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638 points wut42 | 4 comments | | HN request time: 0.706s | source
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krainboltgreene ◴[] No.44329303[source]
I've wasted a lot of time and energy on stuff that doesn't matter, so I can hardly judge anyone else on what they focus on, but man does it feel bad to have community leaders actively focus on building out tooling that is anti-worker. I think the only way I'd feel more conflicted is if Fly.io started building weapons systems for the military. I guess that wouldn't be shocking considering some of their lead's beliefs.
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yunwal ◴[] No.44330144[source]
The same logic that would lead one to believe that AI is anti-worker should also lead one to believe that software as a whole is anti-worker.
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1. krainboltgreene ◴[] No.44330183[source]
Sure, if you don't think about it at all.
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2. mwcampbell ◴[] No.44332451[source]
The argument you're responding to is effective enough, based solely on the fact that it has led me to second-guess whether I chose the right line of work, that it would be worth expounding on what you think is wrong with it.
3. revenant718 ◴[] No.44358037[source]
I am inclined to agree with you. Card-carrying socialist and all that. But I wonder if you could share a good-faith rebuttal of this point.

It's more than evident that software has automated away all kinds of wage labor from the aforementioned typist pools to Hollywood special effects model-makers.

What's different now is that it is actually the software creators’ labor that is in danger of automation (I think this is easily overstated but it is obviously true to some degree).

I get that it feels different for us now that OUR ox is the one being gored. And I do think there will be no end of negative externalities from the turn towards AI. But none of that refutes the above respondent's point?

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4. krainboltgreene ◴[] No.44363045[source]
A few things:

1. Typists are still around and so are special effects model-makers. 2. People who program aren't in danger of automation. 3. These services are entirely unsustainable, they will absolutely not last at their current pace.

The premise of this entire work, detailed by the creator, is to utilize a program to reduce the amount of work a programmer is required to do. They believe ultimately, like most results of improved automation, that this will result in more things we can work on because we have more time. I agree that this would likely be the case! We could also simply make more programmers, could we not? Why haven't we? Do the 18k people homeless in my city tonight not deserve a shot at learning a skill before we even think about making the work easier per person?

Finally, and more to the point, genAI is built by and designed to eliminate workers entirely. The money that goes into those services funds billionaires who seek to completely and totally annihilate the concept of the proletariat. When I make a tool that helps workers at my job do their job better I am not looking to eliminate that person from the company.