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> Maybe we'll actually reach some future where all production and maintenance labor is fully automated and most participants in an economy won't be human and we
by qzw 5y ago
> Maybe we'll actually reach some future where all production and maintenance labor is fully automated and most participants in an economy won't be human and we can just ethically enslave them for the benefit of human owners, but we're nowhere near that point.
It’s equally likely that in such a future most people will be on some version of UBI that allows them to get by, but wealth, in whatever form it takes, will still be limited to a relatively small subset of people. There’s no reason to believe that the robots/AGI/whatever means of production will naturally be owned collectively rather than privately. I hope the future turns out better, but there seems to be something in human nature that makes inequity tend to stick around.
- ben_w 5y ago> There’s no reason to believe that the robots/AGI/whatever means of production will naturally be owned collectively rather than privately. I think that depends on the tech and what it can do. If we get a general purpose construction robot that can also make copies of itself — be that a 3D printer with some manual assembly required once the parts come out, or a genetically engineered programmable moss, or bioprinted fairy drones with microchips for brains — anything like that has close to no marginal cost to give to everyone rather than just to the rich. If we never get von Neumann tech? Then sure, I agree with you.
- swader999 5y agoThe navies zero point energy patents perhaps. How else would they get those triangles in the skies?
- pkdpic_y9k 5y agoUhh... You had me at "bioprinted fairy drones" Please give a website, blog or book recommendation so I can become your humble disciple.
- ben_w 5y agoThanks for the vote of confidence! It inspired me to go and write a blog post for this: https://kitsunesoftware.wordpress.com/2021/05/22/bioprinted-fairy-drones/ https://kitsunesoftware.wordpress.com/2021/05/22/bioprinted-...
- pydry 5y agoIf de-globalization continues at its current pace, we'll probably find that a lot more labor is required in the future. A lot of what we imagine to be automated work is actually just work outsourced to countries with cheaper labor and a container port. In the event that global supply chains becomes unreliable, a wave of on-shoring will follow.