COVID and AI are great examples of what's wrong today. We created an incredible global communication network that lets us all collaborate across the world, used it to work through a pandemic, found a better work-life balance and saved hours of commuting and pollution daily. Now everyone is being forced back to the office. Like we all lived through this period right, we remember how much more pleasant it was to be able to work remotely, and its now been snatched away for no good reason? We made technology that can save us 2 hours of commute a day and then throw it away because office buildings go empty?
AI made many of us 2x more productive (conservatively), but where is the increased salary or bonus or reduced working hours for this productivity? All the gains are outcompeted or flow to companies balance sheets. We created this incredible technology and are rewarded with crushing expectations and FASTER FASTER FASTER as usual. Like we've made this miraculous technology that can do so much work for us, but it has made our work harder not easier? Why?
Most potential workers would have to be insane to be invested in a system like this. All the gains flow to the top, everyone else gets crushed. I feel like a hamster in a wheel that keeps spinning faster and faster. All the technology and productivity should be making our lives better, should be making us happier, but everyone is poorer and more depressed now. It's clear that corporate power, inequality, politics is the reason that's happening.
.. people wonder why the DSA is making so much noise and wonder why the 'mainstream' democrat party is not.
See the 1833 [1] bill that limits work-shift for children aged 9-13 to 8 hours a day. The fact that (most) developed countries settled for 40 hour work week was a huge progress. The fact that we did not shortened the workweek in the last 100 years is sad to say the least. The gains in productivity were shared with the employees right up until 1971 [2].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_Acts#Ashley's_Bill_(18... [2] https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/
studies keep showing numbers closer to -0.2x more productive. But your point stands, since those in charge of assigning our salaries think it's more than 2x.
I'd literally rather live in the back of a pickup than have to keep getting woken up at 1am to reboot a server in Iowa because that's cheaper for my boss than getting a second instance.
At some point I inherited some money and bought a shack in the desert, and now I am studying to be an EMT and I volunteer at a free clinic... today got to help a doc sew up a hobo who got into a fight, which was beyond interesting for sure. I get enough money from some investments, an audio production business, and doing festival stuff (either first aid or audio).
Fuck the US, and fuck its working culture. It's sick. When I had to play along with it cause I had kids to raise and needed some stability, I put on a happy face and did the thing.
But there is no reason to do that if you don't have too.
For context, I am 48.