Hard to see how AI won't shrink margins for information processing industries that don't have regulatory protections: software developers, marketers, lawyers (mostly), accountants, etc.
The Last Days of the Managerial Class
21–30 of 34 posts
Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#22Hypothesis: any job that is currently being replaced by AI is a Bullshit Job ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs )
I don't see what ease of replacement has to do with Graeber's definition.
Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#23Very funny read from the MBA set when the same collapse is happening in software itself. He's saying MBAs are going to have to shift to data analysis and product design roles, as if those aren't being eaten by the very same processes. But I don't say this to belittle the author, I just mean funny in how people are all grasping around the same elephant ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant ). I d…
> at some point an economy can't bear the dead weight of people pulling down six figure salaries by moving some javascript or PowerPoint slides around, while the base of the economy (industry, farming, energy production, transportation) dies from lack of investment. What if the base of the economy is well-paid power point rangers buying stuff? Because that’s what most of our economy is: consumer spending. It’s some s…
> What if the base of the economy is well-paid power point rangers buying stuff? Because that’s what most of our economy is: consumer spending.
Those "well-paid power point rangers" can't be the base of the economy: properly understood, they're an exploitative/parasite class sitting more towards the top of the pyramid.
Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#24Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#25[deleted]
Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#26Hypothesis: any job that is currently being replaced by AI is a Bullshit Job ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs )
I don't see what ease of replacement has to do with Graeber's definition.
Really? By definition, a bullshit job could be replaced by simply eliminating the job, so "replacing" it with an AI seems like an obvious fig leaf for that kind of move.
Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#27Middle management is the position worked towards where the reward is little work.
Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't see what ease of replacement has to do with Graeber's definition.
Really? By definition, a bullshit job could be replaced by simply eliminating the job , so "replacing" it with an AI seems like an obvious fig leaf for that kind of move.
Does the author's definition include the people replaced by tomato sorting machines, orange harvesters, solar panel washers, fish farm feeding monitors etc?
Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Really? By definition, a bullshit job could be replaced by simply eliminating the job , so "replacing" it with an AI seems like an obvious fig leaf for that kind of move.
Does the author's definition include the people replaced by tomato sorting machines, orange harvesters, solar panel washers, fish farm feeding monitors etc?
AI is not an equivalent of that at this point.
Re: The Last Days of the Managerial Class
#30Very funny read from the MBA set when the same collapse is happening in software itself. He's saying MBAs are going to have to shift to data analysis and product design roles, as if those aren't being eaten by the very same processes. But I don't say this to belittle the author, I just mean funny in how people are all grasping around the same elephant ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant ). I d…
> My personal theory is that we reached the point of diminishing returns of what can be built and effectuated via software or people management
I dont think so. There are amazing things that can be done with either, but they require a completely different way of structuring companies, removing the profit motive, or getting rid of a whole lot of "conventional wisdom" and old people.
There are a lot of amazing things that can be done via the management side of things, but have all but been sidelined since the rise of neoliberalism in the 80s and the MBA-ification of management in the 90s and 00s. Doesnt help that these approaches would require that managers are actually competent and learn to work with complexity, data and the like.