The Blue-Collar Boom: AI's Impact on the Workforce \ stacker news ~econ

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The Blue-Collar Boom: AI's Impact on the Workforce www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOfia1RWFxE

814 sats \ 18 comments \ @kepford 2 Sep econ

What do you think? Are you skeptical? Do you buy this? Too soon?

Speaking of AI... here's what Notebook LM highlighted from the video if you don't wanna watch it.

Based on the provided video transcript, the following sources were mentioned:

Treasury Secretary Yellen: Announced that wage growth for blue-collar jobs hit a 60-year high.
Federal Reserve: A new study from the Federal Reserve indicated that the unemployment rate for construction service majors is 0.7%, while for computer science grads it's 6.1%, and for computer engineering, it's 7.5%.
San Francisco Gate:
- Profiled a group of Bay Area teenagers who are skipping college to learn welding and are securing jobs paying $80-$90 an hour.
- Quoted a refrigeration instructor who noted that when ChatGPT started taking off, students realized they needed to pick a good career path sooner than they thought.
Microsoft: A recent study predicted that jobs least at risk from AI are overwhelmingly blue-collar, including plasters, roofers, and pile drivers.
OpenAI ChatGPT: Claims that the only jobs 100% safe from AI are blue-collar jobs.
A May survey: Found that over a quarter of blue-collar Gen Z specifically cited AI as a reason to choose blue-collar work.
Another survey of 10,000 Gen Z: Revealed that 43% have changed their career plans into work they believe will not be automated by AI.
Resume Builder: One survey found that 37% of blue-collar workers actually have a college degree that is apparently considered worthless.

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55 sats \ 7 replies \ @Undisciplined 2 Sep

I don't find it very surprising. Keep in mind the crackdown on undocumented workers is reducing the supply of blue collar labor.

42 sats \ 6 replies \ @kepford OP 2 Sep

Exactly what he says in the video. The issues are more complex than can be discussed in such a short form video but I think critics of Trump's policies don't do that great of job of countering them. This is on many fronts, not just this area. Like many things I think its because their own positions are very vulnerable to closer inspection.

I'm reminded of the attacks on RFK and some of his changes. I keep hearing really poor arguments against his changes. And when I do hear someone go into detailed reasons why he's making mistakes they expose the issues he has discussed for years.

Its really a popcorn munching time isn't it?

65 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined 2 Sep

So far, my response to most criticisms of RFK has been "Good. That was long overdue."

69 sats \ 4 replies \ @kepford OP 3 Sep

Its interesting to hear the same people that say he's antivax criticize he for cutting funding for MRnA in favor of traditional vaccines.

Do people even notice the switch here. And I even heard one guy say that the traditional vaccines have all these risk factors and have harmed people. So we should focus on MRnA. I thought all vaccines were safe and effective.

The gas lighting is real. RFK has never been antivax to my knowledge. He has been critical of the policies and ways that the industry operates and is regulated. He just gets smeared in media. I don't cosign all of the things he says but he's one of the most unfairly criticized dudes I have ever seen.

I respect him for having the balls to hold to his convictions. If he has some scheme going on that is behind all his positions I can't see it. The social pressure and ridicule he endures is insane. He was a darling when he was going after companies polluting. He could just ignore the pharma world but he doesn't.

I do think he is showing why there shouldn't be a single entity over medicine though. The masses are trained to just trust these agencies. Now the media is having a hard time because they are so used to saying trust the government. That was always a problem but now it's clear. Will they see this side of it through? Nah.

73 sats \ 3 replies \ @Undisciplined 3 Sep

I have my fingers crossed that the claims "He's doing irreparable damage!" are correct. Perhaps there will be no trusted state authorities on the other side of whatever we're going through.

42 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford OP 3 Sep

Speaking of inoculations. Pearl clutching has zero effect on me after almost 10 years of Trump

55 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 3 Sep

I'm not proud of the amount of schadenfreude I've been feeling recently.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 3 Sep

Its a wild time.

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51 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bell_curve 2 Sep

Treasury Sec Yellen? Is this an old video?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 2 Sep

HA! Good catch. Google really can't get stuff right. Video is on YouTube. I used their Notebook LM and this is what it produced. That's why I don't try to use their stuff as its my own.

42 sats \ 3 replies \ @SimpleStacker 2 Sep

I believe it. And I think it's a positive development.

Scary prospect for my line of work though.

30 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford OP 2 Sep

I think its early. From what I've seen of AI, those that learn to use effectively are less likely to be affected negatively. The biggest mistake I see over and over again is thinking AI does it all and it just eliminates the need for skill and experience. It doesn't. On the contrary, like most tools it can be used to make one person do the work of 3.

You can't give the tools to a monkey and not suffer on the quality side of things. I think chatbots and LLMs can empower many businesses that learn how to use the tools effectively.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @SimpleStacker 2 Sep

The biggest mistake I see over and over again is thinking AI does it all and it just eliminates the need for skill and experience. It doesn't. On the contrary, like most tools it can be used to make one person do the work of 3.

Actually, in my opinion AI enhances the need for skill and experience, but it sets the bar higher for the level of human skill and experience needed to be a net positive for a company.

What that means is that lower skill entry level positions will be eliminated in favor of AI, while experienced-level positions will be paid better.

Currently, I am confident that the AI can outperform 90% of college students on cognitive tasks. I'd rather ChatGPT do a literature review or market research for me than a fresh college student, especially from a ho-hum university.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 2 Sep

100%. Been talking about this very thing for a while with a colleague. I don't think most people concerned about AI realize that there is a different problem than the one they are concerned about.

I do think one can use these tools to accelerate learning even if you aren't an expert.

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @OT 2 Sep

I think this has been true for some time. There may be a lag on robotics coming up to replace skilled labor but I think it will still come.

50 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford OP 2 Sep

I live in an area where agriculture is the dominate industry. I will say this. The effects of the increase in the minimum wage and more recently deportations has been increased use of machines to do the jobs of low skill labor. We are seeing it happen in fast food as well. The state is raising the floor and because they can't just arbitrarily set the value of work by decreeing it machines are becoming for viable for businesses.

Farmers are struggling to find laborers as they lose immigrant workers. Guess what, they are finding it hard to find people willing to do many of these jobs. Its interesting to observe as someone largely disconnected from it.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 2 Sep

I think Australia has similar issues. We rely on immigrants and backpackers to pick and pack produce in rural areas. I guess they could always try paying more. I'd do this kind of work for some fat sats!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 2 Sep

Yeah, but of course this leads to higher costs which increases prices. The thing many in this area that are rabid pro farming and pro American is that most of these crops are exported. That's fine but they are just a business. It's not a bad business but it's a business. I don't like the moralizing of an industry as good for its type. They sell their crops for money. No shame in that but it's not something more noble than building a car for example.