Comment by johncole
6 days ago
> Even with evidence staring them in the face, carriage companies still did not pivot, assuming cars were a fad.
I like this quote. But this analogy doesn’t exactly work. Withe this hype cycle, CEOs are getting out and saying that AI will replace humans, not horses. Unlike previous artisans making carriages, the CEOs saying these things have very clear motivations to make you believe the hype.
I'm not sure I agree much
Cynically, there's no difference from a CEO's perspective between a human employee and a horse
They are both expenses that the CEO would probably prefer to do without whenever possible. A line item on a balance sheet, nothing more
I think ceos that think this way are a self fulfilling prophecy of doom. If they think of their employees as cogs that can be replaced, they get cogs that can be replaced.
Doesn't matter
The median CEO salary is in the millions, they do not have to ever worry about money again if they can just stick around for one CEO gig for a couple of years
Granted, people who become CEOs are not likely to think this way
But the fact is that when people have so much money they could retire immediately with no consequences, they are basically impossible for a business to hold accountable outside of actual illegal activity
And let's be real. Often it's difficult to even hold them accountable for actual illegal activity too
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Isn't this good for the CEO? if your employees aren't cogs then what do you do if they leave? the more replaceable they are the better bargaining power you have as a capitalist right
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Moreover, there was at least one company which did pivot --- the Chevy Malibu station wagon my family owned in the mid-70s had a badge on the door openings:
>Body by Fisher
which had an image of the carriages which they had previously made.
the CEOs saying these things have very clear motivations to make you believe the hype
And conversely, people who fear that they might be replaced have very clear motivations to claim that AI is useless.