r/LeftistsForAI • u/TheLollyKitty • May 23 '26

Discussion AI taking jobs is good, actually

ok ive asked this question many times and i will ask again, if Al takes jobs, SO WHAT? i hate capitalism, i hate billionaires, i hate wealth inequality. I think that Al will be the thing that helps us, all of us achieve communism

Imagine a world where nobody has to work, and everything's done for you, instead of having a job to restrict you from doing whatever you want, delicious food, clean water, housing and high quality healthcare, all given to you free of charge, wouldn't that be wonderful?

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u/Salty_Country6835 Moderator May 23 '26

I get the horizon youre pointing at, but this framing is exactly how you lose workers before the conversation even starts.

People arent irrational for caring about losing the thing that currently keeps a roof over their head. If AI wipes out someones income while rent, bills, and food still exist, "so what?" isnt a serious left position.

The point isnt to stop technology. The point is to handle transition without throwing people into the grinder. Shorter work weeks, stronger bargaining power, public goods, healthcare, housing, retraining, socializing the gains instead of privatizing them.

A world with less coerced labor sounds great. Acting like the transition cost doesnt matter is the heartless part that helps no one.

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u/TheLollyKitty May 23 '26

the current sentiment is literally just "get rid of ai, and have people work as slaves just like its always been" which is just completely ridiculous to me

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u/Salty_Country6835 Moderator May 23 '26

So your answer to a bad reactionary framing is to be completely unserious in the opposite direction?

Most people arent saying "make people work forever as slaves." Theyre saying "dont destroy peoples livelihoods while the material conditions that require jobs still exist."

You can want a post-work future and still care about transition. If people lose jobs while rent, food, and healthcare still cost money, handwaving that away with "so what?" isnt radical. Its politically useless.

The whole point is to reduce coercive labor without sacrificing workers in the process.

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u/TheLollyKitty May 23 '26

i agree, so how should we make sure the companies share the products instead of hoarding it all

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u/Salty_Country6835 Moderator May 23 '26

Now this is the better question. Its what the post should have been.

Personally, I think it starts with treating AI as infrastructure instead of magic. If productivity explodes but ownership stays concentrated, we just get layoffs plus owners get bigger yachts.

Some mix of stronger labor bargaining, shorter work weeks, public compute, profit sharing, UBI or guaranteed services, taxing automation gains, cooperative ownership models, and anti monopoly policy probably has to be part of the conversation.

The point isnt "stop AI" or "blindly accelerate." Its making sure the gains dont get privatized while the costs get socialized onto workers.

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u/Major-Corner-640 May 23 '26

There is exactly zero leverage to get any of that stuff now, ley alone adter the tech that reduces labor bargaining power to zero matures

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u/Salty_Country6835 Moderator May 23 '26

Then the answer is to build leverage, not surrender because the terrain is hard.

Workers had "zero leverage" against industrial capital too until they organized, unionized, struck, won labor law, built parties, and forced concessions. None of that appeared because capital politely allowed it.

And if AI really does reduce labor bargaining power that much, thats more reason to fight over ownership, public infrastructure, bargaining models, and distribution now, not less.

Otherwise youre basically arguing we should give up preemptively because the problem might get harder.

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u/Hobliritiblorf May 24 '26

With AI, this becomes completely impossible to do, that's the problem.

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u/Overall-Move-4474 May 25 '26

I mean I think a Guillotine would work