The AI automation arms race layoff trap:
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@nixCraft So it's: tax the rich and ai.
@MeneerDeBruin @nixCraft Tax AI/rich to fund the universal income it will force.
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The AI automation arms race layoff trap:
1 Competitive pressure pushes firms to automate using AI more than needed for market
2 Now jobless workers can't buy products/services, harming both labor & firm owners
3 Suggested solution by AI companies like UBI/upskilling/lower wages cannot stop the AI doom cycle
The study concludes that only a Pigouvian automation tax can fix the problem. Policy makers must address the competitive drive to automate, not just the post AI fallout afterward

@nixCraft Seems like an economic perpetuum mobile, not sure if that's going to work.
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The AI automation arms race layoff trap:
1 Competitive pressure pushes firms to automate using AI more than needed for market
2 Now jobless workers can't buy products/services, harming both labor & firm owners
3 Suggested solution by AI companies like UBI/upskilling/lower wages cannot stop the AI doom cycle
The study concludes that only a Pigouvian automation tax can fix the problem. Policy makers must address the competitive drive to automate, not just the post AI fallout afterward

@nixCraft this makes a big assumption, namely that consumers are still needed.
If you look at the IOU circlejerk in AI right now, it's clear as day that capitalism has transcended consumer capitalism.
I think that's infinitely more scary.
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The AI automation arms race layoff trap:
1 Competitive pressure pushes firms to automate using AI more than needed for market
2 Now jobless workers can't buy products/services, harming both labor & firm owners
3 Suggested solution by AI companies like UBI/upskilling/lower wages cannot stop the AI doom cycle
The study concludes that only a Pigouvian automation tax can fix the problem. Policy makers must address the competitive drive to automate, not just the post AI fallout afterward

@nixCraft I feel like we already ran this experiment with outsourcing manufacturing in the 80s & 90s & know the result; the laid-off workers will be blamed for their own plight, left to fend for themselves. Bankruptcies, homelessness, drug abuse, & "deaths of despair" are the likely future of those affected.
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R relay@relay.mycrowd.ca shared this topic
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@nixCraft this makes a big assumption, namely that consumers are still needed.
If you look at the IOU circlejerk in AI right now, it's clear as day that capitalism has transcended consumer capitalism.
I think that's infinitely more scary.
@budududuroiu @nixCraft Capitalism is doomed. It is a type of economy which only works as long as there is long term net growth, but we have already exceeded the global growth limits of our planet, meaning that the economy can't really grow anymore, and sooner or later it will begin to shrink dramatically, with absolutely no possibility of ever growing again.
The cleverer part of the rich know this, which is why they're switching from capitalism to feudalism.
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@budududuroiu @nixCraft Capitalism is doomed. It is a type of economy which only works as long as there is long term net growth, but we have already exceeded the global growth limits of our planet, meaning that the economy can't really grow anymore, and sooner or later it will begin to shrink dramatically, with absolutely no possibility of ever growing again.
The cleverer part of the rich know this, which is why they're switching from capitalism to feudalism.
> Capitalism is doomed
Yes.
> but we have already exceeded the global growth limits of our planet
Also yes.
> The cleverer part of the rich know this, which is why they're switching from capitalism to feudalism.
Three yes-es.
I don't think they're switching, it's a natural progression of insane wealth hoarding.
Also, when Thiel says "AI will solve the climate crisis", he means: "6 billion people will die, robotics will become good enough to replace them, and the 2 billion remaining people will be able to enjoy the same or more level of consumption and move to areas unaffected by climate change"
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The AI automation arms race layoff trap:
1 Competitive pressure pushes firms to automate using AI more than needed for market
2 Now jobless workers can't buy products/services, harming both labor & firm owners
3 Suggested solution by AI companies like UBI/upskilling/lower wages cannot stop the AI doom cycle
The study concludes that only a Pigouvian automation tax can fix the problem. Policy makers must address the competitive drive to automate, not just the post AI fallout afterward

@nixCraft Also worth noting that any solution that requires taxing corporations or wealthy tech elite will simply not happen.
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@nixCraft
I preferNow jobless workers can't buy food, so turn to making handcrafted guillotines to make ends meet.
@hypostase @nixCraft just think of the recycling!

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@hypostase @nixCraft just think of the recycling!

@knowprose
I dunno, there's only so much you can do with toxic waste.
@nixCraft -
@knowprose
I dunno, there's only so much you can do with toxic waste.
@nixCraft@hypostase @nixCraft I was thinking of the metal to create guillotines

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Full link is here https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.20617
It is worth reading as this study comes from the field of theoretical economics. This is what top AI scientists are actually saying. If you want to study the impact of AI on job market and ecomomy, listen to the economists instead of Elon, Sama, or Dario. They are here to sell AI, even if it leads to total economic doom.
@nixCraft its a preprint, keep that in mind
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R relay@relay.publicsquare.global shared this topic