Larry GarfieldI may regret this at some point, but I felt the need to put down in writing how I feel about this moment in the tech industry.
It is not kind. You may well be insulted by it. If you are... then you really should question yourself.
krig@Crell Here's something that rubs me the wrong way: "At some point soon, I will have to figure out how to work with AI coding tools" - No, you don't. That's a choice you are making. In the end, you are making the same choice as those who say "It is what it is". You choose personal convenience over your convictions. Someone has to be the first to refuse. Someone has to be the one to shoulder the burden. What makes you think that someone isn't you?
Justin Macleod@krig @Crell While I don't disagree, that's a huge ask. If someone does a thing to pay the bils and everyone else is doing that thing faster with AI, those "convictions" could land them and their family without pay or benefits. That's a big gun to stare down the barrel of. That's the fear. That's what needs to be addressed. It may well be a false narrative, time will tell, but it's a big leep of faith to ask anyone to take.
@JustinMac84 @Crell First off, other people are already losing their jobs regardless of the choices they make personally, so to even have a choice puts them in a privileged position. Second, what are their principles worth if all it takes is to threaten with hypothetical (not real) joblessness? How about making an attempt at a principled stance before caving in? Third, the whole point of the article is that he looks down on those choosing personal convenience over conviction, yet here he is doing the same.
Lars Marowsky-Brée 😷@krig @JustinMac84 @Crell Yes - but also "not quite".
We'd be asking an individual to shoulder a systemic problem.
I respect everyone who makes that choice (if they feel they can without existential risks; or *despite* existential risks).
But that doesn't address the systemic problem.
That's why strikes aren't an individual refusing to work; but individuals unionizing and *collectively* protesting.
And why we regulate and legislate and organize.
@larsmb @JustinMac84 @Crell I don’t know if I agree. It feels like an easy cop-out. If every problem is systemic, surely there is no individual responsibility at all then? I think it is reasonable to say that if you are going to rant about someone elses individual choices you should be honest to yourself about the choices available to you.
@krig @JustinMac84 @Crell No. There are individual choices (and IMNSHO, obligations): organizing, voting, using one's platform, or at least *somehow* contributing towards collective action.
Given that we all kinda have to eat and pay for housing because capitalism, and possibly have non-obvious setups, asking someone to make a decision that has a significant risk of ruining their individual livelihood is a tough sell.
Organizing is how we get out of the prisoner's dilemma.
@larsmb @JustinMac84 @Crell I am not asking them to make a different choice (that is up to them. I make choices for myself). I am asking them to state clearly that they are making the choice, and not frame it as ”I have no choice”.
@krig @larsmb @Crell I read that kind of thing with extra words. "I have to do this thing [if I want to survive/if I don't want to run unacceptable risk of plunging myself and those I love into poverty]." Perhaps they would do better to word it as "I am prohibitively afraid that, if I don't do this thing, I will suffer to an unacceptable degree." "I have no choice" I read as "I have no choice if I don't want to lose my livelihood"
@krig @JustinMac84 @larsmb I am currently unemployed. I fear it is.
Which is better for my family, leaving tech after 25 years and starting over, or finding some way to use a little AI and try to minimize the negative externalities enough to assuage my guilt?
That is literally the debate I'm having with myself on a daily basis right now.