>The computer seems to be a mythic emblem for a bright, high-tech future that is going to make our lives so much easier.
This time, there's a big groundswell of distrust and anger against "Big Tech."
There was a huge level fear about digital tech (and others, like nukes) from the 60s ("Do not fold, spindle or mutilate" was widely cited as a sign of soulless Big Tech) through the 80s (with its fear of 1984 and future shock). If anything today is much more accepting of increased digitization of life. Certainly today people fear AI and computing to a much smaller degree than in the 1980s.
There is some distrust of the big tech companies now, but still far from the level of the 60s.
I don't remember the 60s that well but certainly when I was in University in the early 80s a lot of nontechnical stuff we read at MIT was on the perspectives of technology from the 60s-80s.
There is some hysteria whipped up by the press and certain politicians against a few large corps, but it's no different from any other short-term hysteria. For the press it's understandable: FB et al challenge their position, an environment in which many had set their careers. S why not attack it? For the politicians it's the usual grab bag of short term points scoring.
What there isn't is fear of big corps; Boeing will be bailed out and ADM , Monsanto, Exxon et al get to do whatever they want and essentially zero percent of the people complain. Likewise most people like their phones and other technical devices (fans, air fryers, banana slicers and internet-connected sex toys).
There's little of the existential dread that annoyingly used to be factored into most decisions. The closest today are the utterly fabricated threats of terrorism, dope fiends, and rabid invaders. Which while widely discussed only seem to bother a few margins figures.
The current story is that automation will make all the dull jobs go away, and we're going to get Universal Basic Income. That's the mythic emblem for a bright, high-tech future, alive and well.
I work in AI, and nobody is stopping to ask the question: how happy are people going to be in a future without a practical sense of purpose, where a machine can do anything you could do better than you? Yes, I know, if you're a well-adapted individual, you should be able to derive your sense of purpose somewhere else besides work... Like, by making paintings that nobody will care about.
That didn't work out for Hitler.
UBI dystopia: everyone is crammed in a tiny standardized living unit, barely long enough to lie down in, the cities are all slums. Everyone feels useless and disconnected. People spend their time playing videogames, using VR porn and doing copious amounts of chemical drugs.
This is a more likely outcome, since it is already the trend.
Edit: while I have you, please don't post personal attacks like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20539497. We've had to ask you this before, and I don't want to ban you.
And only slightly in jest: I think the majority of today’s jobs are bullshit jobs and they aren’t fooling anyone.