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A comment on Waymo begins driverless rides in San Francisco. Parent comment

Re:Waymo begins driverless rides in San Francisco by reaperducer on Wednesday March 30, 2022 @11:41AM (#30856700)
There is a labor shortage. Shifting labor from essentially low productivity things like overseeing gas stations to other industries is better for the economy.

Only if you believe that every person is equally able and qualified to perform every other job that exists in an economy.

People aren't cogs, and they're not universally interchangeable, no matter what the economic textbooks would like people on the internet to believe.

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Re:Waymo begins driverless rides in San Francisco by ydlr on Wednesday March 30, 2022 @12:00PM (#30857011)
> People aren't cogs

Exactly. They are extremely adaptive, capable of learning and doing many things. Sure, not everyone can do everything, but there are also no purpose-built humans capable of only one job.

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Re:Waymo begins driverless rides in San Francisco by seanmcdirmid on Wednesday March 30, 2022 @12:23PM (#30857364)
> People aren't cogs, and they're not universally interchangeable

People aren't, but humanity is...meaning those drivers might not adapt to new work, but at least their children will. The Luddites had huge problems with obsolescence, but their kids got by OK. A social safety net could take the edge of the transition rather than just delaying the transition indefinitely.

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Re:Waymo begins driverless rides in San Francisco by thehappypm on Wednesday March 30, 2022 @11:46AM (#30856791)
Sure, but the labor demand is also large and spans a wide gamut of skills. Someone who used to be a gas station cashier can certainly find work elsewhere.
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