@kazani
"You Are Not Your Job"
➡️ TLDR;
Identifying oneself by a job title, like 'software engineer,' is becoming increasingly fragile as technology advances, akin to calculators in 1950.
The fear associated with job displacement is less about losing a title and more about losing one's constructed narrative of self-identity.
Humans are storytelling beings who build societies, cultures, and religions through collective narratives, and use labor to construct personal identity.
Identifying with one's labor, "I am what I do," is a narrative construct, no more inherently true than "I am what I eat."
Human interaction involves assessing warmth (intent) before competence (capability), prioritizing safety and well-being.
Capitalism's automation of labor, while efficient, displaces human roles without necessarily devaluing the individual's intrinsic worth.
Material needs and well-being are important but are dependent on social and political structures, not solely on individual productivity.
Qualities like warmth, empathy, presence, and the ability to make others feel understood are uniquely human and cannot be automated.
Meaning in life is found in 'I-You' relationships, characterized by mutual recognition of the other as a whole self, rather than 'I-It' transactional interactions.
Regrets at the end of life typically concern relationships and not living authentically, highlighting that human value is rooted in connection, not career achievement.
https://jry.io/writing/you-are-not-your-job/