one thing the AI uptick has shown is that people resent creatives so much for what they perceive to be "not real work." and that means creating a narrative that people are overpaid for things they don't perceive as important/valuable, but still form entire consumer identities around.

We know this, it's not speculative, chatbots 100% are not conscious and lack the capacity to be conscious in the same way a Kia Sorento cannot be a lunar lander. You can learn how to make a chatbot. The engineers who built the thing have told them "there's no organ for thought, it's an illusion."

learning that no amount of humanity on the behalf of myself or others like me can outweigh the ability for someone's mind to make up a justification and treat it as immuatable has been a valuable lesson in knowing who makes the world a nicer place to be in