Business owner ‘hires’ ChatGPT for customer service, then fires the humans::Experts divided on whether a new wave of call centre automation will make for better jobs for people, or merely throw millions out of work

  • _NoName_@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    You don’t see calligraphist or scribe as regular jobs anymore. It’s because the automated systems we created via typewriters and text editors were sufficient to replace them wholesale.

    Sometimes jobs getting automated does not create sustainable jobs to replace them. That’s just going to happen more often as time goes on.

    • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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      1 year ago

      Which is just another reason upon the mountain of reasons that capitalism is a terrible system and cannot be allowed to continue

      • nudny ekscentryk@szmer.info
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        1 year ago

        While I agree with the anti-capitalist sentiment, your anger is misaimed. Forcibly keeping nonprofitable jobs which are easily replaceable by AI is contrary to contemporary marxian-derivative theories (see Bullshit jobs by David Graber). We, as a society should seize technical advancements such as AI and automation to let people work less while allowing them to afford life. Thus contemporary economists and modern monetary theories are more and more open to the idea of universal basic income.

        • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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          1 year ago

          See my other response, your take is the same as mine and I’m not sure how it got misinterpreted.

          Under capitalism automation hurts the working class and enriches the elite even more.

          Under a socialist system automation would be celebrated as less work for society and the displaced workers would have no panic about not paying the bills while they find a more needed way to help society.

          • nudny ekscentryk@szmer.info
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            1 year ago

            Yeah I see your other comment now. I think the reason me and !bernieecclestoned@sh.itjust.works misunderstood your point is that the original comment you replied to said:

            Sometimes jobs getting automated does not create sustainable jobs to replace them. That’s just going to happen more often as time goes on

            to which you replied:

            Which is just another reason upon the mountain of reasons that capitalism is a terrible system and cannot be allowed to continue

            implying you oppose technological advancements of any sort if they create risk to peoples’ jobs.

        • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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          1 year ago

          You misunderstand my take.

          Automation should be a GOOD thing.

          But we live in a system in which you must work or starve. Automation takes away jobs faster than we can replace them (with equally or better paying jobs the displaced workers are qualified for).

          Under a better system we would see automation as slightly less work for society with no drop in quality of life or even a rise in quality of life, while the displaced workers will have no mad scramble to be retrained before they can’t pay rent.

          • Bernie Ecclestoned@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            We’ve yet to run out of jobs, and life is measurably better for the vast majority of people compared to just a hundred years ago.

            There is actually a shortage of labour in major economies

            • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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              1 year ago

              In terms of medically and technologically? Sure. I’d hands down rather be an average person today than in 1860 or whatever.

              In terms of say, home ownership, age of retirement, weight, social life, financial security, time off, etc - things that actually make our now longer lives fufilling - how have those trended in the western world since say, the 40’s?

              If I took just one average job of these so many “available”, could I support kids and have financial security in decent housing?

              • Bernie Ecclestoned@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                https://80000hours.org/2023/02/is-the-world-getting-better-or-worse/

                High paying jobs go to highly skilled workers. If you want to earn more, learn more.

                If you live in Germany, I’d say yes. Their home ownership levels are one of the lowest yet they are the richest in Europe and there are plenty of technical jobs that pay extremely well.

                We are at a tipping point again where companies have had too much benefit from the productivity of labour. That balance will shift with more employees taking direct action, the same as it always does.

                • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Hope you like your life. If everyone goes and gets a “high” paying job. No nurses doctors psychology counselling teachers fruit pickers cleaners garbage collectors civil servants police ambulance.

                  Your ignorance if woeful. We don’t need 8 billion devs, bankers degenerate gamblers CEOs coders and aresholes. We need face to face people doing jobs only humans can do.

                  Stick your rich list up your ass

                  • Bernie Ecclestoned@sh.itjust.works
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                    1 year ago

                    Their wages haven’t beaten inflation, now they’re on strike.

                    I suggest you read up on the energy shock of the 1970s, it’s very similar.

                    No need to be rude, cunt.

    • heyspencerb@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Totally agree. That’s the same way I feel about Uber Drivers. I’ve used Waymo and it’s amazing, better than the average Uber driver I’ve had. It’s a bad job that doesn’t pay enough, and while I hope those drivers are able to move on to better things, it’s a job that should disappear. If we wanted to protect jobs we should have kept the union Taxi Drivers. The current system just grids up poor people for Uber’s profit