M1ch431

Can you please just apologize to those who were offended and promise to be more sensitive moving forward? That's the sure-fire way to defuse the allegations accusing you of being a transphobe and put everybody at ease.

Refraining to comment further on the topic is smart until you learn more about the dynamics at hand. Transgender individuals face an unprecedented amount of discrimination and vitriol.

If anything, the bourgeoisie are generally polarizing people against each other, particularly pitting people against others who are different or who are in vulnerable positions.

Still, doesn't change the gross hiring (and firing practices) of UX professionals. The field is being done away with, largely. The value they provided arguably exceeded value that even c-suite level executives provided to their company, yet usually these professionals have no stake in the company or seat at the table, unless they work at a start-up. Their value was exploited, and their reward is being fired while the company thrives.

Of course the talent shines through, but these individuals will have to vastly "up-skill" (perform new functions or skip their established practices instead potentially relying on AI) to be able to continue in product development.

Hiring managers do allude that some of these professionals will be moved to management or strategy positions, but the vast majority will be jobless if they can't adapt, if they already aren't jobless. Even with a masters in UX and/or many years of experience, it's very difficult to find a role.

AI hasn't outright replaced anyone in the field, but its effect on the workforce has been undeniable. Whether they are building a house of cards or not remains to be seen, but the people who have spent decades working in specialized UX roles will likely be the ones taking the hit in the end.

Will anybody be surprised that capitalism is further leaning into enshittification with the removal of these roles? No, I don't think anybody will be shocked.

They are desperately trying to replace skilled and creative individuals with AI, and I suspect workplaces that enforce or coerce the use of AI (particularly specialized AI products) are using the training data to enable this pursuit.

For example in the User Experience field (or what's left of it), the professionals are incredibly valuable to companies that had forsaken empathy and user-centered design in their processes — they filled a sorely needed gap in product development. And go figure, you need users to be able to smoothly use your product and want to engage with your services as easily as possible to make money. No wonder the ROI of employing UX professionals is so high.

Because some of the UX design processes can be replicated by AI though, I'd argue that the the field is largely being shifted in reaction to that advancement.

UX professionals are assured that their field isn't being replaced by AI — repeatedly and incessantly by hiring managers (who spent years bloating the field and watering down the value of UX).

UX professionals are just being shifted to taking even more responsibilites by ALSO being expected to do UI design. I'd say, in part, because AI can perform some of the surface level tasks UX professionals are known for. UX encompasses a lot more positions than design, such as being a researcher or writer. It's all important work.

But before long, hiring managers foreshadow that they want to completely do away with the UX/UI role and shift them to Product Development/Management.

How could one wear so many hats? Likely with the use of AI to accomplish their tasks. This shift will likely include the firing of a lot of individuals (which these corporations already have done for years — they suck UX professionals of all their value and then let them go).

I have debated hiring managers of large companies and they seem pretty determined to put the entire field out of work. A field that is of incredible value to humanity. They say because it's a "mature field" that has well-established design practices that others can tap into.

When pressed, these individuals claim that the field already doesn't even exist anymore, and that people should just move on.

Like it or not, we can shine a light and hope they see.

I am as libertarian (as opposed to authoritarian) as they come, and I still hope I (and others who share my sentiment) will be able to convince them the merits of a world with human rights, diplomacy, and freedom — that is not needlessly violent and forceful.

We can move past barbarism, but to do so we must define what comes next to those who have shut their hearts to the truth — especially to those who have spent arguably too much time reliving the horrific violence of the 20th century.

I don't need to boycott them, I don't feel the need to block them. Everybody is within their rights to do so though, but I will keep slowly trying to win them over to the idea of a more kind and free world.

Creating Lemmy and the fediverse is of incredible value to humanity. They provided a timely medicine to the internet — a decentralized platform that is not controlled by an American corporation and ruled by algorithms. I don't feel like it's a lost cause to do my best.

The best thing to prepare is to not be fearful and to not panic.

I suggest that everybody protest against factory farming and participate in boycotts. Call lawmakers and regulators to take direct action against these companies and their dangerous practices (and hold them responsible).

100%. I'm hopeful that with increased awareness more people will wake up to the reality at hand and take action. There has to be a breaking point where people finally realize they are being manipulated to be polarized, outraged, fearful, hateful, etc. by an uncaring apparatus that just wants to maintain the status quo (or whatever their particular agenda is) and steal their attention, largely.

Truly, thanks for your response - I understand now that it does seem to be one of the major factors that goes into their ranking.

I guess my problem is that I just feel like ranking press freedom is flawed when things are this fucked. Here in the US, whistleblowers are persecuted or killed, accurate and unbiased reporting of events feels like it almost never happens, omission of newsworthy events is rampant, an oligarch is directly controlling speech in their outlet, independent journalism is at the behest of a few corporations that have total control of the algorithms and the platforms that these journalists rely on, a couple corporations own the entirety of all mainstream media... I could go on, but I'd just be preaching to the choir in all likelihood.

