When Machines Can Do It, Do Humans Still Compete? On Scarcity and Skill Value
mioana · x · 2026-09-16
In a thread on which activities people may wrongly neglect due to AI, the author argues that hard activities gain scarcity value people use to prove themselves; once a machine can do them, that value fades, but people may still compete (chess) or pursue the skill-building value. The counterpart adds that some activities have both instrumental and intrinsic value — e.g. theorem-proving in economic theory — and different parts may be affected differently.
Related event: Debate: Will AI Make Humans Abandon Intellectual Pursuits(5 posts)→
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