These analogies are all hilarious because they are prima facie idiotic. This thing that has never happened before in human history is exactly like this other thing that happened very frequently in human history because of hand wavy thing about tools. Except, that this time, we ARE the tools that are being replaced. The human mind being completely replaced is in fact new under the sun my loves. It’s not the same as a calculator. When was the last time you asked your calculator to run your entire life for you and run your military campaigns and all your businesses and all your legal cases and every last tiny aspect of everyone’s life overnight. Christ we capitulated quickly! Lazy lazy lazy pieces of shit, reads our epitaph.
And yes it’s not entirely true today but the entire field of software engineering changed in the last twelve months. A blink of an eye. In five years, game over, in 10 or 20 good night. It must be so flattering to think you still have a role to play. But you don’t. You ARE the thing that is being replaced. Whether that is good is bad I don’t know but I wouldn’t be surprised to see data center strikes (as in attacks) become much more common very quickly. And they’ve already started. Game this out and the most likely scenario is that we enter mutually assured data center destruction with strategic deterrents against the operation of major data centers which drives them underground into hardened bunkers with independent nuclear power sources. All of which means superpower access to AI and none for the little person at threat of death.
Or maybe I’m just nuts and it really is just like carpenters building frames for cement meaning that masons don’t exist (which I suppose they’d be surprised to find out given that there are apparently 200,000+ in the us alone) and some other muddled half baked wishful thinking nonsense. Calculator compiler etc etc. Look! The heathens are coming! No that smell and dust on the horizon is not the mongol horde my friend, it is of course just a summer breeze like the time that your nephew farted. Ah ok then, no need to worry.
I think the analogy works for the near term. I don’t see the point of thinking past that. If I can’t enjoy building things for compensation even if it’s managing AI, and I can’t afford to do so for fun, I don’t see the point of being around as long as I don’t have dependents to take care of. I’ll live without worry - hopefully for a long time - until I’m gone or circumstances do in fact get too bad.