The Luddites Weren't Afraid of Machines — They Were Fighting for Their Jobs
Is it time for a Luddite Renaissance?
NPR's Throughline revisits the 19th-century Luddite rebellion, arguing that the original Luddites were a labor movement resisting job replacement by machines, not technophobes. As AI fuels similar anxieties today, historian Katrina Navickas joins the show to explore what that history can teach us about technology and human agency.
Calling someone a "Luddite" is usually an insult – shorthand for someone who is behind the times. But the real Luddites weren't just afraid of change; they were a labor movement fighting to save their jobs from being replaced by machines.
- runjake
In the true sense where you're militarizing and committing acts of sabotage on others' property (so-called "monkeywrenching")? And then, getting suppressed and eradicated/killed by the government?
No.
I prefer the "Calm Technology"[1] approach as espoused by Amber Case[2]. I think this is the saner path forward.
- RobotToaster
Unfortunately I imagine your modern AI data centre has better security than a 19th century textile mill.
- ssttoo
For rethinking the Luddite movement I recommend the book Blood in the Machine (I think I learned about it here on HN)
- goatlover
The term luddite is like the term pharisee. It's a pejorative removed from it's historical context. Actual Luddites and Pharisees would have not agreed that they were against technology or legalistic hypocrites, even though their critics tried to paint them with that brush.
- lubujackson
I remember reading about how the Amish operate. We treat them as a quaint, anti-progress cult of sorts, but they have a process where they consider new technologies and determine if they are worth adopting or not. Obviously the answer is "no" most of the time, but the pattern of considering and embracing new technologies through a communal, forward-thinking process seems like a reasonable way to counter the velocity and unintended consequences of rapid progress.
Of course, for this to make any sense it would need to be a global process, which seems entirely unfeasible until we've already badly burnt our hand on the stove. That seems to be precisely where we are in the process.
The best path forward may be cataclysmic societal collapse that leaves just enough knowledge to rebuild carefully with newfound wisdom. But wisdom is a rare and unlikely commodity. More probable is a dark age where technology is akin to witchcraft.
We've had our chances to stop burning coal and save the Earth, and we don't seem to be capable of that right now as a species. Maybe the better path is if we acknowledge our lack and "vibe submit" to our AI overlords, since we can't overcome ourselves in any direct way.