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diff --git a/content/entry/automation-and-the-meaning-of-work.md b/content/entry/automation-and-the-meaning-of-work.md index 255c300..5d42f5c 100644 --- a/content/entry/automation-and-the-meaning-of-work.md +++ b/content/entry/automation-and-the-meaning-of-work.md @@ -2,9 +2,8 @@ title: "Automation and the Meaning of Work" date: 2022-09-07T00:00:00 draft: false -makerefs: false --- -Recently, artificially intelligent (AI) art generators such as DALL-E2[1], Midjourney[2] and Stable Diffusion[3] have been making headlines in the news and artists are fuming. Given the recent news attention, I figured it would be a good idea to talk about the direction AI is headed and how that affects the meaning of work going forward. +Recently, artificially intelligent (AI) art generators such as [DALL-E2](https://openai.com/dall-e-2/), [Midjourney](https://www.midjourney.com/) and [Stable Diffusion](https://stability.ai/blog/stable-diffusion-announcement) have been making headlines in the news and artists are fuming. Given the recent news attention, I figured it would be a good idea to talk about the direction AI is headed and how that affects the meaning of work going forward. ## Automation is Coming It should be clear to everyone not living under a rock that we're in the process of making human labor obsolete. Most people claiming that AI won't be able to take their job are simply in denial. @@ -52,15 +51,8 @@ Post-automation, there will be more time for social interaction between people w On the other hand, maybe more free time will just lead to people spending more time on social media since better AI means more addictive online platforms. It's hard to say for certain. ## Conclusion -The categories I've laid out make up one useful model for thinking about automation and work, but it's not the only model. For instance, the AI arms race[4] between world powers may force many public and private sector jobs to be automated. Also, there will probably be new jobs that don't fit into any of the categories because only AI will be capable of performing them. There will be work where a collective decision has to be made whether humans or AI should perform it because a mix of human and AI workers won't work. In other cases, the nature of the work is such that people will value it more merely because a human did it. +The categories I've laid out make up one useful model for thinking about automation and work, but it's not the only model. For instance, the [AI arms race](https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_arms_race) between world powers may force many public and private sector jobs to be automated. Also, there will probably be new jobs that don't fit into any of the categories because only AI will be capable of performing them. There will be work where a collective decision has to be made whether humans or AI should perform it because a mix of human and AI workers won't work. In other cases, the nature of the work is such that people will value it more merely because a human did it. Some other model for predicting the implications of automation may arise that does better than what I've laid out. My model may end up being totally irrelevant if the assumptions I made aren't met. It's certainly oversimplified and not the full story. It's impossible to fully systematize such complex future technology and the uncertainty can be overwhelming, but sticking our heads in the sand and ignoring automation isn't going to help. Significant resources need to go into building models and predictions for the automated future and preparing everybody for the post-automation world because it's coming, and soon. - - -Links: -[1: DALL-E 2](https://openai.com/dall-e-2/) -[2: Midjourney](https://www.midjourney.com/) -[3: Stable Diffusion](https://stability.ai/blog/stable-diffusion-announcement) -[4: AI Arms Race](https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_arms_race) |