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Climate change is a good counter example i think, because we mostly know the solutions (Gates book breaks it down) but lack the political and social organizatio

Climate change is a good counter example i think, because we mostly know the solutions (Gates book breaks it down) but lack the political and social organization to execute. But generally agree, i just think the current counter cultural movement towards progress on such fronts is a good example of how overcoming this is more important than technological solutions as such. Unless AGI has a technical solution for that too (it might!).

tim333 1y ago
To date on climate change there hasn't been much progress on the social front and the main hope is probably from tech like solar and batteries becoming cheap.
- cloverich 1y ago
  I would agree with that angle. I would also post two additional hopes. One would be real leadership on the Republican side. I don't think climate change as such as completely unpopular, I think everyone knows its real. And I think the right could be lead back towards real dialogue on the matter with the right leadership. E.g. from arguing about whether it's real / man mad, to instead e.g. which economic trade offs we want to make, by whom, and how; and IMHO the democrats at large could really benefit from such genuine discussion. The other hope is merely that the worst does not come to play as fast as possible, and instead the increasing changes slowly become harder and harder to ignore, and the younger population becomes ready to eschew their parents' biases. Not quite the same as strong leadership requirement because politicians tend to shift with demographics / voting behavior, and would likely simply accommodate.
votepaunchy 1y ago
> Gates book breaks it down The man with a carbon footprint of a small nation telling us what we need to do.
- cloverich 1y ago
  Precisely. Gate's book breaks down the high level categories, how much they contribute to climate change, and what technological and social solutions would be required to mitigate them, if we wanted net 0 by 2050. Everything we have and need in order to execute. ...but then your most important contribution to said subject, is to change the plot by pointing out irrelevant facts (e.g. his own carbon contributions, immeasurably minuscule by comparison), which exemplifies the more general cultural trend of avoiding discussing challenging topics by changing the subject (Climate change -> Gate's personal behavior). i.e. demonstrating OP's claim that social and cultural, not technical, issues are the primary thing holding society back.

tim333 1y ago

To date on climate change there hasn't been much progress on the social front and the main hope is probably from tech like solar and batteries becoming cheap.

cloverich 1y ago
I would agree with that angle. I would also post two additional hopes. One would be real leadership on the Republican side. I don't think climate change as such as completely unpopular, I think everyone knows its real. And I think the right could be lead back towards real dialogue on the matter with the right leadership. E.g. from arguing about whether it's real / man mad, to instead e.g. which economic trade offs we want to make, by whom, and how; and IMHO the democrats at large could really benefit from such genuine discussion. The other hope is merely that the worst does not come to play as fast as possible, and instead the increasing changes slowly become harder and harder to ignore, and the younger population becomes ready to eschew their parents' biases. Not quite the same as strong leadership requirement because politicians tend to shift with demographics / voting behavior, and would likely simply accommodate.

votepaunchy 1y ago

> Gates book breaks it down The man with a carbon footprint of a small nation telling us what we need to do.

cloverich 1y ago
Precisely. Gate's book breaks down the high level categories, how much they contribute to climate change, and what technological and social solutions would be required to mitigate them, if we wanted net 0 by 2050. Everything we have and need in order to execute. ...but then your most important contribution to said subject, is to change the plot by pointing out irrelevant facts (e.g. his own carbon contributions, immeasurably minuscule by comparison), which exemplifies the more general cultural trend of avoiding discussing challenging topics by changing the subject (Climate change -> Gate's personal behavior). i.e. demonstrating OP's claim that social and cultural, not technical, issues are the primary thing holding society back.