[kranke155]

We’re constrained in what way? Are you saying we can’t produce enough food and shelter for virtually all of the human population?

The USSR provided food and shelter using maybe 20-30% of its economy to do so. What is there a scarcity of? iPhones?

Even middle income countries have more problems with obesity and diabetes than hunger. What is there a scarcity of exactly ?

[pxue]

Energy is the obvious problem.

Some 2B people live in constant hot humid weather, if we provide every single one of those people with north american level cooling facility, we'd probably have to increase the world's energy generation by at least 40%. That's no small feat.

[AlecSchueler]

Clean energy. We've got avocados year round but the world is choking to provide it. I think you're ignoring a lie of externalisef costs.

[kranke155]

But that’s the point isn’t it.

If ChatGPT designed robots tomorrow that we could build for 99$ that could automate most farming and most construction, we could have food and shelter built at something like a few percent of our economies.

On clean energy, same thing. Ask AI to work up a plan in 10 years. Ask AI to improve solar panel construction.

In 10-20-40 years what is there a scarcity of, exactly ?

I’m not promising avocados, but there’s certainly no shortage of food when obesity is this prevalent.

[AlecSchueler]

Was that the point?

You were postulating that we already lived in a post scarcity society.

Now the goalposts have moved to require another breakthrough in AI that will have them solving the energy crisis across a period of decades or more.

If you can ask it to design these things tomorrow then why don't you?

10 years from now could be well too late to begin with any of this. 40 years is hard to even imagine with the current rate of climate change.

[kranke155]

I described what I meant by post scarcity here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35351936

In order to be able to engage I’d have to ask you what do you mean by energy crisis?

The next 40 years, if they are of unimpeded climate change, sound shitty indeed.