AI job grief: A psychological crisis hitting tech workers

Post by LolWolf » Sat, May 30, 2026, 4:05 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #18

wiseowise wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How utterly pointless. What would make it less pointless in your opinion?

If someone had written it. It's well curated slop, but it's still slop. Consider this bit: > A profession does not need to be eliminated to be mourned. It is enough for its center to fall out, leaving the people who built careers in that center with credentials that no longer map to a stable role. When AI threatens the work, it threatens the self, which is why the response looks less like ordinary job-loss fear and m…

Post by tom_ » Sat, May 30, 2026, 4:06 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #18

wiseowise wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How utterly pointless. What would make it less pointless in your opinion?

If someone had written it. It's well curated slop, but it's still slop. Consider this bit: > A profession does not need to be eliminated to be mourned. It is enough for its center to fall out, leaving the people who built careers in that center with credentials that no longer map to a stable role. When AI threatens the work, it threatens the self, which is why the response looks less like ordinary job-loss fear and m…

Post by ryandrake » Sat, May 30, 2026, 4:07 PM UTC

randycupertino wrote: post #24

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #11

I am probably different to most people, but I always have trouble understanding why people want to have jobs so much. The obvious and direct answer immediately of course is "to be able to pay the bills". But of course if we automated those jobs with AI, we could direct AI produced value into universal basic income so people wouldn't lose their income. Then the concern is of course, that the owners will not share the…

> we could direct AI produced value into universal basic income so people wouldn't lose their income. This would never get approved in the USA. Think of the backlash here against "Obamaphones" and "welfare queens" - we can't even get paid parental leave approved! Let alone disability, social security or SNAP/food benefits. UBI is not even an option. Even now we're taking away food benefits and tying it to mandatory w…

Post by StevenWaterman » Sat, May 30, 2026, 4:07 PM UTC

w29UiIm2Xz wrote: post #26

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #11

I am probably different to most people, but I always have trouble understanding why people want to have jobs so much. The obvious and direct answer immediately of course is "to be able to pay the bills". But of course if we automated those jobs with AI, we could direct AI produced value into universal basic income so people wouldn't lose their income. Then the concern is of course, that the owners will not share the…

Nobody who trades their labor for income would legitimately trust simply getting money for existing because we created such surplus. What happens if the checks stop rolling? It is undesirable to be that dependent on the state, in an environment where faith in institutions has declined. To give up labor is to give up any leverage one possibly has in our system.

Post by throwatdem12311 » Sat, May 30, 2026, 4:07 PM UTC

LilBytes wrote: post #2

Quotes from the article: 'Work as Identity: The Foundation' Knowledge workers hold a different relationship to their labor than manufacturing workers did. For a cognitive professional, expertise is not only an activity. It is a large part of the self. A data scientist who has spent a decade building statistical judgment does not experience that judgment as a detachable tool. It is closer to a personality trait. When…