Will the difference between mass-produced glossy garbage and unique results of sustained human effort and productivity become ever more pronounced, leading to a massive increase in the value of the latter in the eyes of not just connoiseurs, but the masses as well?
No. You can’t find good furniture as easily now like you could before Amazon.com for example. It’s all trash that lasts just long enough that you can’t leave a review for it, assuming the company still exists and didn’t restructure.
No. YouTube and DIY maker subs/clubs/communities are more responsible for the current skill levels.
I remember trying to buy a couch during peak covid. Supply chain issues — the dreaded phrase — fucked everything up so bad you couldn’t get one for months. Companies turned to alternate sources for materials to speed things along, got the cheap stuff, never went back. Old supply chains therefore disappeared, new ones were formed. So yeah, we could see a renaissance of craftsmanship, but chances are it’s either too expensive to source truly decent materials, or will be prohibitively expensive for consumers to buy.
If anything, it would happen only after “AI” crashes down and provokes a massive social shift. Which might not happen atvall, but then humanity will just disappear so the question won’t really matter.
I think it has the potential for allowing more people to pursue artisanry. Ideally we get the LLMs to start tackling the drudgery so more people are freed up to pusue the work they’re passionate about.