HN user
Impersonating a CA is not transparent and risks losing that CA if anyone finds out it's forging certs. They probably can do that, but it's a risky nuclear option.
This is a transparent dragnet that can easily be blamed away, which has been shown to be much more preferable in the NSA's M.O.
"National security" is such a fickle concept.
You can bet that if the NSA manages to use this to hoover up some tasty HTTPS, this scandal will be lauded as a big boost to "national security" behind the scenes, and nobody will be punished. For all we know NSA had a hand in engineering this.
Of course, if some government data is stolen as a result, then the whole thing will be thrown under the bus and deemed a threat to "national security".
I hope anyone who uses terms like "national security" does it in full awareness of what Orwell meant by newspeak and doublethink.
"if you get automated away, you get 0"
No, I actually said the opposite.
If you get automated away, by yourself or by anyone else, you instantly get the bonus and you're instantly fired.
The accountant has every incentive to either be an amazing accountant so that any automation would be a pale imitation (everyone wins), or he can choose to automate himself away, move to the next job, automate himself away and pick up the bonus there, and so on (everyone gets their due).
This is competition, and I think it's a happy ending for meritocracy. The only people who lose are those who desire to continue to be paid while not generating value.
My reply would be that if a programmer can out-account you as an accountant, then you've failed as an accountant; you need to look for another job or learn the necessary skills like programming.
Of course this does mean a lot of people out of jobs, which is the crux of the article, but I don't think it's a fault or weak link in this employment model.
If you automate away your non-tech co-worker ... will he get the bonus?
Yes, and you get nothing. It's fair; just don't automate away other people's jobs, automate away your own.
If someone automates you away, will you get anything?
Yes, 100% of the bonus. It's not a choice, you must leave. I still think that's fair.
If you keep automating away your co-workers, who's gonna be left to help you automate yourself away?
You don't automate away your co-workers unless you like doing free work. Problem solved. If you have the most difficult to automate away job, you entered into it knowingly. The market will ensure that those jobs will be higher paid by supply and demand.
This model doesn't require cooperation to work, just a relatively clear set of job responsibilities and a clear definition of what it means for you to be automated away.
I actually really love this idea, from an employer's perspective.