A man asked ChatGPT for its "hottest take" in a light-hearted way, but the answer turned into a surprising and thoughtful criticism of modern capitalism. He posted on Reddit asking the chatbot about the popular saying, "Work smarter, not harder." However, ChatGPT’s response left the user shocked.

ChatGPT's unexpected response

When asked for its "hottest take," ChatGPT replied, “Hottest Take? Okay, here’s one: The phrase ‘work smarter, not harder’ is just capitalism trying to convince you to squeeze more out of yourself for the same pay check." The user, who expected a humorous or controversial opinion, was baffled by the AI's deep take and asked it to explain further.

In its response, ChatGPT broke down the meaning of "work smarter, not harder." The AI said, “On the surface, ‘work smarter, not harder’ sounds great—efficiency, less effort, more time for yourself, right? But in practice, it often translates into ‘figure out how to be more productive with fewer resources,' which benefits your employer way more than it does you."

The AI further explained that if a person finds a way to automate their tasks and free up time, they often end up being assigned more work. While they accomplish more in the same amount of time, they don’t receive more pay for it. ChatGPT explained, "You are still working hard, just differently, and your'smarts’ are being used to optimise the system for someone else."

True meaning of ‘work smarter’

ChatGPT concluded that true “working smarter” would mean creating more personal time for yourself, not just becoming a more efficient worker for someone else. The AI’s final words were, “Now you will notice every time someone says, ‘Work smarter’, they are really just handing you a metaphorical shovel and saying, ‘Dig faster.’ Let’s channel that energy into working smarter for ourselves.” The user’s curiosity was sparked by the response, and many on Reddit found the chatbot’s take to be thought-provoking.