3 ms·

If they also solve fusion, famine, climate disaster, cancer, dementia and child development disorders it isn’t as clear cut

by baq 4mo ago

msy 4mo ago
Do they? There's been a lot of hot air, quite literally, but aside from some math conjectures actual evidence of meaningful progress on anything that actually helps humanity seems rather thin on the ground.
- baq 4mo ago
  Velocity of capability growth is only surpassed by velocity of goalposts.
themafia 4mo ago
The word happiness, fulfillment or even freedom didn't come to mind? Well at least you're planning to have a very healthy population of enslaved serfs. I'm sure they'll appreciate all you've done for them.
hibikir 4mo ago
Once you start from destroying democracy, the chances that the results will quickly put keeping the owner in power ahead of anything good for humanity are high. Autocracies are, in practice, inefficient messes that put loyalty ahead of competency, so one cannot really get prosperity in exchange for no representation. The loss of representation will get us the loss of prosperity real quick. This also applies within companies. You can get temporary lucky with a CEO that isn't accountable to anyone, but then that brings sycophancy, leading to degraded decisions. It's how it always works. So it's very clear cut, because you are offering a trade that cannot actually happen in practice. The economic growth will turn into zero sum status games, like it always has.
- baq 4mo ago
  I'm just taking destruction of democracy for granted; the question is if we get anything in return.
- philipallstar 4mo ago
  > Once you start from destroying democracy This is too unrealistic a statement. Democracy in the US has had some destruction wrought on it since the media started believing that activism and opinion journalism were more important than facts, and that change is the goal of journalism. That's a massive blow to democracy - far greater than anything happening today. We are living in its results. > Autocracies are, in practice, inefficient messes that put loyalty ahead of competency, so one cannot really get prosperity in exchange for no representation. This is totally wrong - autocracies can be extremely efficient. Mussolini made the trains run on time. That is one of the few problems the autocracies don't have, unless their bureaucracy is genuinely so inefficient it can't carry out the autocrat's will. All government options and private companies can definitely reward loyalty over competence.
  - csh0 4mo ago
    The notion that Mussolini made the trains run on time is a myth, a bit of state propaganda.
    - philipallstar 4mo ago
      That is a fair point. Not the first time someone's corrected me on that and I need to stop using it.
JKCalhoun 4mo ago
"If." —Sparta
halestock 4mo ago
Well, call me when any of those things happen and I'll happily eat crow.

If they also solve fusion, famine, climate disaster, cancer, dementia and child development disorders it isn’t as clear cut

by baq 4mo ago

If they also solve fusion, famine, climate disaster, cancer, dementia and child development disorders it isn’t as clear cut

msy 4mo ago

Do they? There's been a lot of hot air, quite literally, but aside from some math conjectures actual evidence of meaningful progress on anything that actually helps humanity seems rather thin on the ground.

baq 4mo ago
Velocity of capability growth is only surpassed by velocity of goalposts.

themafia 4mo ago

The word happiness, fulfillment or even freedom didn't come to mind? Well at least you're planning to have a very healthy population of enslaved serfs. I'm sure they'll appreciate all you've done for them.

hibikir 4mo ago

Once you start from destroying democracy, the chances that the results will quickly put keeping the owner in power ahead of anything good for humanity are high. Autocracies are, in practice, inefficient messes that put loyalty ahead of competency, so one cannot really get prosperity in exchange for no representation. The loss of representation will get us the loss of prosperity real quick. This also applies within companies. You can get temporary lucky with a CEO that isn't accountable to anyone, but then that brings sycophancy, leading to degraded decisions. It's how it always works. So it's very clear cut, because you are offering a trade that cannot actually happen in practice. The economic growth will turn into zero sum status games, like it always has.

baq 4mo ago
I'm just taking destruction of democracy for granted; the question is if we get anything in return.
philipallstar 4mo ago
> Once you start from destroying democracy This is too unrealistic a statement. Democracy in the US has had some destruction wrought on it since the media started believing that activism and opinion journalism were more important than facts, and that change is the goal of journalism. That's a massive blow to democracy - far greater than anything happening today. We are living in its results. > Autocracies are, in practice, inefficient messes that put loyalty ahead of competency, so one cannot really get prosperity in exchange for no representation. This is totally wrong - autocracies can be extremely efficient. Mussolini made the trains run on time. That is one of the few problems the autocracies don't have, unless their bureaucracy is genuinely so inefficient it can't carry out the autocrat's will. All government options and private companies can definitely reward loyalty over competence.
- csh0 4mo ago
  The notion that Mussolini made the trains run on time is a myth, a bit of state propaganda.
  - philipallstar 4mo ago
    That is a fair point. Not the first time someone's corrected me on that and I need to stop using it.

JKCalhoun 4mo ago

"If." —Sparta

halestock 4mo ago

Well, call me when any of those things happen and I'll happily eat crow.