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0 pointscaseyy1y ago0 comments

It's hopeful because AI has not devalued creative human labor but increased its worth. Similar to how if one were a skilled chef, they didn't start working for McDonald's when it came to be, but for a restaurant that pays significantly above McDonald's.

Most people's purchasing power being reduced is a separate matter, more related to the eroding middle class and greedflation. Many things can be said about it, but they are less related to the trend I highlighted. Even if, supposing the middle class erosion continues, the scenario you suggest may very well play out.

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milesrout1y ago· 2 in thread

It doesn't make sense to suggest that AI has made human effort more valuable. Before, to do X, Y, or Z you needed human effort. Now, you can do X with AI. You just need human effort to do Y or Z. There is less demand for human effort. Why would that result in an increase in the price of human effort?

>Most people's purchasing power being reduced is a separate matter, more related to the eroding middle class and greedflation.

Greedflation, is that where companies suddenly remember to be greedy again after years of forgetting they're allowed to be greedy, which happens by random chance to coincide exactly with periods of expansionary monetary and fiscal policy?

caseyyOP1y ago

> It doesn't make sense to suggest that AI has made human effort more valuable.

In that case, I welcome an alternative explanation for the human labor price increase on UpWork and Fiverr while AI work replaced work at the previous price level. The same is seen in the hiring of affected disciplines.

milesrout1y ago

If you have a distribution of work where most is easy and cheap, some is moderate and moderate, and a little is difficult and expensive, and you take out all the cheap and easy work, the moderate and difficult work could drop in price but the average of the remaining work will still be higher than before.

e.g.

You have tasks advertised in the distribution $1, $1, $1, $1, $1, $1, $2, $2, $3, $3, $5, $5, $10. Median price is $2, and average is $2.76.

All the $1 and $2 tasks are replaced with AI. Old tasks get $1 cheaper each as there are more people that can do them. Now the distribution is $2, $2, $4, $4, $9. Median is $4, average is $4.2.

So you have made labour less valuable but the prices advertised go up because only the more expensive work now gets advertised.

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