Why care about jobs?

Jobs are the primary way most people gain political power/stake

AI has many effects. One of them is that it is going to literally kill you, your family, and everyone you ever loved.¹

This is the part I tend to care about most. But there are others, too.

Such as the complete replacement of all human jobs with more efficient, cheaper, and productive AI workers.

If you don’t believe this will happen, this short post will not argue the point, go somewhere else.

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There are many reasons why people might care about their jobs. Status, belonging, meaning, whatever.

I think there is one reason that matters the most:

Trading our labor is the primary means for most people to gain economic and political power and leverage in the world.

I’m not saying this is necessarily good or bad, but it is how our world is set up.

So if people don’t have jobs, can’t trade their labor, they are deprived not only of economic, but also of political power.

This is very bad for people, individually, and for anyone that cares about the political systems that run our lives having any reason to care about people individually.

And you too, are a people!

1. And everyone you didn’t love, for that matter.