We could be working less, even without AI
When people talk about shortening the work week, it's typical to imagine some future sci-fi society. But actually the idea has been viable for decades already.
- This whole past century is full of mechanization & automation designed specifically to get more done using less labor. It's just that instead of using it to work less, it's been used to produce more discussion i.e. more goods & services, per capita. In other words, economic growth. Increased production was good at some point in history, to improve quality of life - but that reached diminishing returns, while environmental impacts continued to increase. And ultimately, quality of life would be higher if people didn't have to work so much..
To shorten the work week, we have to be upfront about exactly what we should produce less of.
- In other words: Lower the cost of living, by getting rid of some inherent inefficiencies in the system (the type of inefficiencies that benefit no one except rich lobbyists).
How: