THE VIDEO SHELF · automation and unemployment
What Happened to Horses Is Happening to Us
CGP Grey's video "Humans Need Not Apply" argues that automation will make a large part of the workforce economically obsolete, much as engines did for horses. It surveys robots and software replacing both physical and mental labor.
Why HN readers recommended it
HN has recommended it for a decade as the standard explainer on automation and unemployment, though skeptics later cite it as an example of overconfident predictions.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- CGP Grey
- Topic
- automation and unemployment
- Format
- explainer
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 11
- HN mentions in dataset
- 20
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2014–2026
These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.
From the original HN conversations
Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.
Easier said than done. What are they going to retrain to? As AI continues to advance, more and more jobs will necome redundant. CGP Grey did a great video on this[1]. Even if you can't completely replace humans, often times, obe person will be able …
zyx321 on Hacker News · 2014-12
In Artificial Intelligence Isn’t a Threat – YetI highly recommend CGP Greys video ( [VIDEO] ) for a good overview of the issue. See [LINK] for similar discussion.
polymatter on Hacker News · 2015-04
In The Machines Are ComingAnd people who refuse to see it are usually blind... The supermarkets I go to have greatly reduced their cashiers. In most cases by at least half, especially in small shops (3 cashiers has become 2-3 machines and one human). As for bakers, they don't …
scrollaway on Hacker News · 2015-09
In Amazon Flex
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.