The Chauffeur Problem: When Tech Experts Rule Their Bosses
A historical look at how early automobile owners were at the mercy of their mechanics, and how this dynamic repeats with modern technology. From the 1906 New York Times headline about chauffeurs lording over employers to the author's own experience with technical typists, the article explores how knowledge is power—but only temporarily. As technology becomes more accessible, the power shifts, and those who refuse to learn remain dependent on others.
The only people condemned to be bossed about by others are the ones who deny their own ability to learn.
- roenxi
This article just seems a little bit unbelievable
> They ran roughshod over their new bosses. They went joyriding in the expensive cars in their care. Of course, they too skimmed their operations money, but they did so without the veneer of social decorum.
The word "roughshod" seems wholly unjustified unless it is some sort of pun on horses that I'm missing. I can imagine a chauffeur joyriding and skimming money, but to say that represents "run[ning] roughshod" seems a bit much. The employer obviously wasn't showing that much care to the money and how big a deal is it if the guy drives the car occasionally? The coachman was skimming money and could ride the horse around if he put his mind to it. The horse isn't going to dob him in.
> I spent years at the mercy of technical typists. They were underpaid, but they were in control.
Again, I don't see how "in control" can be used to describe an underpaid technical typist. It doesn't sound that hard to check what they typed and replace them with someone else. If they're underpaid then they're easy enough to replace.
I wouldn't usually jump at two word choices, but the article seems to hinge on some sort of power imbalance favouring employees that is not demonstrated.
- tarkin2
If the chauffeurs' power came from the inability for the driven to maintain and drive their cars, and that power was reduced when cars become more reliable and understandable, then I'm not sure how that is applied to modern developments: computer and software are as complex as ever, and we're understanding them less and less in favour of letting the computers themselves understand themselves. Are we not then creating a new chauffeur problem, and this time those who control the LLMs and the infrastructure for the LLMs hold the power after we intentionally cede it?
- tantalor
Is there a date on this? It's so vague, it could have been written in the 1970s, but it has a reference to 1999.
Edit: Found it here, https://engines.egr.uh.edu/episodedates
> 1999 — Episodes 1386-1505
(this was #1495)
That link is on the homepage.
- chr15m
We are the chauffeurs. They're going to drive their own computers now.
- tom_
Where's the rest of the article? Is there a rest of it? It gets to the end of what feels like the introduction, and then just... stops.