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Dumb Dumb Dumb. If allowed the economy will shift to compensate, in ways that people can't predict. More automation means more efficient wealth generation, fo
by bnolsen 12y ago
Dumb Dumb Dumb. If allowed the economy will shift to compensate, in ways that people can't predict. More automation means more efficient wealth generation, food production, etc. This allows more people to do something other than worry about scrounging around for food to keep themselves alive, or spend more time doing basic things to keep their lives going. It should allow for more people pursuing what interests them, especially if allowed and the government doesn't tell people what should interest them.
- Houshalter 12y agoWe already can produce plenty of food, robots won't significantly affect that. But good luck affording it when you don't have any skills a machine doesn't.
- IndianAstronaut 12y agoEarly in the 20th century we had to institute lots of schooling reforms to keep up with the job destroying capacity of the tractor. The tractor has replaced over 70% of the workforce. We will need to do the same for the early 21st century.
- Houshalter 12y agoNo we won't. Early "automation" was incredibly limited to just mechanical work. AI can in principle do anything a human can do.
- dragontamer 12y agoThe article basically is a very long-winded way of saying "Post-scarcity economics". Economics, as we know it today is about the efficient distribution of scarce resources. Resources of the future will not be scarce, but probably should still be distributed. When resources fail to be scarce, our standard interpretation of economics begin to fail. The article touches upon some thoughts through thought-experiments. Post-scarcity economics has never happened before, but the truth is we are quite possibly marching towards it. So its probably best to start thinking about how life will be different, and what kind of social issues will come up.