With retrenchments at an all-time high and trending even higher, NAS daily has put up a video on the useless. The idea is that with AI and technology being able to replace an entire swath of workers in society, a totally useless caste of citizens will arise and they would not be able to contribute to society in any way. At this stage, NAS Daily begins to paint a positive picture on the useless class, arguing that they would be able to have the free time to engage in art and creative pursuits.
I agree with the first part of NAS' analysis. For the past few days, I've been watching tutorial videos on GPT-3, OpenAI's latest algorithm and the products are extremely creepy. You can issue a text-based command in English and the AI can generate computer code to perform your objectives. With some work, it's not fetched that an AI can draft simple legal contracts when issued instructions in English and reduce billing hours aggressively, this will crimp the demand for legal associates.
The second part of NAS argument is iffy. We will not know whether these technologies will create a utopia or a dystopia. An unemployed population can happily create more memes on the Internet, or they can spew hate against minorities/women and commit crimes. The tax burden on the much smaller workforce will also be extremely high.
What I do know is that human males love to form rigid hierarchies whenever they come together in groups. In anime, a tradition is to have a "senpai/kohai" relationship drive a story. Masses of useless males with a lot of free time seems like a recipe for trouble as they start finding ways to one-up each other by generating chaos.
One possible solution I can think of is for society and policymakers to "drug" human males with computer games, create a real opiate for the urban unemployed masses. I think many of my friends are highly attracted to the UBIBBFAMMORPG concept - swaths of economically defeated males retreating into the next generation MMORPG so that they can be the protagonist of a heroic story, all this while living on a minimum wage from society.
UBIBBFAMMORPG has three components :
- Universal Basic Income - a super-small stipend given to the entire population to support a barebones existence.
- Bui Bui Forever Alone - a celibate lifestyle that eschews family life with the bonus effect that does not overburden the taxpayer from supporting your family. Makes UBI possible.
- MMORPG - A heroic and entertaining existence in an alternate virtual world.
I think the concept of a male retreat from marriage and reproduction is now more real than before. When a male can't put food on the table, his ego gets threatened. He can fight by protesting against the government/society, or he can retreat.
Nothing shows how difficult dating like can be than the hilarious blind date episode in Black Clover ep 27-28.
In this episode, a "chee-hong" guy wants to meet women, struggles to get his BBFA friends along only to have them sabo his attempts to look good. Worse, the women keep to themselves and were unresponsive throughout most of the engagement. This is one of those ridiculous real anime episodes BBFAs consume on a regular basis.
It may be tempting to project the macroeconomic impact of the COVID virus, there is still some uncertainty on how to tilt a portfolio.
But I think the idea that a large swath of under-employed males will stop participating in mainstream society, marriage and family formation is something I have a lot more confidence in. This is because I know folks who are beyond the possibility of employment and enjoying this kind of life.
I also carry "associate membership" in the BBFA club, watching anime, painting miniature and taking afternoon naps and can see how fun this life can be.
If you agree with me and want to invest in this theme, look no further than gaming companies in the US and China.
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