[drclau]

> AI won't take plumber or electrician jobs away in the foreseeable future.

I see this argument way too often. How many electricians and plumbers does the world really need? And if the market becomes over saturated, how much will those jobs pay? How often will you actually have a job to do?

[chii]

> And if the market becomes over saturated, how much will those jobs pay?

AI makes everything else so cheap, that by just working for a small bit of time, you can afford all the necessities?

[dmpk2k]

That's been the promise of increasing productivity for many decades, and yet...

[chii]

if you were to life with only what was around at the time such productivity increases occurred - e.g., no internet, phone, and high speed computing, access to medical/transport improvements etc - you'd probably be able to live off minimum wage easily.

People worked more today because they desired more. In fact, the desire outstripped their ability to increase their wages!

[dmpk2k]

That is a common counterargument, and yet the common counter-counterargument matches my experience:

That sadly doesn't apply to housing or food, at least in the places I've lived. E.g. houses in the place I was born are now 5x the price, once you factor in inflation. Food and vehicles are 2x. Higher education went from "free" to $30K.

The really important things are far more expensive now, across the three countries I've spent decades in. Maybe the overall situation is different for the US of A.