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AI and robots will help people concentrate on more important tasks, instead of doing repetitive work. What about if most of us are still peasants, just like hun

by tapirl 10y ago

AI and robots will help people concentrate on more important tasks, instead of doing repetitive work. What about if most of us are still peasants, just like hundreds of years ago?

wolfram74 10y ago
Given the effects of (economic) insecurity has on cognitive behavior/ability, what could a group of people with the same kind of stability as feudal peasants do that a program couldn't do better, more reliably and cheaper in a decade or two?
mark_l_watson 10y ago
A little known fact you might find interesting: in the dark ages, 'peasants' had much more wealth in the bartering system. That is they kept more of what they produced. Except for some outbreaks of decease, it was a great time to live. Peasants were screwed over at the end of the dark ages with centralized monetary systems that sucked up the rewards from local production. Bartering often was made to be illegal, and the coin of the realm was mandated by law.
- GFischer 10y ago
  The way I was taught, it sucked to be a peasant in the medieval ages. They had to work for their masters AND the church, before working for themselves. Whatever little they kept could be bartered, I guess. But I definitely wouldn't call it "a great time to live". http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval-england/the-lifestyle-of-medieval-peasants/ http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval-england/the-li...
  - JoeAltmaier 10y ago
    They paid a tithe (tenth?) to the king and a quarter to their lord? I pay much more than that in taxes today. But of course my standard of living is orders of magnitude more settled and safe. Infrastructure, law and order, soap, the germ theory of disease all work to make me likely to live to my allotted lifespan.
  - mark_l_watson 10y ago
    re: "a great time to be alive": compared to the later "enlightenment" period were serfs were separated from the results of their hard work. Douglas Rushkoff talks about this in his very nice book "Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus." The author of "The Crash of 2016" also talks about how serfs were better off during the Dark Ages.

by tapirl 10y ago

AI and robots will help people concentrate on more important tasks, instead of doing repetitive work. What about if most of us are still peasants, just like hundreds of years ago?

wolfram74 10y ago

Given the effects of (economic) insecurity has on cognitive behavior/ability, what could a group of people with the same kind of stability as feudal peasants do that a program couldn't do better, more reliably and cheaper in a decade or two?

mark_l_watson 10y ago

A little known fact you might find interesting: in the dark ages, 'peasants' had much more wealth in the bartering system. That is they kept more of what they produced. Except for some outbreaks of decease, it was a great time to live. Peasants were screwed over at the end of the dark ages with centralized monetary systems that sucked up the rewards from local production. Bartering often was made to be illegal, and the coin of the realm was mandated by law.

GFischer 10y ago
The way I was taught, it sucked to be a peasant in the medieval ages. They had to work for their masters AND the church, before working for themselves. Whatever little they kept could be bartered, I guess. But I definitely wouldn't call it "a great time to live". http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval-england/the-lifestyle-of-medieval-peasants/ http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval-england/the-li...
- JoeAltmaier 10y ago
  They paid a tithe (tenth?) to the king and a quarter to their lord? I pay much more than that in taxes today. But of course my standard of living is orders of magnitude more settled and safe. Infrastructure, law and order, soap, the germ theory of disease all work to make me likely to live to my allotted lifespan.
- mark_l_watson 10y ago
  re: "a great time to be alive": compared to the later "enlightenment" period were serfs were separated from the results of their hard work. Douglas Rushkoff talks about this in his very nice book "Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus." The author of "The Crash of 2016" also talks about how serfs were better off during the Dark Ages.