The new language of AI tech workers

This podcast episode of "The Indicator from Planet Money" explores a paradox in Silicon Valley: a surge of AI investment alongside job scarcity for young tech workers. Host Darian Woods interviews tech writer Jasmine Sun, who discusses a new "dialect" among Bay Area tech workers reflecting a "dog-eat-dog mindset." Sun explains terms like "high agency" (personal initiative, resourcefulness), "NPC" (non-player character, lacking agency), "permanent underclass" (fear of labor collapse due to AI), and "996" (working 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week). These terms, observed in various tech social settings, reveal anxieties about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and a drive to avoid being "automated," leading to intense work culture and a focus on individual success over collective action.