Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: Which jobs can be replaced with AI? and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/06/unmerchantable-substitute-goods/
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Discussion
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@pluralistic I was recently lectured by a software development manager that I should attend the 'daily standup'. When I asked why they thought that was the case, they live-chatGPTed the answer. Honestly, I preferred it when managers stuck to misquoting the Scrum Guide. Definitely a prime candidate for replacement by AI.
@pluralistic I think AI can replace C-suite workers and university administrators. There would be real cost savings. And it would let people do useful labor.
@rrb @pluralistic I'm always fairly curious about who is included in that "university administrators" label, because there are loads of essential, professional workers on university campuses who never see the the inside of a classroom
@paneerakbari @rrb @pluralistic
In french universities, a lot of administrative tasks are done by teachers or researchers.
It does not seems to be a very good situation as they have not been trained for this.
@rrb @pluralistic
Given how much my last CEO and CPO used GPT clients, I project that their average work day was 3 hours long each. They spend most of their time on outside projects anyway - basically working on their personal brand.
Given how much my last CEO and CPO used GPT clients, I project that their average work day was 3 hours long each. They spend most of their time on outside projects anyway - basically working on their personal brand.
@Jeanniewarner @rrb @pluralistic hm.... as an engineer, I'm not afraid to admit that 3-4 hours a day is about as much as I ever could do any useful work (sustainably over time, not including occasional spurts). And I think it's entirely normal for the kind of job that doesn't require keeping watch or anything like that.
@Jeanniewarner @rrb @pluralistic Yeah, have you ever read those interviews with CEO's that beg the question, 'what does your day consist of?'
It's always like, "I get up at 7:00, hit the gym, have a light breakfast, then I get a few calls out of the way. After walking the dogs and a few laps in the pool, I head to work on my eBike at 11:00."
It's like they have this rock star rider tour contract. "Coffee & Bagel truck on Wednesday's must park next to the tennis courts."
It's always like, "I get up at 7:00, hit the gym, have a light breakfast, then I get a few calls out of the way. After walking the dogs and a few laps in the pool, I head to work on my eBike at 11:00."
It's like they have this rock star rider tour contract. "Coffee & Bagel truck on Wednesday's must park next to the tennis courts."
@pluralistic
Okay, wow, that intro illo tells a •story• 😬
@pluralistic this is such a good point, if all customer service reps do is recite phrases from their guidelines, then sure AI can and will replace them. Not like these people were given any agency in the first place!
@pheonix @pluralistic
One of the more annoying trends in customer service is the last couple of times I've ordered something and had it arrive broken or with a part missing, they just immediately sent me a whole new one.
Even though the broken part was small and easily repairable if they had someone who actually knew the product on the other end of the line instead and I neither have space for a second one nor a desire to throw out something so repairable.
@gbargoud @pheonix @pluralistic the "can't actually replace the humans, but someone will try anyway" point is bang on IMHO.
@pluralistic this is such a good point, if all customer service reps do is recite phrases from their guidelines, then sure AI can and will replace them. Not like these people were given any agency in the first place!
Hey, German-speakers! Through a very weird set of circumstances, I ended up owning the rights to the German audiobook of my bestselling 2022 cryptocurrency heist technothriller Red Team Blues and now I'm selling DRM-free audio and ebooks, along with the paperback (all in German and English) on a Kickstarter that runs until August 11:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-auf-deutsche-drm-freie
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@pluralistic oh Boy, so many options. I love it!
Which jobs can be replaced with AI? Jobs that have already be degraded to the point of uselessness.
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/114982269080623237
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Hey look at this
* If you oppose the State of Israel, this post is not for you https://coreyrobin.com/2025/08/04/if-you-oppose-the-state-of-israel-this-post-is-not-for-you/
* Vote for the 2025 Tiny Awards Winner https://tinyawards.net/vote/
* In the Future All Food Will Be Cooked in a Microwave, and if You Can’t Deal With That Then You Need to Get Out of the Kitchen https://www.colincornaby.me/2025/08/in-the-future-all-food-will-be-cooked-in-a-microwave-and-if-you-cant-deal-with-that-then-you-need-to-get-out-of-the-kitchen/ (h/t Naked Capitalism)
* Debt's Grip Now Available! https://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2025/08/debts-grip-now-available.html
* No, AI is not Making Engineers 10x as Productive https://colton.dev/blog/curing-your-ai-10x-engineer-imposter-syndrome/
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#10yrsago Why privacy activists and economists should be on the same side https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2640607
#10yrsago Universal Music’s anti-piracy ads reached new heights of crazypants gore https://www.techdirt.com/2015/08/06/universal-musics-anti-piracy-ads-even-crazier-than-you-can-imagine/
#10yrsago UK govt wants your opinion on sending file-sharers to jail for 10 years https://web.archive.org/web/20150905144030/https://www.openrightsgroup.org/campaigns/copyright-enforcement-consultation
#10yrsago Robert Charles Wilson’s The Affinities: when science changes everything https://memex.craphound.com/2015/08/06/robert-charles-wilsons-the-affinities-when-science-changes-everything/
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#5yrsago California DMV's $50m/year data selloff https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/07/tired-of-winning/#you-are-the-product
#5yrsago Novartis's $678m bribery scandal https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/07/tired-of-winning/#novartis
#5yrsago US plummets below Russia and Mexico in global misery index https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/07/tired-of-winning/#usa-usa-usa
#5yrsago Satanic Abortions cut through unconstitutional abortion laws https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/07/tired-of-winning/#thyself-is-thy-master
#5yrsago Restore the Office of Technology Assessment https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/07/tired-of-winning/#ota
#1yrago Circular battery self-sufficiency https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/06/with-great-power/#comes-great-responsibility
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Yesterday's threads: Bragging about replacing coders with AI is a sales-pitch; and more!
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/114976322360782637
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My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels
--
My next nonfiction book is "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," out from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux on October 7:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/
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My ebooks and audiobooks (from Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."
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Upcoming appearances:
* #Ithaca: AD White keynote (Cornell), Sep 12
https://deanoffaculty.cornell.edu/events/keynote-cory-doctorow-professor-at-large/
* #DC: Enshittification at Politics and Prose, Oct 8
https://politics-prose.com/cory-doctorow-10825
* #SanFrancisco: Enshittification at Public Works (The Booksmith), Oct 20
https://app.gopassage.com/events/doctorow25
* #NewOrleans: DeepSouthCon63, Oct 10-12, 2025
http://www.contraflowscifi.org/
* #Miami: Enshittification at Books & Books, Nov 5
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-1504647263469
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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):
* #SanFrancisco: Enshittification at Public Works (The Booksmith), Oct 20
https://app.gopassage.com/events/doctorow25
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