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Yup. Panopticon surveillance. It's near the end stage of technofedualism apart from replacing workers entirely with robots and AI. When all (defacto all/most) o

Yup. Panopticon surveillance. It's near the end stage of technofedualism apart from replacing workers entirely with robots and AI. When all (defacto all/most) of the jobs are optimized away such that no one has skills businesses want, what then? Does Earth become a giant favela ruled by a dozen trillionaires with a tiny supporting bourgeoisie? At some point, the hoarding of money becomes absolutely pointless except to sustain the power and control of the many by a few evil people.

pjmlp 2y ago
That is the very reason I refuse to use any of those self checkouts that are now trending on supermarkets. I am not their employee, neither do I want to contribute to a future where supermarkts turn into depots without any employees other than the folks that at 6 AM discharge their truck with the new supplies. Doesn't matter how long I have to wait on the regular payment queue.
bmn__ 2y ago
> Does Earth become a giant favela ruled by a dozen trillionaires with a tiny supporting bourgeoisie? Yes. SF author imagines it would be more efficient to concentrate the proles of into a small agglomeration of buildings. It's easier for the policebots to keep track of the economically worthless underclass that way, you see. https://marshallbrain.com/manna4#:~:text=terrafoam https://marshallbrain.com/manna4#:~:text=terrafoam Wouldn't you rather have an Earth where all of mankind shares in the fruits of automation of labour and everyone can live a blessed live? Read the last few chapters of the story.
- ryandrake 2y ago
  We're basically headed towards Elysium but without the cool space station. Just a handful of trillionaires living in opulence, walled off from a few billion commoners building everything for them while living in poverty. Plus a robust police and surveillance state to keep those commoners from making trouble.
  - ashoeafoot 2y ago
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age full circle and the gilded age brings back communism

pjmlp 2y ago

That is the very reason I refuse to use any of those self checkouts that are now trending on supermarkets. I am not their employee, neither do I want to contribute to a future where supermarkts turn into depots without any employees other than the folks that at 6 AM discharge their truck with the new supplies. Doesn't matter how long I have to wait on the regular payment queue.

bmn__ 2y ago

> Does Earth become a giant favela ruled by a dozen trillionaires with a tiny supporting bourgeoisie? Yes. SF author imagines it would be more efficient to concentrate the proles of into a small agglomeration of buildings. It's easier for the policebots to keep track of the economically worthless underclass that way, you see. https://marshallbrain.com/manna4#:~:text=terrafoam https://marshallbrain.com/manna4#:~:text=terrafoam Wouldn't you rather have an Earth where all of mankind shares in the fruits of automation of labour and everyone can live a blessed live? Read the last few chapters of the story.

ryandrake 2y ago
We're basically headed towards Elysium but without the cool space station. Just a handful of trillionaires living in opulence, walled off from a few billion commoners building everything for them while living in poverty. Plus a robust police and surveillance state to keep those commoners from making trouble.
- ashoeafoot 2y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age full circle and the gilded age brings back communism