[wavemode]

> People don’t hand wash clothing for money because we have machines to do that now. We don’t need people delivering news papers because the news is delivered digitally.

Those jobs aren't creative knowledge work.

The advent of digital audio workstations didn't reduce the number of musicians - it increased the amount of music.

Now that we can write code with AI, we (as a civilization) will simply write more code than we used to.

[stevenlangbroek]

What you're describing is akin to Jevon's paradox. Let's see. The Industrial Revolution, I think a good analogy, caused years of death & suffering before raising standards of living, and even then only so because of mass organizing & uprising.

[emmelaich]

That's disputed. Progress was uneven and lagged a little, but by many standards (height, mortality) quality of life increased for many from the start of the industrial revolution.

[wavemode]

I don't think most software engineers have to worry about dying of industrial accidents and black lung...

Long hours? Sure, but that's not new (or universal), and AI definitely didn't cause it.

[stevenlangbroek]

That's not what I mean. You can't just retrain and get a job in a new field and maintain your mortgage, rent or your kid or partner's needs, and downward social mobility is incredibly painful (think personal bankruptcies, pretty grim mental health outcomes).