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I wouldn't be so quick to make that call. It's definitely a serious possibility, but at the end of the day I think it's hard to imagine exactly how people would

I wouldn't be so quick to make that call. It's definitely a serious possibility, but at the end of the day I think it's hard to imagine exactly how people would fill their time and adapt. I think there are a lot of opportunities for challenges / goals outside of the typical profit-based economy. I actually think that the disadvantages of having few goals would become immediately obvious to almost everybody, and a whole new type of skill / creative / athletic based "economy" might emerge. But with lower stress and lower stakes

vouaobrasil 3y ago
So instead we should just roll the dice, wait to see what happens, and then what? With every new technology, it is hard to go back once it's out there. Maybe the professors and computer scientists will find new things to do but the vast majority of people certainly won't.
- nightski 3y ago
  You could always live an Amish lifestyle. I'll stick with the tech.
- idle_zealot 3y ago
  > So instead we should just roll the dice, wait to see what happens, and then what? As opposed to what? Trust your hunch and halt technological progress. Wrap it up folks, we're all done with R&D now. Your concern about purpose strikes me as odd. When people derive purpose from their work, it's often because they feel they're playing a role in a community. To deprive people of purpose would require that we make communities fully automated and impersonal. I don't think anyone wants or is proposing that. Absent a requirement to spend one's time earning money, some people would probably degenerate into sloths, but plenty of people are otherwise motivated by self-expression, socialization, competition, etc. People would still interact and do things because people like interacting and doing things.
  - vouaobrasil 3y ago
    > Your concern about purpose strikes me as odd. When people derive purpose from their work, it's often because they feel they're playing a role in a community. To deprive people of purpose would require that we make communities fully automated and impersonal. I don't think anyone wants or is proposing that. It is really not about wanting or proposing anything. It is about the effect of technology and what it will mean. Don't you think that communities are already becoming a bit more impersonal and automated? With ChatAI replacing customer service, self-checkout aisles, online dating, etc... It seems to me that communities are indeed becoming more and more impersonal, especially if you compare them to communities thousands of years ago.
    - idle_zealot 3y ago
      > With ChatAI replacing customer service, self-checkout aisles, online dating, etc... Definitely these interactions have become less personal, but aside from online dating, which is its own can of worms, the interactions are all transactional. I actually much prefer to interface with a predictable machine when purchasing things or making an RMA request or whatever. I don't want to stop to chit chat or worry about maintaining a relationship with the village cobbler's son to ensure he'll do his best fixing up my field boots. The ongoing disentanglement of socialization and daily necessities is liberating. It allows one to associate with others by choice. I'm not a huge fan of the tools we have for this sort of voluntary community building at present, but I see no reason why they couldn't be improved, especially if people were able to spend their time and skill doing so free of profit motives.

vouaobrasil 3y ago

So instead we should just roll the dice, wait to see what happens, and then what? With every new technology, it is hard to go back once it's out there. Maybe the professors and computer scientists will find new things to do but the vast majority of people certainly won't.

nightski 3y ago
You could always live an Amish lifestyle. I'll stick with the tech.
idle_zealot 3y ago
> So instead we should just roll the dice, wait to see what happens, and then what? As opposed to what? Trust your hunch and halt technological progress. Wrap it up folks, we're all done with R&D now. Your concern about purpose strikes me as odd. When people derive purpose from their work, it's often because they feel they're playing a role in a community. To deprive people of purpose would require that we make communities fully automated and impersonal. I don't think anyone wants or is proposing that. Absent a requirement to spend one's time earning money, some people would probably degenerate into sloths, but plenty of people are otherwise motivated by self-expression, socialization, competition, etc. People would still interact and do things because people like interacting and doing things.
- vouaobrasil 3y ago
  > Your concern about purpose strikes me as odd. When people derive purpose from their work, it's often because they feel they're playing a role in a community. To deprive people of purpose would require that we make communities fully automated and impersonal. I don't think anyone wants or is proposing that. It is really not about wanting or proposing anything. It is about the effect of technology and what it will mean. Don't you think that communities are already becoming a bit more impersonal and automated? With ChatAI replacing customer service, self-checkout aisles, online dating, etc... It seems to me that communities are indeed becoming more and more impersonal, especially if you compare them to communities thousands of years ago.
  - idle_zealot 3y ago
    > With ChatAI replacing customer service, self-checkout aisles, online dating, etc... Definitely these interactions have become less personal, but aside from online dating, which is its own can of worms, the interactions are all transactional. I actually much prefer to interface with a predictable machine when purchasing things or making an RMA request or whatever. I don't want to stop to chit chat or worry about maintaining a relationship with the village cobbler's son to ensure he'll do his best fixing up my field boots. The ongoing disentanglement of socialization and daily necessities is liberating. It allows one to associate with others by choice. I'm not a huge fan of the tools we have for this sort of voluntary community building at present, but I see no reason why they couldn't be improved, especially if people were able to spend their time and skill doing so free of profit motives.