Swiss bestselling author Martin Suter has dismissed calls for increased working hours by German politician Friedrich Merz, describing the suggestion as “nonsense”. In an interview with “Der Spiegel”, Suter argued that boosting economic performance through intensified labor is not a viable solution. He characterized the proposal as lacking creativity, stating, “I don’t believe that the economy can be saved with more work.
Suter emphasized the increasing prevalence of job displacement due to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). He explained, “Diligence has long lost value and will continue to lose it. AI is currently replacing diligent work – the exhaustive review of legal precedents for lawyers, the comprehensive reading of medical reports for doctors. AI is performing what diligence previously defined in work and doing it far more effectively.
He suggested Merz’s appeal stemmed from a flawed premise. “One needs to consider: what will people do when they have only four days of work? The more diligent people become, the fewer days they need to work. If they are truly diligent, they can complete their work in three days. But what will they do with the other four days?
Regarding his own work habits, Suter expressed a belief that he is inherently predisposed to idleness. “I am convinced that I am essentially a lazy person. If you had asked me whether I write because I must, I would have said: no, I don’t have to. I could well imagine not doing it. But now I have been doing it for so long that I would probably find it difficult to stop.
Finally, Suter demonstrated a surprisingly relaxed attitude towards the potential for AI to mimic his writing style. The prospect of an AI trained on his entire body of work and subsequently producing new books did not alarm him. “I am convinced that this will soon be attempted. The amusing thing is: if the books were on the market, I would be the only one who knows that they are not by me”.