4 ms·

Maybe they can. Most americans go to school, right? What if an AI companion makes that obsolete? University too. Those are very expensive years that can be save

Maybe they can. Most americans go to school, right? What if an AI companion makes that obsolete? University too. Those are very expensive years that can be saved. Maybe you cannot get a high paying job anymore without a $500/month AI companion because without it you are considered stupid. How about doctors? How much visits to a doctor can be made obsolete with an AI companion? How about entertainment. Americans spend something like $200 per month on entertainment. Maybe your AI companion can entertain you better.

danaris 5y ago
> Maybe you cannot get a high paying job anymore without a $500/month AI companion because without it you are considered stupid. This is very much saying "maybe if you're not already rich, you shouldn't be allowed to get a good job."
- ArtTimeInvestor 5y ago
  Is it currently different? A college degree in the US costs tens of thousands of dollars. And years of your time. With an AI companion, you might have to pay $500/month but maybe you can start working right away. Skipping all those "learning" years.
  - mcphage 5y ago
    A college degree also signals something: that you stuck with something for years, and finished it, and that your college believes you learned something along the way. With an AI companion, all you signal is that you have several hundred a month to spend on an AI companion.
  - danaris 5y ago
    It's possible for someone born into poverty to get scholarships and college loans to get a higher education. (Sometimes it's not the best deal in the world, but that's not the point here.) It's a large expenditure, but it's a one-time expenditure; once you have the education, no matter how poor you are for the rest of your life, you still have it. No one's going to give you a loan to get a $500/month "AI companion" for the rest of your life—in part, precisely because it's for the rest of your life. What you are proposing can not be seen as anything other than a way to ensure that society is permanently stratified by socioeconomic class.

danaris 5y ago

> Maybe you cannot get a high paying job anymore without a $500/month AI companion because without it you are considered stupid. This is very much saying "maybe if you're not already rich, you shouldn't be allowed to get a good job."

ArtTimeInvestor 5y ago
Is it currently different? A college degree in the US costs tens of thousands of dollars. And years of your time. With an AI companion, you might have to pay $500/month but maybe you can start working right away. Skipping all those "learning" years.
- mcphage 5y ago
  A college degree also signals something: that you stuck with something for years, and finished it, and that your college believes you learned something along the way. With an AI companion, all you signal is that you have several hundred a month to spend on an AI companion.
- danaris 5y ago
  It's possible for someone born into poverty to get scholarships and college loans to get a higher education. (Sometimes it's not the best deal in the world, but that's not the point here.) It's a large expenditure, but it's a one-time expenditure; once you have the education, no matter how poor you are for the rest of your life, you still have it. No one's going to give you a loan to get a $500/month "AI companion" for the rest of your life—in part, precisely because it's for the rest of your life. What you are proposing can not be seen as anything other than a way to ensure that society is permanently stratified by socioeconomic class.