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The AI Replaces Services Myth

aimode.substack.com

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Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#2
The title is slightly misleading.

What the article is really about is the idea that all of the money that is now paid in wages will somehow be paid to AI companies as AI replaces humans. That idea being muddle-headed.

It points out that businesses think of AI as software, and will pay software-level money for AI, not wage-level money. It finishes with the rhetorical question, are you paying $100k/year to an AI company for each coder you no longer need?

Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#3
post #2

The title is slightly misleading. What the article is really about is the idea that all of the money that is now paid in wages will somehow be paid to AI companies as AI replaces humans. That idea being muddle-headed. It points out that businesses think of AI as software, and will pay software-level money for AI, not wage-level money. It finishes with the rhetorical question, are you paying $100k/year to an AI compan…

Not sure I quite get the point of the article. Sure, you won't capture $100k/year/dev. But if you capture $2k/year/dev, and you replace every dev in the world... that's the goal right?

Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#4
""" Not because AI can't do the work. It can.

But because the economics don't translate the way VCs claim. When you replace a $50,000 employee with AI, you don't capture $50,000 in software revenue. You capture $5,000 if you're lucky. """

So you are saying, AI does replace labour.

Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#5
post #3
post #2

The title is slightly misleading. What the article is really about is the idea that all of the money that is now paid in wages will somehow be paid to AI companies as AI replaces humans. That idea being muddle-headed. It points out that businesses think of AI as software, and will pay software-level money for AI, not wage-level money. It finishes with the rhetorical question, are you paying $100k/year to an AI compan…

Not sure I quite get the point of the article. Sure, you won't capture $100k/year/dev. But if you capture $2k/year/dev, and you replace every dev in the world... that's the goal right?

I don't think the value stacks like that. Hiring 10 low level workers that you can pay 1/10th the salary to replace one higher level worker doesn't work.

Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#6
post #3
post #2

The title is slightly misleading. What the article is really about is the idea that all of the money that is now paid in wages will somehow be paid to AI companies as AI replaces humans. That idea being muddle-headed. It points out that businesses think of AI as software, and will pay software-level money for AI, not wage-level money. It finishes with the rhetorical question, are you paying $100k/year to an AI compan…

Not sure I quite get the point of the article. Sure, you won't capture $100k/year/dev. But if you capture $2k/year/dev, and you replace every dev in the world... that's the goal right?

They're saying expectations that AI revenues will equal HR expenditures, like you can take the funds from one column to the other, are wrong-headed. That makes sense to me.

Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#7
post #4

""" Not because AI can't do the work. It can. But because the economics don't translate the way VCs claim. When you replace a $50,000 employee with AI, you don't capture $50,000 in software revenue. You capture $5,000 if you're lucky. """ So you are saying, AI does replace labour.

Maybe I should change the title indeed. Intention was to point to the fact that from the perspective of a startup, even if you replace it fully, you are not capturing 100x the previous market.

Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#8
post #4

""" Not because AI can't do the work. It can. But because the economics don't translate the way VCs claim. When you replace a $50,000 employee with AI, you don't capture $50,000 in software revenue. You capture $5,000 if you're lucky. """ So you are saying, AI does replace labour.

Realistically, AI makes the easiest part of the job easier, not all the other parts.

Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#9
post #4

""" Not because AI can't do the work. It can. But because the economics don't translate the way VCs claim. When you replace a $50,000 employee with AI, you don't capture $50,000 in software revenue. You capture $5,000 if you're lucky. """ So you are saying, AI does replace labour.

[deleted]

Re: The AI Replaces Services Myth

#10
post #4

""" Not because AI can't do the work. It can. But because the economics don't translate the way VCs claim. When you replace a $50,000 employee with AI, you don't capture $50,000 in software revenue. You capture $5,000 if you're lucky. """ So you are saying, AI does replace labour.

Realistically, AI makes the easiest part of the job easier, not all the other parts.

For now
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