If a job makes the "numbers" (by that I assume you mean revenue or profit) go up, then by definition, it's not a bullshit job, it's a productivity enhancer.

It depends, you could just be stealing the numbers from elsewhere. One companies gain does not imply increased productivity in society.

Companies aren't trying (nor should they) to improve society's productivity, only their own.

Yes, well, that doesn't exactly go against my point does it?

'Bullshit jobs' is an indictment of the socioeconomic system that enables such jobs to exist in the first place. It is not an indictment of the individual doing the job; the psychological association between oneself and their bullshit job is at the heart of the analysis. I like this definition:

>"a form of paid employment that is so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs

Right, which is why, by definition, if a person's job improves revenue or profit (i.e. "numbers go up") then it isn't "pointless" or "unnecessary," therefore it isn't a bullshit job. Thanks for clearing that up.

Until that jobs is yours, because not everyone is an AI scientist/developer.

Prepare for social unrest.

Where I live, at lest in a medium-sized town in the US, there's a huge amount of work in hospitality, construction, skilled trades, healthcare, and every other field you can imagine. The only commonality is that none of those careers include "making content" or "social media". It's like at some point during the COVID pandemic people forgot that everyone can't sit at a computer.

Enjoy your schadenfreude. I legitimately hope it doesn't happen to you!

“It’s fine if it happens to someone else”

Hospitality and healthcare occupations are doing badly in much of the Western World. Construction is highly seasonal, and arguably much of it is currently driven by an investment bubble rather than organic demand which could pop, ending in a long winter. Skilled trades, maybe, but you need a healthy job market so that people can afford these.

While these occupations are safe from AI, for time being, they're not safe per se.

> you need a healthy job market so that people can afford these.

So much this. I was reading recently about how remote white collar work has strongly stimulated trades workers like electricians and plumbers. Once all of the high-paying remote work is gone, who is going to be able to pay for that sort of work outside of doctors?

> there's a huge amount of work in hospitality, construction, skilled trades, healthcare, and every other field you can imagine.

These are mostly bottom-of-the-barrel jobs that can't find and hold on to good people. I worked in hotels back in high school and I wouldn't wish that experience on my worst enemy. Broadly speaking, these industries are hiring a ton right now because they've historically underpaid employees and struggle to find people who are willing to work for poor wages and toxic cultures.

Do Software engineers/Developers really feel they are safe here?

Maybe the top dogs who are working on groundbreaking stuff, but as a normal backend/DevOps dude, I am fucking terrified.

Said elsewhere previously[0] but the reason is simple: because the only way we as a society have to distribute a stable supply of food and shelter is for (most) every individual to have a job. "more jobs = more gooder" flows directly from that: "people need food → food requires job → we need jobs".

Changing that has to come before the bullshit jobs are wiped out or there will be an even worse situation.

[0]:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35470255