This is, by far, the most cynical cartoon I've ever drawn. It was inspired by apocalyptic claims by prominent A.I. executives that Generative A.I. would cause mass unemployment and the end of society. Such doom trolling is hardly altruistic. After all, the suggestion that a technology is too powerful to exist only increases the public's fascination with it.

To be clear, my own feelings about Generative A.I. are not as negative as this cartoon suggests. I am encouraged by the fact that, historically, every technological advance has created more jobs than it displaced.

Giving credit where credit is due: this cartoon is based on a Doonesbury cartoon I recall reading sometime during the 1980s or 1990s. I can't find the original cartoon, but it was basically the same premise as this one, except that the boss was extolling the cost-savings of contractor workers over full-time employees. The punchline, however, was the same: We?