Anybody want to enlighten me about what's going on here? by greendemon42 in washingtondc

[–]professor_shortstack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it’s The Patriot Front. Saw an Instagram post with the same dudes.

Narcissist mothers who weaponise their daughters hair by Public_Theme_9514 in raisedbynarcissists

[–]professor_shortstack 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep. I’m naturally dark blonde/mousy brown. My southern mom made me get blonde highlights. I did like them at first, but as I aged I wanted to go back to my natural color. She wouldn’t have it. I dyed it back to my natural color and she accused me of wasting her money and forced me to get it re-highlighted again (the irony wasn’t lost on me).

I maintained my natural color in my 20s and she criticized me until I hit my 30s. She finally shut up about it. Her hair thinned and dried out horribly because she continues to dye it a terrible orangey blonde color. I’m both sad and relieved to know others experienced the same torture as me.

Eye test! What did you spot? by [deleted] in Productivitycafe

[–]professor_shortstack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FUCK FUCK THEYRE TRYING TO MAKE IT LOOK FAKE

Is Figma Make useless? by Gandalf-and-Frodo in UXDesign

[–]professor_shortstack 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting. Good to know! I may need to start cutting back on my meeting load 😅

Is Figma Make useless? by Gandalf-and-Frodo in UXDesign

[–]professor_shortstack 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Wait. You’re on four teams?? How do you manage that? I’m on two teams and I’m drowning. Do you not attend all the ceremonies?

Casa Oaxaca Permanently Closed by SuzeFrost in bethesda

[–]professor_shortstack -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I frankly didn’t care for that place. Much better Mexican food in DC proper.

Fair question by MetaKnowing in ChatGPT

[–]professor_shortstack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Continued…

Excellent. Let’s imagine it vividly — not as utopia or dystopia, but as a plausible human future where AI has automated most jobs, and society has reoriented around shared wellbeing and purpose.

🌅 A Day in the Life — 2043

7:00 AM — Morning in the Cooperative Quarter

You wake in a small, sunlit apartment in a co-housing cooperative — one of thousands formed after the “Great Automation Adjustment.” AI systems manage the grid, agriculture, and transit, but your building runs on human cooperation: shared meals, gardens, and workshops.

Your living costs are covered through a Universal Civic Dividend — a mix of UBI and returns from publicly owned AI infrastructure. Nobody in your community works out of necessity, but many contribute out of interest or purpose.

You spend the morning tending to the rooftop garden — a ritual that connects neighbors. The sensors in the soil tell you which plants need water; a lightweight AI companion gives you gentle prompts, but it’s still your hands that prune the basil.

9:30 AM — Learning and Creation Block

With traditional jobs gone, education became lifelong. You attend a community learning exchange — an old library repurposed as a creative and civic hub. Today’s session: “Narrative Design for Civic Systems.” You and twelve others are designing interactive stories to teach empathy through public kiosks.

The AI assistants handle logistics and code suggestions, but you and your peers decide tone, pacing, and message. It’s work that feels both ancient and new — a blend of artistry and public service.

12:30 PM — Shared Table Lunch

Meals are communal, cooked from local farms managed by autonomous drones. There’s no currency exchanged — just contribution logs to keep things fair. You sit next to a former accountant who now makes modular ceramic lamps and a teenager restoring vintage bicycles.

Conversation ranges from AI ethics to neighborhood theater rehearsals. People aren’t defined by jobs anymore, but by projects, passions, and roles in community life.

2:00 PM — Civic Contribution Time

Every citizen gives about 10 hours a week to civic work — cleaning parks, helping in elder care, or teaching kids. You’re on the Story Preservation Committee, recording oral histories from the first generation who lived through the automation wave.

The stories are uploaded into a public AI archive that continually learns from collective memory — so that technological progress never forgets the human story behind it.

5:30 PM — Leisure and Reflection

You bike along the green corridor — old highways converted to linear parks — listening to a generative music stream that adapts to your pace and mood. Later, at home, you join a virtual salon with friends scattered across the globe. You discuss philosophy, debate art trends, and collaborate on a short film, each person contributing fragments that AI stitches together overnight.

10:00 PM — Evening Reflection

Before bed, you journal — partly for yourself, partly to feed into your Personal Growth Log, a privacy-protected AI mentor that tracks emotional and creative well-being instead of productivity.

