You're right. The silence exists because acknowledging mass AI unemployment forces an uncomfortable question: what happens to capitalism when most people can't earn a living through work? The system's core promise has been that markets create enough jobs for everyone willing to work. But AI threatens that entire premise. If human labor becomes largely unnecessary, we either need massive wealth redistribution (challenging capitalist principles), accept that most people become economically irrelevant (politically unsustainable), or artificially limit AI to preserve jobs (competitively disastrous). None of these options fit existing political frameworks. So instead we get vague talk about "retraining." This isn't really about technology. It's about whether capitalism can survive its own success. That's a conversation those in power would rather avoid.
Great point! I'm still surprised that the Coming Storm has been explicitly forecasted and described, yet capitalism's boffins are ignoring it...is their willful ignorance the result of fear, a misplaced trust in "the markets" to resolve things, or a more sinister embrace of the disruption that will likely occur? None of those explanations are particularly satisfying.
You're right. The silence exists because acknowledging mass AI unemployment forces an uncomfortable question: what happens to capitalism when most people can't earn a living through work? The system's core promise has been that markets create enough jobs for everyone willing to work. But AI threatens that entire premise. If human labor becomes largely unnecessary, we either need massive wealth redistribution (challenging capitalist principles), accept that most people become economically irrelevant (politically unsustainable), or artificially limit AI to preserve jobs (competitively disastrous). None of these options fit existing political frameworks. So instead we get vague talk about "retraining." This isn't really about technology. It's about whether capitalism can survive its own success. That's a conversation those in power would rather avoid.
Great point! I'm still surprised that the Coming Storm has been explicitly forecasted and described, yet capitalism's boffins are ignoring it...is their willful ignorance the result of fear, a misplaced trust in "the markets" to resolve things, or a more sinister embrace of the disruption that will likely occur? None of those explanations are particularly satisfying.
Me, too. And I fear it's a combination of all three.