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francisofascii a day ago

hospital and construction works get about $20/hour. Being a teacher will require going back for a 2nd degree. Is that the alternative for knowledge worker when getting laid off?

bwhiting2356 a day ago | parent [-]

Yes (and many more options). The alternative is having all the construction workers, teachers, janitors continue to labor and pay taxes while the former knowledge workers sit on the sidelines, which would be deeply unfair.

haizhung a day ago | parent | next [-]

This assumes that people on a UBI just chill at home and play video games the entire day, which was disproven in about every experiment that was ever run on this.

It’s human to want to contribute to society; and people use UBI mostly to get their shit in order, and THEN to get a 2nd degree and rejoin the labor force.

So, yes, they would in fact become teachers, nurses or or constructors.

readthenotes1 14 hours ago | parent [-]

Weird it was disproven because that's exactly what I'd do, and what many people who retired early, or in their young 60s, do.

francisofascii a day ago | parent | prev [-]

So the vast majority of the population goes down to the lower class. The middle class disspears. After being told to work hard in school and college, we are stuck with back breaking construction work? Is that progress? Does that really sound right to you?

paisawalla a day ago | parent | next [-]

"middle class" shouldn't be synonymous with "knowledge worker". And that latter itself has become conflated with "credentialed" increasingly, I'd argue.

My fundamental observation is that there are a lot of people who are not particularly suited for knowledge work, but are funneled/attracted to it because it's the only viable path to a reasonable effort:outcome lifestyle ratio. Therefore, my fundamental hope is that yes, I want there to be fewer knowledge workers. In place, I want AI that enables people of various competencies to succeed. I'd much rather see AI make my carpenter friend, who made an awesome desk for me, be empowered to compete as a solo/SMB against big retailers: perhaps by automating his marketing, streamlining his ops, participating in design, and so on.

Uncharitably, is your complaint "a lot of people will have to labor with their bodies and minds differently, and it's easier to sit down"? I'd ask you: is butt flattening really all that "must preserve knowledge work" has to recommend it? Because your comment doesn't hinge on anything else except that construction work is back breaking. Well, construction is a diverse field, and it can benefit from the inclusion of intelligent and motivated people, just like many others.

francisofascii a day ago | parent [-]

I am okay with people having to transition out of knowledge work into phsyical types of jobs. I only ask they people can have a decent living, with a house and disposable income. If you are motivated and have a path for success, you should be be rewarded with something. Currently there is no defined path for success. I am skeptical that AI would help your frield compete with big retailers, for the same reasons small businesses can't compete with Amazon.

hackable_sand a day ago | parent | prev [-]

You'll be fine