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It's interesting how people stubbornly remain locked into the existing systems. Every time something about automating jobs comes up there's the inevitable "how

It's interesting how people stubbornly remain locked into the existing systems. Every time something about automating jobs comes up there's the inevitable "how will people afford X??", and then one of the responses is usually "UBI" or similar. It's like people are literally unable to see beyond some system based on getting money. And AI will ultimately push the status quo beyond that. Even though UBI might be helpful, it's just a stopgap in the face of 100% of human labour eventually having 0 economic value. But the very concept of money, on which income is based, is rooted in the idea that human labour has positive economic value.

rottingchris 5mo ago
So what would a new system based on this new reality look like? Most people sustain themselves using the money they get in exchange for their labor. Based on history and growing income inequality, no one seems to believe the next step is a Star Trek-like post-scarcity economy. The "how will people afford X??" is an existential question. If human labor has no value and UBI is not an option, then what is going to happen to the people?
- skeledrew 5mo ago
  > no one seems to believe the next step is a Star Trek-like post-scarcity economy Why wouldn't it be exactly like that (without the space travel, replicators and other extremely advanced tech)? There would no longer be income, so income equality can no longer be a thing. Any inequality caused by ownership of the means of production would disappear because there would be no value in "owning" (ie maintaining exclusive access to) anything beyond personal items. With everything automated, there would quite literally no longer be scarcity of anything that people need to survive and live a decent life.
- skeledrew 5mo ago
  Everyone necessarily will have access to robots that produce X, which means their "ownership" will have to disappear. Of course there will be a huge upheaval with the change to the system, but there isn't another outcome ultimately.

rottingchris 5mo ago

So what would a new system based on this new reality look like? Most people sustain themselves using the money they get in exchange for their labor. Based on history and growing income inequality, no one seems to believe the next step is a Star Trek-like post-scarcity economy. The "how will people afford X??" is an existential question. If human labor has no value and UBI is not an option, then what is going to happen to the people?

skeledrew 5mo ago
> no one seems to believe the next step is a Star Trek-like post-scarcity economy Why wouldn't it be exactly like that (without the space travel, replicators and other extremely advanced tech)? There would no longer be income, so income equality can no longer be a thing. Any inequality caused by ownership of the means of production would disappear because there would be no value in "owning" (ie maintaining exclusive access to) anything beyond personal items. With everything automated, there would quite literally no longer be scarcity of anything that people need to survive and live a decent life.
skeledrew 5mo ago
Everyone necessarily will have access to robots that produce X, which means their "ownership" will have to disappear. Of course there will be a huge upheaval with the change to the system, but there isn't another outcome ultimately.