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Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by johnvanommen on Saturday February 07, 2026 @05:43PM (#46928990)
> Generating an extra $400 per year in value, per employee, isn't that much extra.

I agree, and would add that it’s contributing to inflation in hard assets.

Basically:

* it’s a safe bet that labor will have lower value in 2031 than it has today

* if you have a billion to spend, and you agree, you will be inclined to put your wealth into hard assets, because AI depends on them

In a really abstract way, the world is not responsible for feeding a new class of workers: robots.

And robots consume electricity, water, space, and generate heat.

Which is why those sectors are feeling the affects of supply and demand.

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by whattheheckheck on Saturday February 07, 2026 @06:21PM (#46929381)
The world IS responsible for handling the people. Thats the whole fucking reason we made society to take care of children. Nothing is inevitable. It serves the interests of the few.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by tjwebbnorfolk on Saturday February 07, 2026 @06:47PM (#46929611)
"The world" isn't responsible for anything. The world simply exists, and owes you nothing.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by samrus on Saturday February 07, 2026 @09:23PM (#46930710)
What your describing is a low trust society. If you disregard the social contract like that, then people wont owe the "the world" anythign either. Collaboration and civics goes out the window. If you want to look at what kind of a shithole that libertarian nonsense leads to, then try taking a stroll in SF at night
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by tjwebbnorfolk on Saturday February 07, 2026 @11:11PM (#46931273)
You get out of society what you put into it. If I want a seamless web of deserved trust, then of course I need to contribute to that.

I don't consider that to be saying that society "owes" me something. I regard it mutually beneficial, not some kind of debt/debtor relationship.

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by bombcar on Sunday February 08, 2026 @12:03AM (#46931449)
This is an important framing - we talk so much of "rights" but if you have a right to something, that means someone or someones have a duty to provide it.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by _DeadFred_ on Sunday February 08, 2026 @04:19AM (#46932721)
Man I am on the wrong tech site.

Where are all the geeks that grew up on Trek and want to create a better future where society provides for it's citizens?

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by direwolf20 on Sunday February 08, 2026 @06:42AM (#46933415)
Hacker News is a system for marketing and finding new hires for Y Combinator
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by svnt on Sunday February 08, 2026 @06:47AM (#46933447)
They are here, following the prime directive.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by latexr on Sunday February 08, 2026 @04:36AM (#46932804)
No, no it does not. If we say everyone has a right to clean air and water, no one else has a duty to provide it. Those are given to us for free by the planet. The issue is that rich assholes (and poor assholes who only think of getting rich) take that away from everyone else by polluting what is common to everyone.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by gspr on Sunday February 08, 2026 @03:54AM (#46932589)
> I don't consider that to be saying that society "owes" me something. I regard it mutually beneficial, not some kind of debt/debtor relationship.

You know, in phrases like "you owe it to your spouse/sibling/friend/self to...", people aren't talking about formal debt. Please try to keep that kind of meaning in mind when people say that society owes its people.

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by blueone on Saturday February 07, 2026 @09:41PM (#46930821)
I think they meant “society.” Society does, in fact, owe the people something, especially if we, the people, are expected to live by the rules, social norms, and expectations imposed by society.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by tjwebbnorfolk on Saturday February 07, 2026 @11:08PM (#46931257)
Yea, like anything, you get out what you put into it. I wouldn't describe that as society "owes" me something.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by CrimsonCape on Saturday February 07, 2026 @11:45PM (#46931376)
"No taxation without representation" is a perfectly reasonable stance.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by gspr on Sunday February 08, 2026 @03:51AM (#46932574)
What's society for then?
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by svnt on Sunday February 08, 2026 @06:45AM (#46933435)
Parent was talking about children (npi) — they don’t get out of society what they put into it. Society owes them care for bringing them into it, and if society defaults on this debt then society ends.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by johnvanommen on Sunday February 08, 2026 @02:42PM (#46937763)
> Society owes them care for bringing them into it, and if society defaults on this debt then society ends.

