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by vl 1286 days ago
We are literally at the brink of the multiple major industries being wiped out. What was only theoretical for the last 10-15 years started to happen right now.

In few short years most humans will not be able to find any employment because machine will be more efficient and cheaper. Society will transform beyond any previous transformations in history. Most likely it's going to be very rough. But we just argue that of course our specific jobs are going to stay.

We are like horses that argue that surely they will find something to do after seeing the tractor.

3 comments

> We are literally at the brink of the multiple major industries being wiped out.

> In few short years most humans will not be able to find any employment because machine will be more efficient and cheaper.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Citation needed.

> We are like horses that argue that surely they will find something to do after seeing the tractor.

This metaphor seems really off because horses aren't able to argue in the common sense of the word. Unlike horses, humans are adaptable.

The horses weren't arguing since they're content not having to transport humans around. This sort of prediction has been made multiple times before. I don't think you know the future anymore than anyone else. We'll see in a few years.
> Most likely it's going to be very rough.

I don't know why are you drawing such conclusion, in all democracies still people decide by voting, if most people will lose their jobs then what do you think they will do? Vote to be homeless? There will be something like basic pay and everything will be dirt cheap because no human labor will be needed, just scale machines that will work 24/7, a lot of people will still work but it will be a choice.

If recent history is anything to judge by, this basic income might come with a lot of attached strings.

Since they would not be required anymore to keep the economy running, the lower classes of society would lose most of the little bargaining power they still have. And frankly many countries are doing kinda well also with large parts of their population being poor. Propaganda is sufficient to convince us that they deserve that, or that they don't deserve the basic income for some other reason.

There is a lot of Science Fiction about AIs ruling over humanity, or exterminating it, but I think a future where a wealthy class controls AI and rules over everyone else is more realistic. In such futures, societies will probably always walk a thin line between utopia and dystopia.