A mega multinational company manufacturing shoes grew to its size because of two factors.
1. Consumer demand
2. Workforce
The "consumers" are people. You and I.
The "workforce" is also people, like you and I.
Imagine now that this company starts to implement AI in its production cycle - from design to customer service, production, and even accounting and distribution. They outsource marketing and sales to AI as well. Then they lay off thousands of...people.
On the other hand, other people just like the shoe people also get laid off, from other industries.
They all now have less money for shoes. They will buy less, they will buy cheaper.
This means that the shoe company's strategy is to diversify in other niches, or it counts on an afluent segment of the population to continue to buy multiple pairs of shoes each and offset the poor laid off schmucks.
They'll probably raise the prices too and expand their profit margins.
Meanwhile, lots of people have less shoes.
Apply this to phones. Cars. Socks. Underwear.
Food.
Books.
Everything.
AI is awesome. It is also the technological equivalent of gentrification, and we all know how that's going.
My 2c.
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