Automation and the Future of Work

just finished this book today. pretty decent and the take was a bit more nuance than i was expecting. Generally I think of this author is the luxury space communism camp, and very much like: communism creates innovation, innovation frees us from work, we all get Rolexes. presented in the marxist does economics way, there is arguments presented from the right and left side of a full-automation perspective (more technology, machines, robots, AI than just AI). anti-tech arguments aren't really explored but he tries to poke holes in the idea that work will be eliminated or made obsolete and this will lead to downtime or communism. His larger argument is that surplus labour and declining employment and automation/production are not linked as we are often presented by economics and politicians and that capitalism is making people obsolete, not technology specifically.

not trying to make the arguments here just present them. read the book if you are curious, it's pretty short at around 100 pgs.

I'd give this more of a 3.5. I think the ideas here are very important and I agree with much of the author's assessment, but this was one of the most dry, acutely "academic" pieces of writing I've read in a while, I'm sad to say.

That being said, two of the book's main points are important to point out, whether or not you read it: 1) the current "era of automation" is pulling a traditional technosolutionism move by making people believe that it's the development of AI & robotics, not long-term deindustrialization and productivity stagnation, that is creating disruption in the workplace 2) a universal basic income is an indequate solution because it's not guaranteed to reduce inequality or hoarding of capital; it also makes no specific promises about how to redistribute wealth into publicly beneficial projects, and doesn't deal with eliminating scarcity (ie, we don't all magically get replicators out of the deal).

Last little thought here is I wish this book discussed or linked up with David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs, because I think there's a good amount of service sector bloat that's a part of the problem Benanav describes but doesn't really get into.

It IS super short so give it a go if this stuff interests you :)