Brilliantcrank (Greg Storey), "The coyote trap.":

What if survival looked like ownership instead? What if the best response to getting laid off isn’t to get in the line to nowhere for the next thing, but to build your own thing? Do your own thing? The tools are there. The access is there. The demand is there.

We’ve got too many smart, experienced people standing at the edge of the workforce, assuming their only move is down or to keep trying what worked yesterday. From what I read many folks fear an AI fuled collapse, but I fear another powered by denial, retreat, and stubborn nostalgia. If enough of us take this route, we’re going to see a quiet, steady slide of educated, capable folks into poverty—and that’s not just a personal tragedy, it’s a societal one. And no amount of boycotting or avoiding AI is going to help.

I've been thinking a lot about this, lately. And I keep thinking about "my own thing" that I could build. I've had some ideas, but I'm not sure any of them are big enough to convince people to shovel enough money at me to pay my mortgage?

On top of that, I've never felt a particular urge to be an entrepreneur. That doesn't sound like my kind of fun, at all. Ownership, being my own boss, making all the decisions, taking all the risk. Not enticing to me.

For instance, not that I think this would be a great business, but: Since I got my 3D printer, I've seen lots of folks running little garage print farms. Looks like fun! I'd love to have a dozen or two machines whirring away. But then I realize, practically speaking, a print farm isn't about printing. It's about bookkeeping, inventory, visits to the UPS store, and self-marketing—and I don't like any of that.

Seems like every idea I've come up with boils down to that. Even if I'm just thinking about being a freelancer doing what I already do for work. The thing is not the thing. You have to build & maintain a business mech suit around the thing to make the money happen.

I don't think I would like it. I think it would burn me out after not very long. That's not denial or retreat or nostalgia—I think that's just self-honesty. I mean, if it's that or starving, I'll do the needful somehow. But, for as much as I'm a socially-anxious hermit, I like being on a team or in a crew. I want to do my part, play my role. I don't want to try to pull off the whole heist by myself.

So, I'm definitely not avoiding AI, and I'm working to stay current. But I'm not sure I'm hanging out my own shingle any time soon?