I am commenting on an article published on Habr.
Main ideas of the article
- The essence of commoditization: commodities have universal value, are interchangeable, standardized, easily valued, and traded. Examples: oil (in terms of sulfur content and volume), grain (in terms of shelf life and weight), and simple stones (in terms of size and quality).
- Labor as a commodity: low-skilled labor (such as courier work) is closer to commoditization because it is standardized, easily measured in terms of time and pay, and does not require complex multi-criteria optimization. High-skilled labor (such as teaching or artistic work) is less commoditized because it includes subjective and unique aspects (such as a sense of purpose and creativity).
- Factors of labor commoditization:
- standardization of processes (such as Henry Ford’s);
- remote work and globalization (a programmer can work from anywhere in the world);
- algorithmic hiring (algorithmic interviews, job aggregators);
- digitalization and automation (AI-generated content, robotization).
- The “commodity ↔ singularity” spectrum:
- Commodity: mass production, objectivity, simplicity, unambiguous evaluation, standardization, and anonymity.
- Singularity: rarity, subjectivity, complexity, multidimensionality of evaluation, uniqueness, and connection to the individual.
- Commoditization in art and information:
- Generative AI creates a vast amount of content, leading to the “spamming” of the information space and a decrease in the uniqueness of works;
- Before the AI era, art was more singular, but after it became more standardized;
- errors and individual characteristics (for example, Van Gogh’s style, “tube sound” in music) enhance singularity, while AI content often lacks such nuances.
- Social and economic consequences:
- commoditization leads to increased competition and lower prices, but it can devalue labor and creativity;
- people risk becoming “database entries” (credit rating, social rating), losing their individuality;
- algorithms in social networks and the Internet standardize views and behavior, creating “standard people.”
- Strategies for a person:
- make the results of your work more singular (unique) for the market, while maximizing the commodification of internal processes (creating a conveyor);
- develop skills at the intersection of fields (for example, a lawyer with expertise in chemistry) to create singular value;
- evaluate “sold” services objectively, without falling for marketing tricks;
- to implement useful habits (commoditized actions) and fill life with unique moments.
Key terms and concepts
- Commoditization is the process of turning a product, service or even people into a standardized, interchangeable object, easily evaluated and traded.
- Singularity is uniqueness, unrepeatability, complexity of evaluation and replacement.
- Objectivity vs subjectivity is the dependence of value on the object (universal) or on the subject (subjective).
Conclusions
Commoditization is an inevitable trend in the economy and society, driven by the desire for efficiency and profit. However, it carries the risk of dehumanizing labor, creativity, and people in general. The optimal strategy is to balance between commoditization (for increased efficiency) and singularity (for preserving uniqueness and value). In areas where individuality is important (art, complex intellectual tasks), it is worth pursuing singularity, while in routine processes, standardization should be used.
My Comment
It’s time for person to reflect and develop their model (crystal) of the future, where they will place commoditization inside the crystal and singularity outside.
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