# The Absurdity of Being Still People By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2025-03-03 At the Oscars, Conan O'Brien delivered a joke that perfectly captured the absurdity of our modern workplace: "I'm proud to announce that we didn't use AI tonight. Yeah, that's right. Instead, we used child labor... Hey, they are still people." The audience laughed because existential truth often hides within great comedy. The punchline reveals our collective cognitive dissonance about labor in modern organizations – we're horrified by the idea of machines replacing us, yet we treat actual humans as mechanical resources. We desire the benefits of using people without acknowledging that we are using people. Where are the comedies in our corporate storytelling? Our organizations cast themselves as heroic protagonists in epic battles against market forces, competitors, and time itself. But perhaps the most authentic narrative is a dark comedy where we all pretend that submitting TPS reports with proper coversheets somehow matters to the universe. Modern work is fundamentally absurd. We've created systems where humans must behave like machines to justify not being replaced by them. "They are still people" becomes both the punchline and the desperate plea – a reminder of what we rapidly forget in our quest for optimization. As with most absurdities, one can laugh, cry, or be a robot. Many choose the robot path because modern organizations don't want humans; they want biological algorithms that don't question their assignments' premise or need bathroom breaks. When groups make certain topics off-limits for jokes, they immediately reveal their greatest weaknesses. Perhaps this explains why so many corporate environments treat humor as dangerous – genuine laughter might lead to genuine questioning. What would an organization look like if it didn't take itself seriously all the time? Some might argue it wouldn't survive in the free market. But I'm not so convinced. Seriousness does not equate to productivity and engagement. Sometimes, the greatest truths reside in the jokes we tell, and these jokes propel us to continue in joy. After all, we are still people. Aren't we? #### Related Items [[Absurd]] [[Artificial Intelligence]] [[Work]] [[Humor]] [[Productivity]] [[Cognitive Biases]] [[Society]] [[Existential]]