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The idea was to not use direct measures of time to estimate because someone above you will start assuming those estimates are promises and then life gets unpleasant.

Story points, much as I personally dislike them, were invented for developer defense.

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I've never seen such systems emerge from the team as a tool for self-empowerment. They are always foisted upon the team by managers who are trying to, ultimately, turn estimates into promises.

There has always been a perfectly fine word for that which means exactly the same thing: man hours.

I remember learning in school (way before the hocus pocus fancy new words came out) that the development of an Intel CPU cost around 1000 man-years.

I don't understand how expressing this as "it took 1000 kilo-story points" or whatever would bring any advantage whatsoever.

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