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If it bears out, this is going to make even a bunch of people who previously advocated for UBI completely mad The world we live in is one where personal identity is strongly tied up in vocation. I do not think the transition to a world where 'none' is an option will be smooth

probably correct! there are going to be a ton of people who are able to do all the things they imagined they would never be able to do, and a lot of people who feel entirely out of place as a result

i see this sentiment a lottttttt in the software engineering field. there are a lot of engineers who are treating the ability for anyone to make something as a bit of a travesty. thats not what everyone who is against AI in engineering thinks, but ive seen this sentiment a ton

i think the simplest solution is just to find things to do that are enjoyable whether or not the robots are better at them. people still play chess. people still paint or draw. people still knit. hell, people still hand-spin their own yarn with a drop spindle, not even a fancy pants spinning wheel.

Boy, would I like a world where I was confident people were compassionate and present enough in their lives to do this sort of thing. I'm not even joking, that really is the world I want. I just don't know there's any feasible macro means to engineer it.

OMG yes! I’m coming to the end of two weeks off to recover from a disc replacement surgery and I was going nuts already a week ago. I *need* the structure work provides I happen to love my job, psychotherapist in private practice. It’s not breaking my body, I get to see my actions having a direct

positive effect on people’s lives & I set my own hours! It’s a sweet gig! But even people who don’t like their work start to feel bored & unmoored pretty quickly when it goes away & I shudder to think what would happen if the majority of people were in that position through no choice of their own

I do think there's an economic angle to it for sure, but I think the bigger question is one about social forms and education. There have been very diverse structures of knowledge traditions over the years and things have evolved in response to technology. We'll need new ones!

very true. i absolutely have no idea what education looks like now, but its also very concerning to me that the policies in places like NYC is to just basically prohibit AI use. i'm liking the direction Seattle is taking though i don't think its anywhere near perfect

i think "basic" education is one problem for sure, but i think we can kinda stumble into something that works there. the kids are going to learn how to relate to the technology themselves. I'm more worried about higher education and professional fields.

I think this is necessary, but not sufficient. Everyone needs purpose, but a lot of people also need to be told what to do. People complain about work but I think being expected to show up somewhere, somehow, for someone is a good thing for the psyche and soul, even if it sucks a bunch of the time.

Three-day work weeks? I could feel needed on a lighter schedule.

cool. is anyone anywhere working on that

like we have an endless stream of UBI pilot programs running up against a total political unwillingness to follow through and if the private sector sees itself worsening this problem you had all better get serious about advocating for solutions

it gets frustrating seeing this sort of problem both phrased as an inevitability and then the possible solutions are left to a noncommittal 'Someone will have to do Something,' is all. extreme bystander syndrome on an economic level

UBI is cool, but this scare is kinda stupid. Of course the old timers (like me) cherish the status and the drama. But learning new tech these days takes what, 3 weeks? There is no need for pipeline of talent.

I mean not in the old way of forcing people to draw stupid VBA forms for 10 years to advance to SQL coding.

Agreed. I also think people may be overestimating how much people ‘need’ to work for ‘purpose.’ I would bet on the contrary a vast number of people spend their whole lives considering their hours spent making money (vs say traveling or going to nice dinner parties) at best a necessary evil.

Problem is a lot of pastimes derive some of their value from their limitedness. Much as you may love fishing on the weekends, if you could do it every day you’d grow weary of it fairly quickly

Maybe, but I suspect that under the iceberg of the single hobby many people have time for after doing the job they’re ambivalent about is a broad range of other activities they’d also want to try and have fun doing. And luckily if you’re driven and motivated I think you’d just keep working.

I think we will find that almost all humans need something like work to stay sane and functional -- even if they don't actually need it for income. There's a reason many with "f you" money continue to do something like work.

I don't think it's "work" (as in employment) people need per se, but purpose. Work can provide that for some, undermine it for others

Capital will always find tasks for the people who fall between the cracks and they won't be cute ones.

I’ve been talking about this for years. Literally years. There is no need for most people to work. It would be a massive improvement in the lives of everyone if we simply gave everyone a bunch of money and let them live comfortably and be productive on their own terms.

Sorry, but this is unserious. Humanity has been producing enough for everyone for a long time. But people keep starving, because we give the surplus to rich assholes, who abuse and exploit everyone else. I don't see how AI could change that. If anything, right now it's accelerating the trend.

I'm all for society giving everybody higher baseline care and material conditions. but that is extremely precarious without meaningful political leverage and "being at the table" for societal disputes, resource allocation, laws, priorities, etc.

Guaranteed income in terms of money, but also a restructuring of values. It's kinda similar to how for years teachers and popularizers of science were not valued compared to researchers, and an advice we gave to PhDs was "don't start writing a textbook until you have tenure". It has to change now