# The Reframing of Work: From Ancient Athens to AI By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2025-03-24 In ancient Athens, the goal was to work as little as possible. It was thought that work detracted from the value of life. Those who could sought time to think, experience, and socialize. Some of the greatest philosophers, writers, mathematicians, and politicians emerged during this period. Today, we'd consider these great people lazy, given how little they work. Of course, a big problem is that most of these ancient Greeks could not afford to work because of slavery. Humanity has largely moved on from this type of slavery and replaced it with capitalistic slavery. Undeniably, things have gotten better for the vast majority of people under capitalism. However, the cost of capitalism is a reframing of what work is in our lives. At least in Athens, those who could afford not to work spent time developing themselves and humanity. Today, those who can afford not to work only work more. The Protestant Work Ethic as a moral duty to work is deeply ingrained in who we are. If this work is directed to help others, this is indeed a good and character-building thing. However, suppose this work is captured and redirected to serve other masters. In that case, it creates a world where one quickly becomes tricked into believing the gold watch after 40 years of service is something meaningful for humanity. Many enlightened individuals thought we'd be working 20 hours per week at this point in history and that a radical reformation of values would be needed as work stopped being the point. While it didn't happen exactly as they had predicted, we are at the point when radical value shifts in work are knocking on the door. Imagine returning to the mindset of ancient Athens, where work was to be avoided, except instead of enslaved people, AI did the work for us. Imagine what kind of shift that represents and what might be possible. However, it will require an ideological shift in values akin to the many revolutionary and civil wars fought a few hundred years ago. To think the old system will go out without a fight is delusional. It doesn't need to be bloody, but people will be hurt. There will be winners and losers. However, is this any different from today? How many losers are there in our current system? How many winners still work endlessly and regret their time? How many people are medicated? The transition is coming. Whether it is done thoughtfully or violently is the only choice. I fear we'll pay the price for working too much. #### Related Items [[Work]] [[Philosophy]] [[Capitalism]] [[Revolution]] [[Thinking]] [[Value]] [[Ideology]] [[Artificial Intelligence]] [[History]]