Society owes you nothing.

Your premise is false.

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by svnt on Sunday February 08, 2026 @06:47PM (#46939812)
A society of people with your belief does not exist.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by eli_gottlieb on Saturday February 07, 2026 @10:35PM (#46931094)
Oh man you're not gonna like how we all treat you after internalizing that kinda talk.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by mahirsaid on Saturday February 07, 2026 @07:08PM (#46929786)
humans collectively are responsible for the end results of innovations and achievements , otherwise who are you doing all this for. Wars are a extreme form of disagreements amongst a large body of opposing opinions or perspective IMHO. Earth (world!) simply exists, with or without you. You as Byorganism/Byproduct of this planet you have an obligation to this planet in good deeds. Have you not watched Star-Wars?
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by YokoZar on Saturday February 07, 2026 @08:31PM (#46930416)
> * it’s a safe bet that labor will have lower value in 2031 than it has today

If AI makes workers more productive, labor will have higher value than it has today. Which specific workers are winning in that scenario may vary tremendously, of course, but I don't think anyone is seriously claiming AI will make everyone less productive.

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by z2 on Saturday February 07, 2026 @09:14PM (#46930655)
The value of labor i.e. wages depend on labor demand (the marginal product of labor) and bargaining power, not output per worker. If AI is a substitute for many tasks, the marginal value of an additional worker, and what a company is willing to pay for their work can fall even if each remaining worker is more productive.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by YokoZar on Saturday February 07, 2026 @09:41PM (#46930822)
What you're forecasting is a scenario where total output has substantially increased but no one's hiring or able to start their own business. Instant massive recession is by no means a "sure bet" with technological improvements, especially those that make more kinds of work possible than before.
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by z2 on Saturday February 07, 2026 @09:49PM (#46930872)
I'm not forecasting that, and it's a virtual strawman in the face of my much narrower claim: that wages depend on marginal labor demand and bargaining power, not average output per worker. If AI substitutes for labor, the marginal value of adding another worker in many roles can fall. That can mean fewer hires or lower wages in some categories, not 'no hiring' or an instant massive recession. I have no idea what the addressable market or demand for our more productive economy is, but for the record I do hope it's high to support new businesses and a bigger pie in general!
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by YokoZar on Sunday February 08, 2026 @01:52AM (#46931918)
Forgive me, I was responding to the original claim that "it’s a safe bet that labor will have lower value in 2031 than it has today".
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by johnvanommen on Sunday February 08, 2026 @02:40PM (#46937745)
It will - and z2 explained why, in response to my post
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by johnvanommen on Sunday February 08, 2026 @02:38PM (#46937726)
> What you're forecasting is a scenario where total output has substantially increased but no one's hiring or able to start their own business.

I said labor would have “lower value” after AI progresses further and further.

My statement reflects that increased productivity means that fewer people are required to generate the same amount of economic output.

You twisted my statement and said “nobody is hiring.”

Which isn’t what I said.

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by jopsen on Sunday February 08, 2026 @03:17PM (#46938105)
> My statement reflects that increased productivity means that fewer people are required to generate the same amount of economic output.

People have been singing that since the industrial revolution started.

What makes you think it's different this time? Other times increased productivity yielded fewer people doing what a machine suddenly can do. But never fewer people employed or smaller overall economy.

You can argue that our populations are older than ever before. There aren't enough kids, and consumers are saturated with consumption opportunities.

That's maybe never happened before during the industrial revolution. But it's orthogonal to AI.

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by johnvanommen on Sunday February 08, 2026 @02:34PM (#46937684)
That’s a perfect summary of what I was getting at, thank you
Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by keybored on Saturday February 07, 2026 @10:16PM (#46931000)
> If AI makes workers more productive, labor will have higher value than it has today.

Workers being more productive does not necessarily translate to workers getting more leverage or a larger piece of the pie.

Re:The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else by _DeadFred_ on Sunday February 08, 2026 @01:16AM (#46931780)
Tech Company: At long last, we have created Manna from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create Manna

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