this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2026
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Have you heard of the “permanent underclass”? It’s a concept that silicon valley people have become obsessed with. Silicon Valley tech workers are doing hard drugs and taking untested peptides so that they can work harder and longer all in the pursuit of escaping the permanent underclass they believe AI will create. These people believe that when AI takes all the jobs, everyone who isn’t already rich will become part of some permanently unemployable poverty class.
It’s madness, but you already have to be unwell and have no concern for humanity in order to work at these giga tech firms in the first place.
Interesting. No, I hadn’t heard about that… but I do think it’s likely to happen. I think there will come a time, within the next 20 years, where you’re either dirt poor (financially) or you’re a human-AI hybrid.
Personally, I’m preparing for life as a farmer/forager, because I have no interest in merging with AI and I know there are more important things in life than money.
I don’t believe that will ever come to pass. That future relies on the creation of a real AI and not just fancy text predictors. That real AI would also have to be actually sustainable which LLMs are not.
Not only has there been no progress on real AI, it wouldn’t be able to ruin society even if we did manage to make it. The rich and powerful are not impervious. They will inevitably make too many people too poor and then be overrun and torn to shreds. It’s happened countless times before and if we’ve learned anything from Ukraine and the Middle East this past decade, it’s impossible to bomb a large group of people into submission.