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Alarmists have been crying this out since at least the Luddites[1] and it hasn't come true yet It hasn't come true yet. That doesn't prove or disprove anything

Alarmists have been crying this out since at least the Luddites[1] and it hasn't come true yet It hasn't come true yet. That doesn't prove or disprove anything. Either they were far ahead of their time, or it will never happen. That's not sure yet, and that depends on what people do today.

mindcrime 15y ago
Either they were far ahead of their time, or it will never happen. That's not sure yet, and that depends on what people do today. The more I think about this, the more I'm thinking that the Luddites and other alarmists might have been right AND that things might not come to the worst imaginable "post human labor" dystopia. Like you said, "it depends on what people do today." And that's been true all along. I don't believe the future is set in stone... so the question is, what do we need to do now, that is both more and just and respects individual freedom, while also trying to guide us away from a future where most humans can't find gainful employment, and wind up living some sub-human lifestyle, disconnected from the rest of world. One thing that history has demonstrated, is that technological innovation tends to create new jobs to replace the jobs it destroys. This process is part of what Schumpeter[1], referred to as "Creative Destruction"[2]. One open question, then, is whether or not this process will continue indefinitely, or if there's a "top" where no new jobs are created to replace the old ones. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schumpeter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schumpeter [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_destruction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_destruction I don't claim to have the answer to this (I doubt anybody does, actually) but it's definitely an area worth spending some time and thought on. Being a technologist and entrepreneur, I find the idea that innovation and technological progress might ultimately prove to be a Bad Thing a bit discomforting.

mindcrime 15y ago

Either they were far ahead of their time, or it will never happen. That's not sure yet, and that depends on what people do today. The more I think about this, the more I'm thinking that the Luddites and other alarmists might have been right AND that things might not come to the worst imaginable "post human labor" dystopia. Like you said, "it depends on what people do today." And that's been true all along. I don't believe the future is set in stone... so the question is, what do we need to do now, that is both more and just and respects individual freedom, while also trying to guide us away from a future where most humans can't find gainful employment, and wind up living some sub-human lifestyle, disconnected from the rest of world. One thing that history has demonstrated, is that technological innovation tends to create new jobs to replace the jobs it destroys. This process is part of what Schumpeter[1], referred to as "Creative Destruction"[2]. One open question, then, is whether or not this process will continue indefinitely, or if there's a "top" where no new jobs are created to replace the old ones. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schumpeter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schumpeter [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_destruction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_destruction I don't claim to have the answer to this (I doubt anybody does, actually) but it's definitely an area worth spending some time and thought on. Being a technologist and entrepreneur, I find the idea that innovation and technological progress might ultimately prove to be a Bad Thing a bit discomforting.