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The AI Backlash Could Get Very Ugly. Imagine what happens if jobs actually start disappearing.
(www.theatlantic.com)
this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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Truck driving would have a major knock-on effect as well from diners and truck stops, which are often major cash centers of smaller towns.
As those people move on to other jobs, there will be growth in other areas. This is part of the normal ebb and flow of the economy. Rather let's make sure everyone is generally being taken care of. We can't put society in stasis for fear of someone somewhere losing out.
What money are they going to use to move from their home in nowheresville to somewhere where jobs are
I'm not saying leave them out to dry, but we shouldn't do labor just for the sake of it. If we can automate it and we save labor overall, that's how society advances. The real question is who gets the benefit, and how we take care of people's needs, not if it's a good idea to improve labor efficiency
Would love me some Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism, but looking how things are progressing socially, I have my doubts that things are going to end well for anyone worth less then a few million.
Some people are comparing this to the industrial revolution. Which resulted in hellish conditions for much of the working class for ~100 years until unionization started becoming more widespread.
Will there be enough jobs for all those displaced in those 'other areas'? And how long is it going to take for those to materialise?
Traditionally society has overcome these type of changes. But they weren't as wide as this one (AI has a huge range of usecases) nor was the change as rapid. And as AI grows into new areas it will continue to displace jobs and human activity.
I really doubt this will turn into a net positive for society and if it does it will still be a very hard transition for at least a decade.