoAssuming this is fiction... A good friend of mine is a professional writer. I learned from her that most of what is presented to us, readers, as fiction is really not so far removed from what really happened.
- Terr_ 1y agoYeah: We've seen some AI-related companies/CEOs acting as if they are heroes deeply conflicted by the ramifications of their own superpowers, inviting us to imagine their product might be too awesome for mere mortal hands, and agonizing over how they might make bajillions of dollars for savvy investors that [BUY] [BUY] [BUY] today... but at what figurative cost!? *clutches pearls, faints onto nearby divan*
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 1y ago"I used to get soooo drunk" heard it more than a few times lol
- Mistletoe 1y ago>despite having some FartCoin which has been doing very well lately, shockingly well, this FartCoin. I wonder if it will continue to "moon" to the point where I can quit my job and become a VC and go on podcasts in which I will try to downplay the source of my initial capital so as to maintain some illusion that this economy makes any kind of sense at all to me or anyone else for that matter. Though perhaps by the time I am doing podcasts I will be so far gone I will just own it and maintain that it required great genius to have foreseen the rise of FartCoin and allocated capital to same. https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/fartcoin/ https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/fartcoin/ Fartcoin hasn't been doing that well though, I had to check the date of the article and it is recent. Maybe he got in Fartcoin long ago in early Nov. 2024? 200x since then but only a 2x since the end of Nov. 2024.
- rightbyte 1y agoYou know it is fiction writing, right?
- mikestorrent 1y agoWhat a delightful read, thanks.
- phoenixhaber 1y ago[dead]
- margalabargala 1y ago> There is no moat in any profession outside of entrenched wealth or guns at the moment That's just not true at all. Plumbers and electricians and carpenters are not going anywhere. A residential plumber will not have their job automated this or next decade, at best they'll have some fancier tools to play with.
- analog31 1y agoNot quickly at least, but technology can gradually reduce the labor content of a plumbing job thanks to things like solderlerss fittings, plastic tubing etc. For carpenters, prefab assemblies made in automated factories, etc.
- margalabargala 1y agoMost tradework is not new construction. It is mostly assorted rennovations and returns on existing structures dating back over a century. A person knowing how some brick houses in Y neighborhood tended to be built back in 1890 won't be replicated by prefab anything.
- phoenixhaber 1y ago[dead]
- SomaticPirate 1y agoThis reads like someone who is quite out of touch with the trades. A large number of states implement right to work laws that discourage union membership. I could go out and get a framer job today (and with the current immigration crackdown probably have one by the end of the day). Having worked as a framer before college, it will be incredibly long before these jobs have any level of automation (a thought which gives me comfort when I consider my own job prospects). However, I'm thankful everyday that I get to sit in an A/C office and type on a computer. Framing is hard work and ruthless. Most people won't last a day doing it because of how challenging it is.
- jongjong 1y agoI also work in AI as a software engineer. I feel bad about what's happening but I'm just getting by and AI is ultimately a threat to my career too. My younger truck driver cousin is doing much better than me financially. He didn't go to university, didn't rack up university debt, didn't have to work nights and weekends for 15 years. My main problem isn't AI though, it's the structure of the anti-competitive tech sector; which is itself driven by the structure of the monetary system in which it operates. AI is just yet another tool, like crypto, and other distractions which may be used to further disenfranchise me and others. I don't feel bad about other people because I've been a victim myself and as a tech person, I also get the privilege of being labelled as part of the oppressor class, while being oppressed by them... While working one of the most competitive and mentally-taxing jobs in the history of humanity... Seeing the harms, understanding the problems, seeing the solutions but being so powerless that I'm literally forced to work for the oppressor. I feel too much pain to feel any guilt. I can totally relate to the comment about 'nice colleagues' but I understand it's a very superficial concept, unfortunately. Our world is so dystopian, even kindness is turned into a weapon. Their kindness is partly what holds this incredibly violent system together as it strengthens bonds between the elites which protect the system. Kindness, kinship and filter bubbles combine to form a moat around a global monopoly on power, violence and opportunities; causing the most unjust, asymmetric treatment of humans in the history of mankind. Topped with layer upon layer of gaslighting which looks more and more disturbing and unbelievable as you move down the social hierarchy and lose your voice and power. We have a system where every person lives in a different reality and yet pretend to live in the same reality. People communicate with words but nobody shares the same understanding of the words; that's how bad the situation is.
- YZF 1y agoI'm a bit hesitant to comment. I relate to some of what you're saying some of the time. Don't compare yourself to others. It's great your cousin is doing well but having more money ("doing well financially") shouldn't be a benchmark, that is a distraction. If you've been a software engineer for 15 years you're probably doing ok. > the most unjust, asymmetric treatment of humans in the history of mankind. Things are not perfect but I think we're very far from the worst in history. Things used to be way worse for most humans for most of the history of mankind. I would say unfortunately we aren't going straight "up and to the right" in terms of human happiness, well being, a better world, but that's the nature of things, there are ups and downs. I think things can and will still work out (climate, geo-politics, AI, economy etc.) if we do our little bits. Look for the good things and we'll work on the bad things. Getting less screen time and more time with people and outdoors can help with perspective. It's easy to get sucked in doom and gloom on the Internet. Happens to me. People do abuse words but I think we can still communicate just fine. We just need to do a better job of explaining in detail what we're talking about. It's interesting that you talk of yourself as being the oppressor class while thinking of yourself of being oppressed. I think that shows the limits of this line of thinking. Most would probably consider you "elite" as well. We're all just people I think is the easy answer there. I'm not jealous for a second of any "elite", I'm sure they have the same human struggles (or even worse) as all of us. Hope you can get over your pain, try and get some help if that makes sense to you.
