Comment by csdvrx | Hacker News Reader

Comment by csdvrx | Hacker News Reader

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> you'll likely be unable to achieve anything close to the economic status expected and planned on

It may be a problem of expectations + loss aversion, as high income from software jobs is a historically "recent" phenomenon

> AI doing it at a massive scale arguably does (remains to be seen, but at least plausible).

I agree that scale can change many things, but the core argument is still someone fearing for their job

> Is this more of an indictment of our current social/economic system than of AI itself? Probably yes, but I'm not sure it matters.

I just want to better understand why so many people here have such a negative take on a technology that is new, exciting, and could bring so much to so many people!

Thanks for your detailed reply: like you I believe it's just self-interest, and "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it"

> high income from software jobs

I don't think it is a worry about just software jobs though. Would people be nearly as concerned if some "Technology X" would delete all software jobs but leave all other white-collar jobs intact? Probably not nearly as much, just retrain and go do some other job. I think the concern is that once an AI can replace SWE, it is likely already at the level where in short order there will be no value to intellectual labor, no "thinking jobs" that can sustain a good life.

So basically I don't think it is just self-interest. I think a lot of people see a plausible outcome being the destruction of the value of (at least intellectual) labor. If labor loses all value and society isn't prepared to entirely upend our economic system, most people could suffer greatly, to the extent where the positive and exciting benefits of AI don't really mean much. If someone believes that not making their software open-source can delay that, it isn't necessarily a selfish decision. If that is what you believe, you're delaying a negative outcome for a lot of people.

Do most individuals who oppose AI doing so out of "just" self interest? Maybe. Not wanting to starve is inherently self interest but it's fundamental to not just human nature but every living thing to avoid starvation.

AI also has the potential to cause unimaginable harm to the entire globe.

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