by lordleft on 6/12/25, 3:46 PM with 33 comments
by bluefirebrand on 6/12/25, 4:04 PM
The fact is that people have never been that impressed by job titles, at least not in my lifetime
No one's ever been like "oh wow you're a software engineer? That's so incredible"
Mostly if they're impressed, it's because it pays well and they assume I'm pretty rich
I'm not. I do really well compared to my peers, yes, but ultimately I'm still living the same kind of middle class lifestyle my parents had while my Dad worked at a tool store and my Mom worked part time at nonprofits
by jfinnery on 6/12/25, 4:07 PM
Hell, I'd kinda rather do something like that, if the money were as good, and I'm already reasonably handy. Pretty sure I'm far from alone, and again, it only needs to be a few percent of laid-off office workers able & willing to train into blue collar jobs to flatten any price spike.
The idea that anyone but capital's going to benefit from this, if any of it plays out the way AI-maximalists think (separately, I think that's mostly BS, but do think this is going to provide the activation energy for another wave of off-shoring instead of hiring back US workers when the AI tools prove inadequate) seems so naïve that it's hard not to read it as deliberate propaganda.
by jancsika on 6/12/25, 4:01 PM
Edit: ...or at least flip the relationship between artist and label.
by bradreaves2 on 6/12/25, 5:54 PM
This article is fiction followed by commentary.
If the anecdote were real, it would still be an anecdote: tempting to generalize, but wise to hold loosely.
The article is about how AI will lead to a labor surplus in certain professions, while other professions will retain employment.
The article compares this to the Black Death, where labor supply decreased uniformly. Labor was then able to extract concessions from capital.
Industrialization leads to a different outcome: capital captures more value initially, while devastating workers in the short-term. In the long-term, everyone benefits from higher living standards. Even if the article is correct about AI impacts, it doesn't explain why AI is different from all prior industrialization.
by pavel_lishin on 6/12/25, 4:02 PM
A skilled tradesperson in high demand being able to afford an investment property is science fiction?
by kypro on 6/12/25, 4:18 PM
I come from a working class background and for years (decades I guess) my family (especially my dad) has been competing with mass low-skilled immigration, outsourcing, and automation. This has taken a huge toll on his mental health as from time to time he's struggled to keep afloat.
But did he get any sympathy from the educated knowledge class? Of course not...
Reskill! They say. We shouldn't protect inefficient jobs which can be done by machine / foreign sweatshop workers abroad.
Don't be a racist! They say. If you can't compete with the salary demands of hundreds of thousands of low-skilled migrants that's your problem!
Instead of embracing this we could of course have looked for ways to protect jobs or looked for ways to reeducated and compensate those impacted. But we didn't because that would have been bad for GDP. So we were horrid to those who were struggling and desperate for help.
Now we deserve the same. We work inefficient jobs which can be done faster and cheaper by computers running auto-correct. Yes, knowledge workers will lose their jobs, but remember the productivity boosts are going to be great! And that's all that matters right? Businesses won't need to hire armies of devs to build an app anymore like you don't need to pay someone in the US a decent salary to make your clothes or your car.
My advice – shut up, reskill and embrace it. Don't think you're special and deserve UBI. If you can't compete with auto-correcting machines thats your problem. Remember – unless you want higher prices we must embrace outsourcing, mass immigration, automation and AI. When you're struggling to feed your kids, remember this is good.
</rant>
Genuinely though, hope you guys are all doing okay, both today and tomorrow. And while not preferable, in this case the karma is at least deserved.
by xenocratus on 6/12/25, 5:06 PM
by cadamsdotcom on 6/12/25, 11:04 PM
1. AI is coming for white collar jobs; blue collar jobs gon be primo
2. This happened ages ago when a ton of people died at once and society had to cope
3. You should be afraid; but we have no solutions for you.
by AnimalMuppet on 6/12/25, 4:18 PM
It occurs to me that your post used to impress people. That era ended, too.
That is, an AI can generate your edgy takes that used to give you reputation and karma, and can do so faster than you can. So your edgy takes don't impress people anymore, either.
(With "you" being understood as not necessarily the author, or the reader, but the kind of people who expected to be able to impress people by social media posts.)
by pu_pe on 6/12/25, 4:38 PM
by amiga386 on 6/12/25, 4:01 PM
Unless you were English, where the lords with the power passed laws (binding other lords) to override your obvious leverage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Labourers_1351
... and that led to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peasants%27_Revolt
by puttycat on 6/12/25, 4:00 PM
by androng on 6/12/25, 4:13 PM
by volkk on 6/12/25, 5:09 PM
tl;dr a clusterf*ck of a lot of things.
by dboreham on 6/12/25, 3:57 PM
by lpasselin on 6/12/25, 4:05 PM