this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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I'm not even sure this is about the desire for quick riches.
If AI and human labor cost exactly the same, I bet most CEOs would still want to fire everyone and replace them with AI. Because they prefer the sycophantic AI over humans who might sometimes talk back and disagree ... or worse, try to form a union. And add to that just some pig-headed enjoyment of cruelty.
Of course, ai doesn't require healthcare, sick days, paid vacation, raises, maternity/paternity leave.
*The usa sucks
The total cost of AI might be the same as employee salaries and benefits. That’s the whole issue.
For some tasks the AI is cheaper, and for other tasks the human is cheaper. Same as any previous automation tool. Like with robotic assembly, they are heavily used in car manufacture because they enable more production per unit cost, but using as bartender is done only as a novelty where people are willing to pay extra to cover the higher cost.
In previous automation waves, it took decades to shake out which applications made sense and which didn't. We are still early days with LLMs.
"The proles keep telling me that my brilliant ideas aren't technically feasible!"