[HN Gopher] Sam Altman says era of remote work is over;worst mis...
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       Sam Altman says era of remote work is over;worst mistake of tech
       industry
        
       Author : oikawa_tooru_
       Score  : 18 points
       Date   : 2023-05-05 22:18 UTC (41 minutes ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.businesstoday.in)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.businesstoday.in)
        
       | electric_mayhem wrote:
       | Tech industry workers say the era of Sam Altman is over; worst
       | pundit ever
        
       | gumballindie wrote:
       | This guy is hellbent on damaging everything under the sun.
        
       | ripvanwinkle wrote:
       | > He further added that OpenAI's some of the best talents are
       | working remotely. He said, "some of our best people are remote,
       | and we will continue to support it always, so please don't let
       | hating SF stop you from applying to OpenAI! I don't like the open
       | air fentanyl markets either."
       | 
       | The above line seems to contradict the part about '..worst
       | mistake of the tech industry'
        
       | JohnFen wrote:
       | I could not disagree more. At least for the last decade in the
       | places I've worked (major tech companies), everyone has been
       | doing "remote work" anyway even though they were in the office.
       | 
       | I mean, meetings were held online, discussion took place through
       | chat, etc., between people literally sitting in cubes next to
       | each other. Everything is just more efficient and less disruptive
       | that way.
       | 
       | Working from home changed no work processes at all, at least
       | where I worked, introduced no additional social separation, and
       | yielded large benefits for individuals, teams, and the company.
        
       | coffeefirst wrote:
       | Cool. Can I have a private office with a door? Because I have one
       | at home and just I don't see myself giving that up.
        
       | macinjosh wrote:
       | The mistake was doing the transition suddenly with no foresight
       | or planning. Remote is possible but the systems and culture need
       | to be ready for it first.
        
       | blitzar wrote:
       | > He said, "some of our best people are remote, and we will
       | continue to support it always, so please don't let hating SF stop
       | you from applying to OpenAI! I don't like the open air fentanyl
       | markets either."
       | 
       | I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that the
       | reporting is terrible, not that the guy is an idiot and can not
       | stick to a consistent thought process in the course of a single
       | 30 minute panel at a conference.
        
       | stilist wrote:
       | How does this claim interact with the claim that AI is going to
       | eliminate tons of existing jobs?
        
       | JohnFen wrote:
       | > Altman also spoke about the future of AI. According to Altman,
       | AI needs to be treated with "extreme seriousness" as the tech
       | might have "existential risk" attached to it.
       | 
       | I really, really wish that OpenAI would start behaving as if they
       | believed this.
        
       | pdonis wrote:
       | When you actually look at the claim Altman can defend from his
       | own experience, it's not that remote work doesn't work for "the
       | tech industry"; it's that remote work doesn't work for _early
       | stage startups_. But most of  "the tech industry" is not early
       | stage startups. Most of the _people_ working in the tech industry
       | could still be working remotely, while at the same time the small
       | fraction of them that are working at early stage startups could
       | be working in person in an office (or hangout space, or
       | whatever), and the tech industry would do just fine.
       | 
       | Unfortunately, when I look at Altman's track record as a pundit
       | (as opposed to as a startup developer), this kind of schoolboy
       | error is what I usually see.
        
       | observer987 wrote:
       | Remote work threatens the foundation of the commercial real
       | estate market. Expect a huge push to get people back into the
       | office - especially if there is softness in the job market.
        
       | daneel_w wrote:
       | Does he happen to have substantial investments in real estate
       | portfolios or something?
        
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       (page generated 2023-05-05 23:00 UTC)