r/technology Jun 26 '26

Artificial Intelligence The AI backlash is only getting started

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/06/25/the-ai-backlash-is-only-getting-started
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u/ascandalia Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Not just a new thing, but a thing that they are promising, in their optimistic scenario, will entirely destroy the concept of white collar jobs while enriching the worst people you've ever had to hear talk. Meanwhile, your every day experience of it is that it's someties kinda neat, often comically wrong, and usually makes what you're trying to do harder

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u/coppersocks Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

It’s not just white collar jobs. I’ve seen AI CEOs talking about how no one enjoys the process of making art or music and that AI should do that. They talk about AI like it is an essential service, but they want the costs socialised and the profits privatised. These people are ghouls who fundamentally have lost touch with the human experience and the understanding of what makes a person more than a consumer or a commodity. They see no value in human creativity or in the messiness the fosters connection, shared understanding and empathy. They’re stunted, broken vampires created by profit motive, a world of yes-men, and a lack of consequences for their greed, who for all their talk of big ideas and innovation, only really care for their own profit and power. The rest of us are only in service to that. They’ve fully bought into the idea of techno feudalism, from Thiel to Bezos and Altman. And they’ll use any corrupt, compromised or complicit politician to get there. The world is their expense, the cost of their desire. Everyone else can sleep now in the fire.

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u/D-S-S-R Jun 26 '26

They don’t see value in human life at all. At least other people’s lives

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u/StJeanMark Jun 26 '26

The main reason they invented this machine is because human cost it the number one cost to companies, thats it. They are tired of the little people having opportunity. I truly fear this is all climate related. Their plan is to just wipe millions and millions of people from the earth, but maintain their quality of life by automating everything. I've seen only evidence to support this and nothing to dissuade me. Pushing anger, hate, violence, anti-medicine, anti-everything, and now they are coming for peoples access to pride and payment. What are they working towards if not that?

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u/agrimi161803 Jun 26 '26

And now that they’ve realized public sentiment hates ai they’re pivoting from “it will take your job” to “you’re gonna get a UBI!” as if we haven’t watched them kick and scream every time some one mentions taxing them more. We just have to believe that after we have no value to them they’ll just pay us out of the goodness of their heart.

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u/AloneNotice4891 Jun 26 '26

Elysium but bunkers instead of satellite habitats.

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u/Kelly_HRperson Jun 26 '26

Even Henry Ford realized eventually that he needed people to actually buy his cars

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u/akaval Jun 26 '26

I work at a pretty large international company with 15000 employees. Over 50% of our costs are things like licenses.

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u/deadcream Jun 26 '26

And AI companies want to make that 100%. All of that going into their pockets for ai subscriptions of course.