Why aren't climate jobs being proposed as a viable transition role post AI? | Hacker News Reader

Why aren't climate jobs being proposed as a viable transition role post AI?

3 pointssodokuwizard6 comments

I could see a very strong restructuring of society built around high taxation of heavily AI implemented industries to subsidize a labor program built around cleaning up the environment.

Lets have people become ocean garbage fishers, tree planters, urban cleaners, river cleaners , wildlife habitat rebuilders, policing watchdogs for companies that break the rules, etc etc.

Not all of this is some big brained work either, the average person CAN do it and machinery can be invented (some of it already has) to assist in this work at scale.

Now of course the people have to demand this themselves challenging the status quo cause companies would sure as hell never want to pay for this and some organization will have to figure out where all that waste ends up (deep space?) but it doesn't take away the validity of this space as a valid transitionary role for humans to partake in while we figure out the long term.

Thoughts? Challenges you suspect?

I don't see James from HR being all that good at "urban cleaners" or wanting to get paid what an "urban cleaner" gets paid. Let's assume he lost his job, I'm not sure he or the others no longer paying much in the way of taxes means there's a lot of money to pay "urban cleaners".

That's because of the current paradigm of status and success chasing that is driven solely by marketing. Marketing will hit a wall and it won't beat actual suffering faced in the wake of quality of life decline. People are still a little cozy right now so they buy into hype but when their belly is rumbling , what is bought is what exists at the lowest price , its the only vector that matters.

When James from HR actually gets unemployed for an extended period of time and lose his yuppie status, and has to suffer , he will count his blessings that all he has to do for work is "urban cleaning" and can dilly dally with free internet / subsidized utilities in the remainder of his time or you know - join a club , meet people and become human again.

Without a doubt - "quality of life"/everyone gets a pickup truck or a $10 000 bike if they save up real hard is going to dip.

But I see this as a market correction - western lifestyle was always inflated in nature/high consumption. The average dude in south america lives on what , a $1 a day? Nobody will be able to afford inflated products / industries at inflated prices- true cost will begin to be reflected more and more in the market.

But EVERYONE will have to take the hit / eat the loss , so there won't necessarily be as much shame in being an urban cleaner , everyone on the inside understands you did what you have to do to survive.

Honestly, this just reads like you anticipate an event and you're substituting your own values rather than any rhyme or reason or even knowledge here.

You're right about the rhyme and reason; from my perspective I'm just letting a bunch of thoughts out so there's no cohesiveness to it.

But it doesn't change the underlying answer about what will happen to "James", when push comes to shove, people will work what they have too is all I was getting at. This was in response to you essentially saying James is not "built" for this kind of work or wouldn't accept it even if it presented itself. I don't think there's anything factually incorrect about saying he would take it even if not initially because he hasn't swallowed his pride. It's just pragmatism/survival instinct. Most white collars are where they are because they wanted to choose a viable career. If whats defined as a viable career shifts, the people will shift with it.

I wouldn't say I'm anticipating an event so much as exploring a hypothetical, I'll admit I speak with some "sureness" but its really just presenting statements and kinda seeing what sticks or doesn't. A sounding off board.

> The average dude in south america lives on what , a $1 a day?

Hi from Argentina. Minimum salary here is approximately US$250 per month, approximately US$8 per day, and it would be very difficult to feed a family with that.

Higher corporate taxes aren't going to happen as long as corporate lobbying is allowed.

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