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Comment by BobbyTables2 | Hacker News Reader

Wouldn’t mind seeing 41% of executives unemployed…

There is no group of people more fitting to be replaced by machines. Unfortunately, they have the means to ensure that they will be the last to be replaced.

Brace yourselves for technofeudalism...

I disagree. In fact they’ll be the FIRST to be replaced, as that is the richest target for replacement. Think about it. You wouldn’t build a robot (R+D costs) to do the job of someone cheap unless you can build many many robots and amortize the cost over millions.

Soldiers for instance are EXTREMELY expensive; so in modern theaters they’re being replaced with drones and missiles.

And executives are being replaced with automation in that there are less and less of them and the ones that remain have much higher leverage.

Executives are paid handsomely because of the value they bring to the company. Part of an executive's job is to meet with executives of other companies and make deals with executives of other companies. Those deals work, but they require the human element. Executives don't do their jet set lifestyle just for fun, they do it because human connection creates the best deals.

There is humans all around executives, they are in meetings with humans all the time, both inside and outside of the company. They even have humans to interact with computers for them because they are so busy interacting with other humans.

Where do you see executives being replaced?

> they do it because human connection creates the best deals.

please.

We will start to see entire AI driven companies. The change doesn't happen with incumbents it happens with what replaces the incumbents.

How many “executives” does meta need vs trad media companies in the 1900s - 2010. Those companies and by extension the execs that ran them have been entirely replaced by automation and AI. That’s just one example. I could name dozens of industries affected in this way. If you want to make a lot of money, look for something that’s really hard that only an “executive” does. Here’s another one: allocating capital. Investing is now increasingly run by ETFs and automated managers, not the corporate raiders of the 80s and 90s. Those people still may have monetary wealth, but not the means of production.

The managerial class has class consciousness, the working class doesn't. That's why they will be safe, they will all protect each other.

Imo the best case scenario for AI is that it allows almost anyone to become an executive. AKA a small business boom.

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