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I have no real doubt this is true, but what may be different in today's situation is that something akin to true "artificial general intelligence" is not comple

I have no real doubt this is true, but what may be different in today's situation is that something akin to true "artificial general intelligence" is not completely unfeasible (or something close enough to it that there's no practical difference). This is quite different to previous technological revolutions, where it was primarily manual labour that was automated. We seem to have in general conceded that many of those types of tasks can be better done by machines (with the exception of our adaptable intelligence, but how long will that be unique to us?). Now, people who are displaced by technology can move on to other things, but what happens if there really is nothing we're better at than a computer, in say 100 years?

no_gravity 11y ago
what happens if there really is nothing we're better at than a computer It's not that you have to compete with computers while being naked and without tools in outer space. The line between Humans and Computers will continue to blur. Right now, you carry a computer with you in your pocket. Tomorrow you will have it in your head. And it will aid your thinking without you having to type stuff into a keyboard and looking at a screen. If there is nothing left "we" are better at then computers, the last remaining "old" parts inside of us will be discarded and we will just be a computer like everybody else :)
- aruggirello 11y ago
  > Right now, you carry a computer with you in your pocket. Tomorrow you will have it in your head. And it will aid your thinking without you having to type stuff into a keyboard and looking at a screen. You're assuming people will want it in their heads. I'd rather be naked and without tools, than become part of The Borg. YMMV though.
  - no_gravity 11y ago
    That reminds me of the time when mobile phones were new and some people told me "You will never see me walking around with a mobile phone. When I'm alone, I want to be alone! And not being reachable and connected all the time.". They all have mobiles now.
- danielbarla 11y ago
  I agree with your comments in general, although I'd just add that in the current capitalist world, we would definitely have to compete - if we have little or no economic value, it would be hard to exist. It might be even worse in a case where humans are not even a zero-sum, i.e. use up more value than they add. I'm guessing in a world like that, it'd be a good idea to switch to some form of a guaranteed minimum income rather quickly. Of course, it's pretty difficult to predict the future, and it's possible that human-computer hybrids will continue to outperform vanilla computers in the long term (as you point out).
adrianN 11y ago
Yes, the article clearly shows that technology killed one kind of job already: "muscle power workers". That's because what technology mostly did the last 140 years (and the 10000 years before that) is aiding our physical strength. However technology now is trending towards aiding our mental strength. It seems rational to me to assume that this means that technology will replace "mental power workers" over the next 140 years.

no_gravity 11y ago

what happens if there really is nothing we're better at than a computer It's not that you have to compete with computers while being naked and without tools in outer space. The line between Humans and Computers will continue to blur. Right now, you carry a computer with you in your pocket. Tomorrow you will have it in your head. And it will aid your thinking without you having to type stuff into a keyboard and looking at a screen. If there is nothing left "we" are better at then computers, the last remaining "old" parts inside of us will be discarded and we will just be a computer like everybody else :)

aruggirello 11y ago
> Right now, you carry a computer with you in your pocket. Tomorrow you will have it in your head. And it will aid your thinking without you having to type stuff into a keyboard and looking at a screen. You're assuming people will want it in their heads. I'd rather be naked and without tools, than become part of The Borg. YMMV though.
- no_gravity 11y ago
  That reminds me of the time when mobile phones were new and some people told me "You will never see me walking around with a mobile phone. When I'm alone, I want to be alone! And not being reachable and connected all the time.". They all have mobiles now.
danielbarla 11y ago
I agree with your comments in general, although I'd just add that in the current capitalist world, we would definitely have to compete - if we have little or no economic value, it would be hard to exist. It might be even worse in a case where humans are not even a zero-sum, i.e. use up more value than they add. I'm guessing in a world like that, it'd be a good idea to switch to some form of a guaranteed minimum income rather quickly. Of course, it's pretty difficult to predict the future, and it's possible that human-computer hybrids will continue to outperform vanilla computers in the long term (as you point out).

adrianN 11y ago

Yes, the article clearly shows that technology killed one kind of job already: "muscle power workers". That's because what technology mostly did the last 140 years (and the 10000 years before that) is aiding our physical strength. However technology now is trending towards aiding our mental strength. It seems rational to me to assume that this means that technology will replace "mental power workers" over the next 140 years.