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0 pointslotsofpulp3y ago0 comments

Society should get rid of computers and construction equipment then. Everyone can have a lot more employees.

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No need to get rid of computers and backhoes. You don’t have to have work in order to have employees. At least that’s what the parent seems to be implying

Quarrelsome3y ago

I mean that employing people for good wages and good conditions has a holistic benefit to society in that it enables more people to fulfil their needs and have space for children.

As opposed to some dystopia where an exceptionally efficient and low employee organisation makes all the money and there is no/limited distribution of that wealth.

lotsofpulpOP3y ago

The tech companies such as Meta that pay good wages and have good working conditions are able to do so because they are exceptionally efficient and require a relatively low number of employees to generate the outsize profits they do.

So that “dystopia” can already be considered to be here.

Quarrelsome3y ago

sure, but I merely wish to mention it within the context of "having high profit to employee ratio is good".

Everything has trade-offs.

dx0343y ago

Construction is actually one of the few sectors that hasn't become more productive per employee over past decades. Buildings have become vastly more complicated but there's comparably little automation.

hnfong3y ago

You might be interested in these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIvnIUw0tE

Not sure whether this is more common in the US these days. I know for a fact that a lot of buildings in China are constructed this way.

dx0343y ago

But did you notice how many construction workers are shown there? You can certainly build faster with prefab, but it's still a very manual process, both at the factory and on the construction site. And anything afterwards (wiring, HVAC, painting) is also nearly 100% manual labor.

It seems we've made amazing progress on the "software" side of AI, but are still very far behind on the "hardware" side, ie robots.

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hammock3y ago

No need to get rid of computers and backhoes. You don’t have to have work in order to have employees. At least that’s what the parent seems to be implying

Quarrelsome3y ago

I mean that employing people for good wages and good conditions has a holistic benefit to society in that it enables more people to fulfil their needs and have space for children.

As opposed to some dystopia where an exceptionally efficient and low employee organisation makes all the money and there is no/limited distribution of that wealth.

lotsofpulpOP3y ago

So that “dystopia” can already be considered to be here.

Quarrelsome3y ago

sure, but I merely wish to mention it within the context of "having high profit to employee ratio is good".

Everything has trade-offs.

dx0343y ago

hnfong3y ago

You might be interested in these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIvnIUw0tE

Not sure whether this is more common in the US these days. I know for a fact that a lot of buildings in China are constructed this way.

dx0343y ago

It seems we've made amazing progress on the "software" side of AI, but are still very far behind on the "hardware" side, ie robots.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse