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Somewhere in the mind's eye of science fiction is a world where we have near-unlimited productivity and knowledge and we're all free to pursue our self-actualiz
by Nition 3y ago
Somewhere in the mind's eye of science fiction is a world where we have near-unlimited productivity and knowledge and we're all free to pursue our self-actualized lives as we see fit.
But as productivity increases, and as AI improves, in both cases individual greed holds back lifting up the many. And so we end up asking for caution on automating away someone's job, or caution on rapid AI progress.
Does anyone know any good writing on how humanity might fight its way through all these mires of progress to the other side - that science fiction world that may or may not even be possible? How the world might look as these things continue to progress over time? Either fiction or a serious analysis is fine.
Most sci-fi skips straight to "There is no more need for University, we simply ask the AI", missing the "students are using AI to cheat" phase entirely.
- hliyan 3y agoThe world of Star Trek is one where humanity learns from the devastation of world war three and over a century, creates a society where almost everything is run by computers, money doesn't exist, and people work primarily for their personal satisfaction. But I think true AGI is frowned upon there.
- smitty1e 3y ago"Humanity learns" is impossible. The unit of analysis is the individual. Some state may cross between individuals via education, but the individuals still must learn. History shows that knowledge transmission remains a sticky wicket.
- chongli 3y agoFirm disagree! Example: take a tour of the tower of London and learn about all the nasty medieval tortures we used to inflict on people. Now we don't do that anymore. Humans learn things collectively via culture and cultural transmission has been an extremely effective tool of knowledge preservation over the generations.
- ClumsyPilot 3y agoArguably culture has been degrading somewhat lately
- dmix 3y agoThis has been the popular narrative in almost all common written history forever. It’s basically the biggest recurring theme in diaries from the Middle Ages, especially among religious text. Things are never an upward hockey stick but they also aren’t saw waves skirting a baseline.
- AndrewKemendo 3y agoI’ve seen worse in person unfortunately
- pixl97 3y agoI mean ya in some places in the world they still do torture people like that. Based on some of the shit my neighbors post online there is but a thin veneer on society that keeps them from doing it now.
- nradov 3y agoWho is "we"? Torturing people to death in equally horrific ways is still routine practice among radical Islamists and Mexican drug cartels, among others.
- mptest 3y agohumanity learns just mean sufficient individuals learn to take power and enact such a society
- smitty1e 3y agoYes, but my point us that repeating "humanity learns" can lead us down garden paths into thinking there is some species-level recollection, when history reveals a mixed bag at best.
- mptest 3y agoCompletely agree transmission of knowledge is a sticky wicket. Good reminder to stay logistically grounded. I have found many of the ambitious thinkers close to me tend to aspire to a "humanity learns" moment but if they're anywhere near politics they tend to be tempered fairly well by the logistical realities of bringing ideas to pass
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