[goodroot]

This article presents a very strange take.

> It might sound dystopian, but setting emotions aside and viewing it purely from a business perspective, the idea of replacing engineering managers with AI offers potential efficiencies.

A manager is there precisely to optimize for business objectives. They are not your paid friend, therapist or life coach.

The "AI" sea change that obsoletes the manager will first replace the producer.

Consider it from the present day case of out-sourced labour, which is as real and present as AGI.

Managers are more likely to be valued when out-sourcing production, as business/human organization and communication become the bottleneck vs. productive capacity.

If the value of production is driven even lower via generative automation, such that automation is cheaper than outsourcing, then managers are at risk because they exist by ratio relative to the productive labour force. Out-sourcing often leads to an expanded labour force due to market imbalances (3 for the price of 1!). This results in an increase in management before automation >first< reduces the size of the labour force, which only then reduces the need for management.

[rand846633]

> A manager is there precisely to optimize for business objects. They are not your paid friend, therapist or life coach.

A office therapist could actually be precisely what is needed to effectively optimize and alight people for business objectives!

[TeMPOraL]

Like anyone would trust an office therapist. The office therapist works for your bosses, not you; talking to them, you're exposing yourself to risk while being in a disadvantaged position (the usual employee vs. employer power imbalance). Even if they're 100% committed to doctor-patient confidentiality, all it takes is for a HR person to surprise them with a pointed question, and read the answer from the therapist's reaction.

[swatcoder]

I thought it was satire. Is it not satire?

Because if it was earnestly presenting core engineering manager job responsibility at SV tech companies right now, then the whole sector has satirized itself. Again.

The stuff it describes is babysitter work for weak teams, which is helpful for a manager to be able to provide but takes away from what they can actually add to a team when relieved from doing so.

[goodroot]

Initially I had a big grin thinking it was satire. But honestly I'm not sure!

Which I suppose means it's the best kind of satire. :)