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.
acetone_kitten@larsmb
@krig @JustinMac84 @Crell
this. thank you. most ppl do not have power or even much of a voice over our working conditions. devs have _some_ but y'all are being proletarianized, brought down to the level where things are by and large imposed on workers.
organizing for collective power, which we wield to impose _consequences_ on our _enemies_ who own everything but build nothing, is not just the only way out, it's the only real way to even slow the rate of immiseration & destruction.
@acetone_kitten @krig @JustinMac84 @Crell There's a massive opposition to unionizing in the tech world.
It's either "oh my god if we try we'll all be laid off" (and the jobs moved to other countries without unions) or "I'm better off negotiating on my own, unions are for the poor".
@larsmb
@krig @JustinMac84 @Crell absolutely. huge self inflicted wound here and a classic blunder by privileged strata of workers in the imperial core.
however, i can imagine that there might be a better organizational form than a traditional labor union for this, altho idk what that form would be. but it has to be able to impose some kind of consequence on the bosses, and not, for instance, simply beg the state to impose such consequences.
@acetone_kitten @krig @JustinMac84 @Crell I am not sure there is a better organizational form.
A dedicated labor union for tech workers sounds like a most excellent starting point. (Or joining an existing one, they often accommodate various industries after all.)
(Though it's important to also keep international solidarity in mind.)
@larsmb @krig @JustinMac84 @Crell
a labor union sounds good, but the existing ones in the US may not be good models. idk if things are different in Germany, but in America, the route to formal recognition and collective bargaining has the bones of countless labor struggles strewn along its path. in this, it does what it's designed to do. this is a big part of what stalled the Starbucks unionization drive.
a labor union sounds good, but the existing ones in the US may not be good models. idk if things are different in Germany, but in America, the route to formal recognition and collective bargaining has the bones of countless labor struggles strewn along its path. in this, it does what it's designed to do. this is a big part of what stalled the Starbucks unionization drive.
@acetone_kitten @krig @JustinMac84 @Crell In Germany, it's easy to join an existing union.
Getting enough of your colleagues to join though for that to have a real impact in your company though is a different question ...