There may come a point where employers realize that AI isn’t working out, Gownder said. Some bosses who fired workers in favor of AI agents have already eaten crow and rehired their human grunts. But “AI” may simply be a way of papering over other forms of cost-cutting.
“Outsourcing is a very popular one,” he told The Register. “They’re firing people because of AI, and then three weeks later they hire a team in India because the labor is so much cheaper.”
I’m willing to bet those outsourced teams in India are just vibe coding too.
I’ve seen this so many times, long before AI was even a thing. It always goes like this:
Let’s outsource department x to India because they are much cheaper
Oh no, the results are terrible and we are actually paying more money to fix the damage done.
Outsourcing was a mistake, let’s hire locally instead
What amazes me is that this is still happening to this day. I’ve seen a real world example of this just last week.
On top of that, AI has arrived and it gives the CEOs of the world an opportunity to make the same mistakes again. It’s mindblowingly stupid.
Note: I don’t blame Indian companies for offering their services. The blame entirely goes to greedy companies from the west who try squeeze out profit from income disparity and lower standards.
Also, you get what you pay for. Lots of companies have good quality in India. Same as how lots of factories produce good quality stuff in China.
But it shouldn’t be a surprise to get garbage bin quality if you’re shopping for bottom shelf prices. Going for higher quality wouldn’t be a bad deal but there’s still money to be squeezed by going lower… and lower… and lower
No doubt, but the tech firms in India that are bidding on outsourced software projects all have a toxic incentive to produce code very quickly and very cheaply. In an environment like that, I’m sure the pressure to use AI is extremely high.
I agree, but In my experience tech companies are willing to stretch the definition of “acceptable” far beyond what’s responsible if it gives them a temporary boost on this quarter’s earnings report. Is it sustainable? No. But corp-think has never held sustainability as a virtue.
I’m willing to bet those outsourced teams in India are just vibe coding too.
I’ve seen this so many times, long before AI was even a thing. It always goes like this:
What amazes me is that this is still happening to this day. I’ve seen a real world example of this just last week.
On top of that, AI has arrived and it gives the CEOs of the world an opportunity to make the same mistakes again. It’s mindblowingly stupid.
Note: I don’t blame Indian companies for offering their services. The blame entirely goes to greedy companies from the west who try squeeze out profit from income disparity and lower standards.
Also, you get what you pay for. Lots of companies have good quality in India. Same as how lots of factories produce good quality stuff in China.
But it shouldn’t be a surprise to get garbage bin quality if you’re shopping for bottom shelf prices. Going for higher quality wouldn’t be a bad deal but there’s still money to be squeezed by going lower… and lower… and lower
Very good summary of the Corporate shitshow
Idk, impoverished with access to education is quite a mix for hardworking individuals.
No doubt, but the tech firms in India that are bidding on outsourced software projects all have a toxic incentive to produce code very quickly and very cheaply. In an environment like that, I’m sure the pressure to use AI is extremely high.
That assumes the AI can produce acceptable code quickly, which I think is not likely.
I agree, but In my experience tech companies are willing to stretch the definition of “acceptable” far beyond what’s responsible if it gives them a temporary boost on this quarter’s earnings report. Is it sustainable? No. But corp-think has never held sustainability as a virtue.
A cubicle farm in India has no such incentive as a large tech company, they have to push out code quickly as you said.