[jongjong]

It's disappointing how so many people blame AI for our problems. I see this pattern over and over; people never blame the socio-economic system and blame technology instead. Technological improvement is the only thing which allows us to survive the social, cultural and moral decline that we've been experiencing. People blame tech because it allows the system to be highly inefficient and still hold together. But if people blame tech, root issues will not be addressed.

[kuerbel]

I don’t think the article is blaming AI as a technology. It’s criticizing how the current socio-economic system uses AI.

The argument isn’t “tech is the problem,” but that autonomy narratives are used to shift risk, degrade labor, and justify valuations without real system-level productivity gains. That’s a critique of incentives and power structures, not of technological progress itself.

In that sense, “don’t blame tech, blame the system” is very close to the article’s point, not opposed to it.

[DetectDefect]

It is pretty plain to see technology enables socio-economic disharmony, to say the least. While it may not be the "cause" it is certainly a potent accelerant.

[jongjong]

Yes but we can't stop progress while scarcity is still causing suffering. I think that communication works long term, even with algorithm suppression. Insightful ideas tend to bubble up, especially during chaotic times.

[beedeebeedee]

At this point, scarcity is an artifact of our economy

[johnnyanmac]

>but we can't stop progress while scarcity is still causing suffering.

That's what the billionaires are betting on. That or running away when the bombs hit.

Whether that last sentence is figurative or literal relies on how we react in the next few years. Maybe even few months here in the US.

[ares623]

I think technology has always been a tool to impose will over others. Computing was just such a unique kind of technology where, for a decently long time, only a subset of people knew how to use it, and that subset didn’t have existing wealth and power (or not enough). It’s taken upto now for the ones with real power to catch up, or a mix of the ones who didn’t now have real power. And they will use technology for what it ultimately is for, to impose their will on others.

[Avicebron]

> But if people blame tech, root issues will not be addressed.

Agreed. I think people would be open to suggestions if you have actionable ways to improve the current socio-economic system.

[hackable_sand]

If it involves work then no, people are not open to suggestions.

[thundergolfer]

The first 500+ words of this article are focused almost exclusively on the dynamics of corporate capitalism, not AI.

Read the article.

[sodapopcan]

Well it's kinda both. One step towards socio-economic change would be if everyone just stopped giving billionaires upwards of $200/month, and didn't have their companies give it to them on their behalf.

[pixl97]

Any problem that is solved by "if everyone just" changed what they are doing is not solvable by everyone just changing what they are doing.

[sodapopcan]

Ya, no shit! Just like "we should just" solve the socio-economic problems as if they didn't go hand-in-hand (I realize I'm paraphrasing OP a bit).

[SideburnsOfDoom]

> people never blame the socio-economic system and blame technology instead.

If by "people" you mean "Cory Doctorow, the author of the article", then you really don't know anything about their work.

For example, he coined the term "enshitifacation" and talks often about the "enshitogenic policy environment" that gives rise to it.

[netsharc]

How to fix the human/society instead? Technology has enabled a lot of evil: the society that had guns came and colonized the society without, and made them slaves (here's the opening to argue that Genghis Khan managed to enslave many societies without guns). The rise of the Internet and online shopping ruined "main street shops". "Uber for ___" enabled the exploitative gig-economy with retirement meaning dropping dead...

Yeah, we're back to feudal lords having the power to control society, they can even easily buy governments... Seems like the problem is with neo-liberalist capitalism, without any controls coming from the society (i.e. democractically elected governments) it will maximize exploitation.