I'm worried it might get bad • Hacker News Board

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#11

Post by maxehmookau » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:47 PM UTC

generalpf wrote: post #2

Referencing Marc Benioff making bold claims about AI isn't much evidence, he's pulling these numbers out of thin air. Despite claiming they won't hire software engineers in 2025, there are plenty of positions open at Salesforce for software engineers.

Agreed. I still think we're seeing layoffs due to _overhiring_ in 2020. AI makes a nice excuse when laying these people off because CEOs can say their huge investments in AI are starting to pay off because they don't need the humans.

Turns out, they never needed those humans in the first place.

That doesn't answer the other side of the problem though, that it's so hard to find work right now, even for folks who would typically be very easy to employ.

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#12

Post by an0malous » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:48 PM UTC

We’re damned both ways with AI. Either it’s a massive bubble that will pop or it does what it’s intended to do and automates a large portion of the workforce.

Edit: removed a comment about Ai investors getting bailed out because it was secondary to my main point

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#13

Post by amilios » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:48 PM UTC

Whats the rebuttal to UBI just causing massive inflation again?

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#14

Post by andyfilms1 » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:48 PM UTC

I've said this before, but the only thing that will convince me that these companies are actually laying people off due to AI will be when they start replacing their leadership staff with it.

Until that happens--IMO it's just an excuse to reduce the overhired workforce without tanking their stock.

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#15

Post by guywithahat » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:49 PM UTC

While I have tremendous sympathy for anyone who loses their job, this feels very industry specific. Embedded and hardware spaces (like satellites) are doing really well, lots of advancement and hiring going on, while things such as data science are struggling to get relevant interviews. I'm also not a huge fan of industry specific hiring data, because it's usually tied to a specific HR/hiring software (like indeed), which holds hidden variables (like big companies may be more likely to use one hiring software than the other).

As a final note, however, most engineers will find a point in their career where the skills they've developed are obsolete or outdated, and that is terrifying to me.

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#16

Post by itsalotoffun » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:50 PM UTC

Daniel's freaking out about an ongoing correction still playing out from '21, and finding struts to support his argument like the "30-50% of the work" is being "done by AI" nonsense lines spouted by talking suits. This is hogwash. It's standard corporate brain fart miss the actual point. Yes, 50%+ of code written might be done by AI, but pretending this is "AI doing the work" reveals the tumor that is management misapprehension of what's going on.

There's a correction coming, but not the one Daniel's fearmongering about.

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#17

Post by philipkglass » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:50 PM UTC

an0malous wrote: post #12

We’re damned both ways with AI. Either it’s a massive bubble that will pop or it does what it’s intended to do and automates a large portion of the workforce. Edit: removed a comment about Ai investors getting bailed out because it was secondary to my main point

Investors weren't bailed out following the pop of the dot com bubble. I don't think that AI investors will be bailed out afterward if this is another bubble.

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#18

Post by tayo42 » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:50 PM UTC

> A very large number of people dread Monday, and that's not because they show up Monday morning and bring all their creativity and brilliance. It's because it's clocking in and clocking out on a job they'd rather not be doing.

This is a management problem. I don't think it's that hard to figure out how to motivate people. Give them some autonomy and respect. This isn't even hidden knowledge.

But businesses and managers for some reason totally forget this, and treat everyone as cogs in a machine and completely replaceable, monitored by metrics.

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#19

Post by gonzo41 » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:51 PM UTC

If we look back at all types of mechanization, all that happens is we keep our jobs, they get more complex and the jobs get harder and more technical. in 2-10 years if my job as a software engineer is speedily porting and upgrading banking code with AI assitants then cool. But I don't think we're going to see a crash. Human development doesn't stop. We're going to keep making new stuff and that takes people.

Re: I'm worried it might get bad

#20

Post by JKCalhoun » Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 2:51 PM UTC

amilios wrote: post #13

Whats the rebuttal to UBI just causing massive inflation again?

I've never been a fan of UBI (and I'm often downvoted for that, ha ha). I like the idea of mandating an 18 hour work week or similar though. It still keeps the incentive to work — still rewards those who want to achieve more.

One wonders though what impact that will have on society — so much additional free time. More television binging? I hope not.