this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2026
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The biggest risk I see is Idiocracy. Like, the movie.
Business workers become afraid to do or propose anything without AI signoff. Retail & service workers are told to do what the AI says, the way the AI says to do it, or get fired.
Technology innovator Marshall Brain (RIP) wrote a book in the early 2000s about an AI called "Manna" designed to replace fast food managers:
https://web.archive.org/web/20201204080050/https://marshallbrain.com/manna1
The AI just talks in your ear all day: "Empty one bag of fries into the fryer. You have 6.5 minutes, switch to the sandwich station. Make one Big Burger: grab one patty from the 1/4 pound bin and place it on the griddle... ... The fries are ready, turn around and lift them into the drain hopper..."
All day, every day, exactly 8 hours plus mandatory breaks, employees on autopilot listening on ear buds.
Ahhh one of my favorites. The Iron Cage of Bureaucracy
I saw a funny video of an example. But I cannot remember the name for it. I tried searching for it once but failed. The conficlt was about some dude that exploded.
How topical, I wager I could use AI to find the video. 😏
Living under a bridge in a box sounds like a better life.
Yeah, they took care of that too in the book.
It's the Gypsy lifestyle of the new world. Gypsies prefer their life to the alternatives.
I believe you mean Romani. Your choice of word is a slur
Apologies. In Westpondia nobody knows what Romani means...
This is a boss's wet dream. However a kitchen is the type of chaotic real world situation that AIs are unlikely to ever do well.
It was more of managing all tasks at a McDonald’s. Where the kitchen part has been engineered to almost run itself anyway.
The manna was there to make sure the employees were constantly cleaning the bathrooms, managing restocking, emptying the trash as needed. All ahead of it being a problem.
It’s a good read, though it’s been a very long time since I read it. I wish I could buy my son stock in Australia (or probably Norway or Switzerland or something in reality).