Repost of a rant because rehosting doesn't show in the tag feeds.
We learn about this in high school when we're too stupid to question the higher levels of logic.
Profit is revenue minus expenses. So if you want profit then you charge more than your expenses.
A fairly fair model so far, but this gets tricky as the complexity increases. You can always up prices, but if your expenses aren't going up then you have no reason pass just wanting more money, and if the people pay, then who can blame you? Answer: ME! because that's literally just exploiting your customers. Whether you're exploiting their ignorance or compliance it is exploitation.
But here, we are seeing the other side of the coin. Reducing cost. When you "reduce cost" what you are doing is ensuring someone somewhere at some time is getting paid less. Someone is earning less, or is worked more. AI tools are the final frother in worker exploitation.
Mathematically, if you charge 100 cash units for 1 product and pay 80 cash units in expenses then that's 20 cash in profits. But someone comes along and says they can make the product for 50 cash, and with that, the product sells now for 80 cash! A 20 cash price reduction! Except now the profit is 30 cash, and only until the price is kicked back up, because they brought at 100 before so why not?
But there is one more thing about this. See, in the original setup, the product needed 80 cash to cover expenses for each product, but that also was done across dozens of workers each making a product, each with their own expense, gauging their own prices/wages/whatever.
The new setup has one guy, producing the same rate of production. As a dozen of supply chains! So now instead of (let's say 12 lines, with 4 links, each costing 20 cash for nice simple math) 48 workers making 20 cash each and an owner making 240 cash, is it now one "worker" making 600 cash and the owner making 360 cash! At least until they bump the price back up! And the rest of the workers make nothing!
This is the compounding effect of technological progression. We thought new technology would always create new jobs completely forgetting the dream of a workless society. Or rather, actively ignoring it. And it wouldn't be that much of a problem if the exploitation wasn't so out of control. If it wasn't for the fact that every business is trying to maximize revenue(customer exploitation) and minimize expenses(which is done through worker exploitation) then we could live happily and fine.
But no. Sustainability can not be. The Machine Must Grow.
The Line!
Must!
Go!
Up!