from Hacker News

When Robots Take the Wheel: What Happens to Our Sense of Purpose?

by thepaulthomson on 7/26/23, 11:58 AM with 16 comments

Picture this: It's 2030. You wake up in the morning, not to the shrill sound of an alarm clock, but to the soft glow of sunlight filtering through your window. There's no rush, no scrambling to get ready for work. Why? Because your job, like many others, is now performed by an AI.

Sounds like a dream, right? But as we inch closer to this reality, I can't help but wonder: What happens when we're no longer defined by our work? When the robots clock in, and we're left to find a new purpose?

Work, for all its ups and downs, gives us more than just a paycheck. It's a part of our identity, a way to contribute, a source of pride and accomplishment. If we remove that piece of the puzzle, how do we fill the void?

And what about our sense of self-worth? So much of our society is built around the idea of earning your keep. If a robot takes over your job, and a universal basic income covers your living expenses, how would that change the way you see yourself? Would it free us to pursue passions and hobbies, or would it leave us feeling adrift, untethered from the rhythm of a workday life?

I'm tossing this existential hot potato into your court.

How do you think the rise of automation will reshape our sense of purpose and self-worth?

Let's dive into the deep end, folks.

  • by shortrounddev2 on 7/26/23, 12:25 PM

    I think it will affect men and women differently. I have read that men define themselves by their work more than women because of our innate instinct as providers. When women are laid off of their jobs, they dont take it as hard, psychologically, as men do. Men without jobs become depressed, introverted, and lose motivation to find new jobs. Women feel less useless because there's no instinct to become a provider for a whole family.

    Personally, if my job was made irrelevant by AI and I was able to reao the rewards through universal basic income, I would be very unhappy indeed.

  • by sircastor on 7/26/23, 8:18 PM

    While I think that work is an essential component to leading a fulfilling life, I think that jobs are not. Modern jobs are a concept that have been largely manufactured for society to enable people to function in that society. A lot of the complexity to our lives are products or byproducts of us all needing to obtain currency, thus get a job to do.

    One observation that I've had over the last few years is that in the United States we are very often defined by our jobs. The first question often asked when meeting someone is "What do you do?" which means "What is your job?" I don't know how true this is in other cultures.

    And we know that a lot of jobs are unnecessary. They represent something other than work that needs to be done: A personal connection, A government requirement, a misunderstanding of a need, a historical commonality, etc.

    When the AI revolution really takes off, like really takes off and all the problems resolve (not the murky middle which is full of some probably really awful stuff), I think we'll go back to what we do when we're children: Play. Hobbies, games, exploration. The hard work becomes a sort of leisure activity where the pursuit is accomplishing it, in spite of its challenge. Gardening (for instance) is just farming where you're not growing food to survive - the success in gardening is growing what you want where you want. I enjoy baking and I continue to do it even though I can buy most goods at a store. Likewise, I think even if a robot could do the job in my home, I'd still do it because I enjoy it. I don't think it'd be any less fulfilling.

  • by wnkrshm on 7/26/23, 12:47 PM

    I don't think that future will come to pass, because there is no application of "AI" on the horizon that gets climate change halted by 2030. And the consequences, which are already beginning, will royally dash any hope of utopia like that in the near future. Let's call it 2130.

    As to the question: work is still work. People tend a garden and are happy with what they made, despite being able to shop for vegetables in a supermarket. But being in control of your own creation has its own reward and it is appreciated by others, e.g. when you personally cook for them with what you personally grew. Or when you hand-paint something for someone, etc. Success at work is only a narrow dimension of success.

  • by Shadowed_ on 7/26/23, 10:08 PM

    My job/work doesn't define me. I have other interests and do other stuff that I like doing and would do even if AI could do them better. So, if AI would replace me at work and (as seem assumed by OP) financial side is not relevant I would just have more time to do what I want so in that regard I welcome it.

  • by mercurialsolo on 7/26/23, 3:48 PM

    We will just spend a whole lot more time creating artificial games and goals. Work is a product of a social construct - we don't need to work, we are made to believe work is how we find meaning. We will build out new social constructs - things like competitions, games are all things which we built to create meaning.

  • by ilaksh on 7/26/23, 12:26 PM

    Humans are primates and a big part of life is driven (at least in males) by reproductive instincts that feed into dominance and territorial issues.

    Deep integration with AI provides a new lever for individuals trying to advance themselves in hierarchies.

  • by Festro on 7/26/23, 12:01 PM

    I don't want to sound dismissive but this isn't a very deep topic. When people aren't at work they typically pursue their interests and hobbies and find purpose in those. This has been true throughout history.

  • by brudgers on 7/26/23, 4:26 PM

    Well, you could go out into the lettuce fields and pick lettuce because AI ain't gonna pick the lettuce and someone's got to do it.

    There's all sorts of work just waiting around for someone to do it.

  • by largo3 on 7/26/23, 12:09 PM

    I don't live to work, I work to live.

  • by gcheong on 7/26/23, 10:39 PM

    If you’re not one of the AI owners by then you’ll be screwed. Capitalism has no need for people it can’t eventually wring some value out of so it’ll just be a slow attrition of the have-nots until there are only haves.