- thornewolf 1y agoThis was well written. I'm glad that I powered through the initial hesitation I felt when I recognized the narrative style.
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- alphazard 1y agoCan you elaborate? I also feel like I've heard this particular voice before, but I can't recall where.
- jimmygrapes 1y agoI may be imagining it but it's very reminiscent of "Scott Alexander" / Slate Star Codex / whatever he rebranded to
- meowface 1y agoI think this is definitely drawing inspiration from his writing (especially the Bay Area House Party posts; latest in the series, with the previous at the top: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/sources-say-bay-area-house-party https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/sources-say-bay-area-house-...). Just curious, but why would that make you hesitate?
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- cturner 1y agoMicroserfs?
- svoit 1y agoIt brought to mind Edward Norton's narration in Fight Club.
- JSR_FDED 1y agoThis is so great, absolutely love the wry inner monologue style: > There is little less interesting than another man's drug trip. Unfortunately, he's both Arden Vox and my boss, so I try my best to appear fascinated. Almost immediately you know you’re in good hands.
- skeptrune 1y agoWhat a delightful piece of realistic fiction. I was very entertained and amused.
- ipnon 1y agoThere is a lot of unmet demand for AI researchers that don't seem completely crazy. The Manhattan Project, people are wearing suits and ties, they're all aligned with the broader goals of the nation, the madmen who are proposing super bombs with 100 megatons are being corralled into relative containment. At a certain point in history, the development of nuclear power and thus nuclear weapons became inevitable, but so far we've managed to live with this technology without an apocalypse. But in AI development it sometimes seems like every other person is an Edward Teller. There are limits, I think, to the benefits of the open-mindedness of the Silicon Valley culture.
- petesergeant 1y agoDemand for or need for?
- suddenlybananas 1y agoIs it like this in Chinese companies? I genuinely have no idea.
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- bentaber 1y agoIm enjoying reading this but struggling with the fact that the average number of words per sentence nears 150. I exaggerate, of course. But please, use periods.
- binary132 1y agoI really appreciated the stylistic difference.
- GaryNumanVevo 1y agoIt's intentional, it's satirizing the SlateStarCodex style of writing
- j3s 1y agoamazingly well-written. exposing the utter psychopathy of the rationalist movement & of silicon valley more broadly. this is the type of magical writing that an LLM can't capture a single iota of.
- cindyllm 1y ago[dead]
- zjp 1y agoI'm glad to see some satirization of the woe-is-me-for-making-hundreds-of-thousands-under-capitalism flavor of techbro in the first few paragraphs. Insufferable archetype.
- TomasBjartur 1y agoHi. I am the author. If anyone is interested in following my writing, especially those not often on LessWrong, consider subscribing to my Substack: https://tomasbjartur.substack.com/ https://tomasbjartur.substack.com/ I plan to mirror any future fiction there. I haven't written much but my next-best stories are likely these: The Maker of MIND: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/H4kadKrC2xLK24udn/the-maker-of-mind https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/H4kadKrC2xLK24udn/the-maker-... The Liar and The Scold https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/duF4Qh9pn7Y5imhsm/the-liar-and-the-scold https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/duF4Qh9pn7Y5imhsm/the-liar-a... Of the two, I prefer The Maker of MIND. Both got similar karma on LessWrong and were written ~2021.
- gsf_emergency_3 1y agoEntertaining, almost insightful! Disappointed at: >It wouldn't have worked anyway Feedback: Motivation comes from "this stuff is nuts, but it could work" Meaning from: "That was nuts, but it worked" Between the two, it's a chore to get a bunch of homsaps to agree on exactly what is nuts OR what's possible. AI could definitely help with sanity checking the contentious stuff without always giving great reasons so that we may cross it off either of two lists quick. (Governments need a third list for prioritising the new instances of Thomas Midgley Jr to put in the airlock)
- ipnon 1y agoYou've really struck a nerve, congrats, it's quite the accomplishment.
- theOGognf 1y agoI really enjoyed it. Very Hitchhiker’s Guide -like. It’s been a while since I’ve read something like that. Thanks for sharing
- AxiomaticSpace 1y agoYour writing style reminds me a lot of the titular short story in "Liberation Day" by George Saunders. I really hope you stick with writing because I think it is quite good.
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- sanex 1y agoI enjoyed this work of nonfiction.
- SeanAnderson 1y agoThis is absolutely enthralling. It's one of the best pieces of writing I've had the pleasure of enjoying in quite some time. I keep laughing while grimacing and looking inward. The vocabulary is exceptional, too. Really well done. It kind of reminds me of Krazam's YouTube skits, but in long-form writing. EDIT: I kind of wanted more from the ending, though. It wrapped up surprisingly quick.
- raincole 1y agoLol the top comment there is golden. The perfect icing on the cake of this satirizing piece.
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- jamesrom 1y agoIf you need a case study on "kill your darlings", read this.
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- awithrow 1y agoWhat didn't you like about it?
- Animats 1y agoBuildup OK, ending weak.
- potato3732842 1y agoLike all good satire, this will go right over the heads of those who ought to see it in the mirror.
- robertlagrant 1y agoFor some reason, this is my favourite line: > I am already feeling tipsy from my second pint of Guinness
- TheOtherHobbes 1y agoGreat read, but it would have been even better if an AI wrote it. The comments under it on LW are a wasteland of incomprehension.
- DiscourseFan 1y agoI can't think too highly of a character who judges anyone a genius that refers to themselves as a rationalist, but I guess that's part of the irony.
- peteybeachsand 1y agoit's making fun of so many things at once, chock full of great jokes