I never really understood, but now that that house bill passed that may end up blocking AI regulation from individual States. I get it. I don’t like knowing that even if everyone in my state wanted to stop companies from using AI for hiring decisions, we couldn’t.

Texans, I feel you.

Edit: I’m learning a lot about Texas in this thread. Thanks for all the context folks.

  • 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇳张殿李🇨🇳🇩🇪🇨🇦@ttrpg.networkEnglish
    1·
    4 days ago

    What proportion of Texan’s incarcerated population is forced to labour for next to no salary again? There’s at least one US state—Virginia (312)—whose official title for prisoners is “Slave of the State”. Do you think the other southern states are much more progressive in their attitudes?

    Hint: no. Alabama (390), Arkansas (574), Florida (377), Georgia (435), Mississippi (661), South Carolina (302), and Texas (452) also have de facto slavery of their prisoners: defined as mandatory labour for negligible to no wage, with strict penalties for non-participation.

    So what are those numbers I’ve put after all the state names? Those are the incarceration rates per 100,000. Compare and contrast these with the US national average (which, remember, includes the high-rate states): 355. Isn’t it mysterious that of the eight states with de facto incarcerated slavery six are over the national average, and three (Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas) have the highest incarceration rates in the country?

    Slavery is alive and well in the USA, and Texas is one of its largest users thereof now. So yes, I think the average modern Texan secessionist would be pro-slavery … because they already are.

    • pebbles@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      What proportion of Texan’s incarcerated population is forced to labour for next to no salary again?

      This would be my first time actually.

      Hint: no.

      I always appreciate the hints.

      Slavery is alive and well in the USA, and Texas is one of its largest users thereof now. So yes, I think the average modern Texan secessionist would be pro-slavery … because they already are.

      Yeah I didn’t really consider their prison population, solid point. Prison slavary is bad. Though I think it is good to note scale differences. Both are bad, it’s just that slavery was much much worse in the past.

      According to https://userpages.umbc.edu/~bouton/History407/SlaveStats.htm

      During slavery in the US about 1/3 of folks in the south were slaves. Compared to the 0.4% of today in Texas that’s pretty staggering.

      So yeah, I’d go far enough to say that the average Texan isn’t pro-slavery in the sense that immediately hits my mind. Enough belive prison labor though, so you can’t say the aren’t pro slavery.