We’re a field premised on automating other people’s jobs away. “Productivity gains,” say the economists. You get what that means, right? Fewer people doing the same stuff. Talked to a travel agent lately? Or a floor broker? Or a record store clerk? Or a darkroom tech?
Thomas Ptacek, blogging My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts, a "heartfelt provocation about AI-assisted programming"
Specialists tend to use their familiar tool in contexts where it doesn’t make sense. We can't fault them for that, if you've never seen a screwdriver, you'll naturally reach for a hammer first. An inspiring post on Expert Generalists on MartingFowler.com (via
Organizing your email is like alphabetizing your recycling Merlin Mann, Inbox zero inventor, sharing wisdom in his Wisdom project on Github
we know that one of three things happens when people use a machine to automate a task they would otherwise have done themselves:Their skill in the activity grows.Their skill in the activity atrophies.Their skill in the activity never develops. Nicholas Carr, on The Myth of Automated Learning
Calling a man whose primary motives are narcissism and revenge and self-enrichment a “populist” does not really illuminate what’s going on here. Hamilton Nolan, pondering why Trump is doing all these things that are not good for business: This is not “populism” any more than a bite from an