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“AI took my job, literally”—Gizmodo fires Spanish staff amid switch to AI translator
(arstechnica.com)
this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2023
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Capitalism is in a permanent prisoners dilemma.
Overall they need to treat their employees well so that there's growth in the economy, since no one to buy things means no market to sell things. However, they can also choose to screw over their employees with bad pay, terrible conditions, or in this case, automating their workforce and firing people.
If no one screws their employees, the economy expands with modest growth.
If one or few corporations screw their workers while everyone else doesn't, they become fabulously rich and the rest get outcompeted.
If everyone screws their workers, then the economy collapses because there's no growth, and everyone eventually goes out of business.
It reminds me of the analysis of the recent tech layoffs, earlier this year. They made no sense from a rational, financial point of view. And most psychologists and anthropologists looked into it and theorize that most tech companies where probably doing layoffs because all the others were doing layoffs. Essentially trying desperately to not be undercut by competition who were shedding costs, despite they themselves having no reason to let employees go. Some insiders actually pointed out how many companies were simultaneously eliminating hundreds of roles, but also creating several other hundreds. Taking the opportunity of the overall employment market to restructure their workforce guilt free and hire without having to offer pay increases.
this is why I believe capitalism is unsustainable.
when I talk about automation and labor, no one seems to get it. Hey, if your job gets automated, you get fired. Have you even considered that you could do less labor for the same pay because your work got automated? they just look at me like my head's been cut off.
Good news! Your workload has halved so you don't have to work in to the evening!
Bad news... that means I only need half my current workforce now to work in to the evening and so you're fired.