We weren’t scared of novelty!

Comment seen elsewhere, intending to make the analogy with AI.

I’m old enough to remember when people were scared of these new “computers” and saw no need for them.

At first I thought, yeah, I remember that too. Then I remembered more precisely.

1. I was mature when PCs started. Nobody was scared of them. Everyone was
trying to find ways to use them, and some of those uses did expand the range of possible thought and work.

The scary part happened after everyone was accustomed to using them.

Bosses DECIDED, not REALIZED, that secretaries and bookkeepers weren’t needed because executives and teachers and doctors could take over the work now.

Result: Upper-level workers were loaded down with tasks they previously delegated to secretaries. Execs and teachers had less time to do what they were meant to do, and women lost a whole category of good jobs that led up the exec ladder.

2. I was a kid when mainframes came into use around 1958, but I heard parents and others discussing the advent. Nobody was scared. Small or midsized businesses couldn’t afford mainframes. Giant corporations enjoyed a faster way to handle routine bookkeeping. Existing bookkeepers and auditors switched from adding machines to keypunches. Very few jobs were lost.

This entire argument INTENTIONALLY MISSES the important difference. Mainframes and PCs were not built on a foundation of THEFT. Hardware and software were developed by people who were paid.