If AI displaces human workers, they will lose more than just pay(www.economist.com)
13 pointsby andsoitis2 hours ago4 comments
  • jdprgm2 minutes ago
    how the hell does paywalled content possibly get upvoted more than downvoted. are there really that many economist.com subscribers here?
  • 0c3ca8327 minutes ago
    Yes. It removes political power. As a thought experiment, what happens when sanitation workers go on strike? What would happen if all trash collection was automated?

    What happens when a group of people goes from the driver's of the economy to a cost center?

    • jongjong14 minutes ago
      No it doesn't. People can still protest, block roads, boycott etc... If they get UBI/UHI, they will have more time to engage politically too (in a productive way).
    • augment_me20 minutes ago
      I think the economically rational choice is re-education of the group into value-providing employment and mass extermination of those that refuse.

      Otherwise you might end up with disruptive things like protests, blockage of value creating infrastructure, etc.

      Another less dramatic option would be containment in prisons or similar where minimal costs can be incurred.

      • ElProlactin13 minutes ago
        The irony of comments like this is that the vast majority of people who make them would not be in the group they think they belong to.
      • drivebyhooting15 minutes ago
        Don’t be daft. All that man power would be excellent for bolstering the army and invading neighboring countries.

        I imagine a human body will still be cheaper and more agile than robots for a long while.

      • 13 minutes ago
        undefined
  • cadamsdotcom20 minutes ago
    Change hurts those who don't move with the change. Nothing has changed.
  • verdverman hour ago
    We only need look at what the computer did to many (60%) non-college educated people who have difficultly finding meaningful work which can provide for a family.

    Daron Acemoglu is talking about this and Building Pro-Worker AI. His 2024 Nobel Prize lecture is quite good (as are his fellow laureates that year)

    https://www.nber.org/papers/w34854