Anthropic Capitalism and the New Gimmick Economy (2016)
While I am not a fan of this style of writing at all (to me it seems overcomplicated when it could make its main points much more simply and clearly), I definitely agreed with this point:<p>&gt; In short, what today’s flexible software is threatening is to “free” us from the drudgery of all repetitive tasks rather than those of lowest value, pushing us away from expertise (A) which we know how to impart, toward ingenious Rube Goldberg like opportunities (B) unsupported by any proven educational model.<p>I&#x27;ve been arguing for some time that people who think that new technology, while killing some current jobs, will also open up a host of new jobs, are really missing the point with what <i>kinds</i> of new jobs are being created. More and more, the types of jobs that add value are the types of jobs where really only the best add much value: think sports stars, actors, Instagram influencers, but also graphic designers, writers, and even programmers to an extent. In those jobs, the very best take the vast lion&#x27;s share of income because what the best produce is valued so much more highly than everyone else. Meanwhile, all kinds of &quot;repetitive&quot; jobs, even current high value jobs like radiologists or pathologists, are at risk of being automated away.<p>The problem is you can&#x27;t really run an economic system where only a very few percent of people take all the gains, at least not one that is socially stable or resembles liberal free market capitalism of the past 100 years.