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Comment by zokier | Hacker News Reader

What about all the blacksmiths, farriers, coachmen etc who got displaced by automobiles. Or certain famous textile workers who got displaced by knitting machines...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite

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I don't think it's fair to just wave away such concerns. Automation lowers the number of people necessary to create something. This shrinkage of the available labor pool only happens faster with computer automation. The way the world currently works, this is a problem - people need jobs for money.

As entire classes of skilled labor evaporate, there will be significant societal implications. There is also the problem of the significant centralization of power and money that comes with a future where AI performs the work.

All major changes have significant societal implications practically by definition. And luddites were having real problems too, people needed jobs for money then too, and the concentration of wealth was also a problem. Recognizing that these are old patterns repeating is not waving away the problems, but understanding that such problems should not paralyze us from making progress. Similarly it is important to understand what were the issues that luddites (and other movements before and after them) were fighting against and learn from what has happened in the past so we might best avoid the worst pitfalls.

Luddites were hanged, I hope you are not suggesting we hang illustration artists.

They were hanged for murder (in retaliation for deaths) after protests and then judgment for capital crimes.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-rea...

Where exactly in this current situation are you seeing murder and retaliation taking place?

Or are you being funny?

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