I'm glad that the few (independent or otherwise) journalists aren't dying in droves here. They just get fired or silenced through various mechanisms if they report on anything that goes against the grain.

I am pretty sure their assessment of US press freedom is wrong. In my opinion, it should be ranked much lower than 57th. Perhaps their assessment is true when you consider the facts of the entire world situation, but media freedom and actual journalism feels pretty dead here.

It doesn't feel like they are accounting for the entire breadth facts at hand here when it comes to industry/capital/political pressure on media bias/accuracy and their combined effects on reporting (or the lack thereof).

Please don't hurt yourself. Not everybody here on Earth lacks hope and a determination to do the right thing and see things through. We can do this and make this all mean something for ourselves - letting our future generations inherit a world better than what we did, and universally improve the conditions for all living beings here on this planet.

I have been in a pit of despair just like you seem to be right now. I know it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's there if you seek it out. Start by controlling what you can - help yourself to feel good, get some fresh air and some sun, eat good food that nourishes your body, do fun things and expose yourself to things that uplift you - if it calls to you!

The news often stirs up fear and feelings of helplessness. It's intentional. It gets clicks and it is exactly what those in power want us to feel - helpless and afraid - small and weak. These violations of human rights will not be able to continue much longer, public awareness is reaching critical mass. Take a break from social media and news if you can. Have a good time with the people that love you, you deserve to be happy and healthy - we all do.

The Solarpunk movement has given me a lot of hope. You can find it on reddit at reddit.com/r/solarpunk and slrpnk.net here on the fediverse. Consider reading about the movement and engaging with the community. But please take a break if there is too much doom and gloom.

We are not doomed! Don't pay attention to the headlines and articles that reach that conclusion. Even if that is the prevailing feeling many are feeling, we are SO close to being able to expose the artificial scarcity and games of the so-called elite, and start living in balance with our planet and collectively thriving!

I was nothing but polite...? Feeling strongly about Microsoft's behavior and the enshittification of Windows is not the same as "pushing a cult-like mentality" as I was accused of or as you accused me of - being an asshole. Disagreeing and providing reasoning for the disagreement is not being an asshole. I am not a Linux cultist, I switched in January of this year. I am happy if other people are happy, and I respect their personal choices.

In every response, I merely responded with my reasoning and ways that they could use Linux without sacrificing anything (VFIO setups are viable albeit hard to setup). I did not resort to name-calling or insisting the person switch. In the last response, I reiterated that they were free to feel the way they do (accusing me of mental gymnastics) and to disagree. Re-read my responses with a helpful tone and I'm sure you'd see - tone is often not conveyed well online.

The only thing that I said that could be implied as being an asshole to somebody is saying Windows sucks or calling people in a regular office "tech-illiterate". I'm not insulting anybody or being an elitist, I'm sorry that came across as harsh or unfair - I'll be more careful with my language moving forward. I love it when things simply work for people and they are not struggling. I feel bad when people have issues. I don't take any pleasure in others having problems or think lesser than them. Technology should be easy and accessible to use for all.

Arch Linux is not a beginner distribution, I started using it myself this year and I know with even using archinstall some things do not work out of the box even when selecting a desktop environment. Like bluetooth. CachyOS would've gotten you setup much quicker if you need the AUR. Bazzite or Nobara (or simply Fedora) would've been much easier if you don't mind the Fedora ecosystem. PopOS is shaping up with COSMIC and will be a wonderful option for creators, gamers, and regular users when it is fully released. ZorinOS is great for beginners. Ubuntu is great and so is Debian. Linux Mint is used by a lot of people, and even though it doesn't support Wayland yet, it's a good option for new users. Almost every option is great for Steam and also Lutris and Heroic Games Launcher, which both help you to run various games.

Wanting a so-called minimal or vanilla setup (which is something I also desire) is hard if you are picky like me. Most people aren't so picky, a couple extra packages or a little distribution-specific customization isn't any sweat off their back. There are times when just getting your foot in the door and getting comfortable is much easier on yourself. If there weren't great options for beginners, I wouldn't be suggesting Linux to anyone.

If you were to have posted for support, I would've gladly helped you out if I saw your post.

And I don't think we're fucked. I know the news cycle and current state of the world is a lot to handle. I think we need to continue pushing awareness and other positive action. I'm sorry you are stressed and are seemingly feeling bad and overwhelmed. I would do anything I could to help you - we're all in this together.

Some people need floaties to stay afloat. Some people need a life jacket. Some people need a solid platform to dip their feet in. Some people fucking melt when they touch water. Whatever accommodation they need or whatever their situation, it's all perfectly acceptable in my book.

We can help them to thrive without breaking a sweat with our empathy, technology, and ingenuity.

Does anybody think that Mozilla will attempt to win their community back and start being good stewards of the money they are given?

They've had ample time to wash themselves of Google's money. They have been too busy justifying their salaries with useless initiatives and acquisitions, when all people care about is Firefox.

When can we directly donate to Firefox's development?