4 ms·

Good. It has become clear that the rich aren't going to give the rest of us any of the profits gained as automation makes things more efficient. The only way n

Good. It has become clear that the rich aren't going to give the rest of us any of the profits gained as automation makes things more efficient. The only way normal people gain from improvements is if we collectively refuse to work more than we're paid for. This also smooths the transition to a future in which all work is automated and no one needs to work. That future it far away but it is coming. As less and less human labor is necessary to provide for our survival needs, people should be working fewer and fewer hours and still being able to survive. The alternative is more and more unemployment, with the unemployed being unable to survive, and a ruling class that doesn't work yet touts the need for work because they benefit from labor.

welshwelsh 4y ago
Automation isn't going to take anyone's job. People using automation will push out people who lack the skills to use automation. The people who fall behind won't benefit because they don't contribute. The future where people can work very little to survive is already here, but it's only for those who can produce great value with very little effort.
- kerkeslager 4y ago
  > People using automation will push out people who lack the skills to use automation. This is an understandable sentiment because it's been true for all of the history of automation, but I really don't think you're grokking the implications of truly pervasive automation. The using of automation can and will be automated, so the skills to use automation will eventually not be useful skills. > The people who fall behind won't benefit because they don't contribute. People don't accumulate resources by "contributing" them. The people who benefit the most from automation are those who use automation to accumulate more resources (including more automation). The people who accumulate the most resources generally have some projects which create the impression of being prosocial, but the mental illness which causes one to amass huge amounts of wealth, makes one unsuitable to be in charge of prosocial projects. For example, I fully support space exploration, but I really don't think the guy who thinks we should put slaves on Mars is the guy who is best suited to be in charge of that. The future I fear is one in which the same sociopaths who have been sucking all the resources out of society for themselves no longer need to even pretend to care about the rest of us, because they no longer need workers, since workers are automated.

welshwelsh 4y ago

Automation isn't going to take anyone's job. People using automation will push out people who lack the skills to use automation. The people who fall behind won't benefit because they don't contribute. The future where people can work very little to survive is already here, but it's only for those who can produce great value with very little effort.

kerkeslager 4y ago
> People using automation will push out people who lack the skills to use automation. This is an understandable sentiment because it's been true for all of the history of automation, but I really don't think you're grokking the implications of truly pervasive automation. The using of automation can and will be automated, so the skills to use automation will eventually not be useful skills. > The people who fall behind won't benefit because they don't contribute. People don't accumulate resources by "contributing" them. The people who benefit the most from automation are those who use automation to accumulate more resources (including more automation). The people who accumulate the most resources generally have some projects which create the impression of being prosocial, but the mental illness which causes one to amass huge amounts of wealth, makes one unsuitable to be in charge of prosocial projects. For example, I fully support space exploration, but I really don't think the guy who thinks we should put slaves on Mars is the guy who is best suited to be in charge of that. The future I fear is one in which the same sociopaths who have been sucking all the resources out of society for themselves no longer need to even pretend to care about the rest of us, because they no longer need workers, since workers are automated.