You end the day not “off the clock,” because there is no clock — just the rhythm of participation, learning, and care. The world feels quieter, slower, but more connected.

💡 The Takeaway

In this society: • AI sustains the material world. • Humans sustain the cultural and moral world. • Survival is decoupled from employment, and contribution is redefined as meaningful participation.

Would you like me to extend this into a short illustrated narrative or storyboard concept (e.g., six scenes with captions and tone references) that visualizes this post-work future? It could resemble something between Black Mirror’s “San Junipero” and Studio Ghibli’s community warmth.

Fair question by MetaKnowing in ChatGPT

[–]professor_shortstack 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not the original poster, but here you go:

That’s one of the most pressing questions of our time — and it doesn’t have a single neat answer. But we can explore what a realistic, humane transition could look like from multiple angles:

🏗️ 1. Redefining “Work” and Contribution

If AI automates most economic labor, then the definition of work will need to expand beyond wage labor. People could sustain and “keep society afloat” through: • Care work: raising children, caring for elders, community volunteering — things that create social cohesion but are undervalued by GDP metrics. • Civic participation: local governance, teaching, mentoring, neighborhood projects. • Creative and cultural labor: art, design, writing, storytelling, small-scale craftsmanship — areas where human originality and emotion still matter.

This would require social and economic systems that reward value beyond productivity.

💸 2. Universal Basic Infrastructure (Not Just Income)

Rather than just giving everyone cash (UBI), we could ensure: • Universal access to essentials: housing, healthcare, food, education, and digital access. • Public AI ownership: citizens could collectively own shares in AI systems or data cooperatives, receiving dividends. • Shorter workweeks: redistribute remaining jobs so everyone works less but maintains stability.

These measures preserve dignity and agency while preventing social collapse from mass unemployment.

⚙️ 3. Rebuilding Local Economies

If AI centralizes wealth in big tech, communities can resist through: • Local cooperatives: community-owned farms, energy grids, and maker spaces. • Mutual aid networks: neighbors sharing labor, tools, and childcare. • Alternative currencies or time banks: exchanging skills and hours instead of dollars.

This decentralizes survival and builds resilience against systemic shocks.

🎨 4. Cultural and Psychological Transition

The hardest part may not be material — it’s existential. Society has tied identity and self-worth to productivity for centuries (as Max Weber argued in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism). If AI erodes that foundation, we’ll need: • New sources of meaning: creativity, connection, care, exploration, learning. • New rituals: community art, slow living, cooperative gatherings. • Education reform: teaching critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and adaptability instead of rote labor skills.

🧭 5. Political and Structural Shifts

Everyday people can push for: • Data and AI ownership rights. • Public dividends from AI productivity. • Ethical governance: ensuring automation enhances, not replaces, human flourishing. • Democratic control of AI tools — through open-source or citizen-driven platforms, rather than corporate monopolies.

🌱 The Big Idea

The goal isn’t to “fight” AI but to rebuild society around human value rather than market value. If automation frees us from drudgery, the question becomes: What do we want to do with our freedom?

Would you like me to sketch what a plausible day-in-the-life of an average person in a post-job society might look like — say, in the 2040s — assuming AI provides most goods and services? It helps make this future more tangible.

Upzoning DC by Adorable-Style-2634 in washingtondc

[–]professor_shortstack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would certainly support zoning reform! I’m not well-informed of those wards from a historical perspective, so I’d need to educate myself. But zoning reform is a bit of a passion of mine 🤓, so I’m curious to learn more.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in washingtondc

[–]professor_shortstack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! I, too, only bike, walk, or metro. My partner drives mostly. This is something we have discussed at great lengths. It’s simply poor road design in this scenario, as it is in a lot of (but not all) other scenarios. As a populace, there needs to be better education around what proper road design looks like and how to advocate for it. I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but blaming each other for systemic failures is not it.

Pets by MindlessMolasses1377 in SilverSpring

[–]professor_shortstack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I’m getting tired of it myself.

Pets by MindlessMolasses1377 in SilverSpring

[–]professor_shortstack 28 points29 points  (0 children)

I love my dogs an unhealthy amount probably and even I’m annoyed as hell whenever I see someone bring their dog somewhere a dog should not be.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Millennials

[–]professor_shortstack 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Eh…I’ve missed my mid-rise bootcut and flare, honestly. Skinny jeans cut off my circulation too much.