Draft v3 — Feb 2026

too dramatic?
no wait—
feels right actually

Honey, AI took my job. Again!!

THIS!
don't bury
the lede

This is not ^hardly the first time machines have been accused of stealing work, dignity, and the sense that someone important is in control.

??

in Soviet

In the 1950s and 60s, centralized computers were imagined as tools to manage

entire economies,

not just calculate payroll ^run spreadsheets.

expand this?
or cut entirely?
hmm...

The fear was never automation itself. It was about losing the ability to explain decisions slowly, ceremonially, ↳ in ways that felt important and with impressive-looking paperwork. yes! rewrite 2/9

When systems become fast and legible, they expose how much of work was

necessary ^performative?

key word

Today, AI triggers the same panic.

Not because it thinks,

but because it answers without waiting for permission.

ending feels
too tidy.
needs edge.

The lesson we keep forgetting is simple:

→ systems fail when they try to remove ^replace humans,

and succeed when they force humans to become

more human.

↳ maybe add a story here?
something concrete?
or is abstraction better...