Re: The joy of actual numbers, was Democracy

On Mon, 4 Nov 2024, rbowman wrote:

On Sun, 3 Nov 2024 21:52:34 +0100, D wrote:
>

Robots, automation, optimization and general technological development
will take care of it and us. I'm personally not worrie in the least. On
the other hand, I am an optimist. Many people do not like me for being
an optimist, but such is life.

>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_Piano_(novel)
>
I found that in my high school library shelved with Heinlein and other
writers. Vonnegut was nit well known in the early '60s. Perhaps the
librarian made the connection between Illium and Troy High.
>
It was thought provoking. The setting was a thinly veiled Tri-Cities which
made it all the more interesting. I was on a path which ultimately led to
RPI, which was more or less across the street, and a career as one of the
engineers who kept the robots and automation going.

Great book! Must have been over 2 decades since I last read it.

The problem hasn't gone away. What do you do with the millions, if not
billions, who are unneeded in the 21st century and don't even have the
skills and aptitude to survive?
>

Good question. These are some of the standard answers:
"In terms of society, I think there will always be a demand for things as
long as humans have desires. Having AI replacing all production I think
we'll see the following activities for humans:
* Sports
* Pleasure/Hospitality/Leisure industry
* Culture (human created culture, plays, concerts will get premium value
   much like we can today buy factory produced items at a fraction of the
   price of handmade items.)
* Science (we'll do science with the help of AI, if they do not reach
   god-like status.)
* Teaching/education (having a human teacher will become a value-add
   even though everything would be available online and through AI:s)
* Raising children/family time
* Philosophy
* Space exploration (Yes, we can send robots, but given a society rich
   enough I think the human will to explore and to "be there" will come
   into play.
* Religion/psychology/therapy
So no matter how powerful AI becomes I think the above are examples of
areas where humans will still play a role and add value just by being
humans.".
I think we also need some good progress in psychology around what motivates people, what gives them meaning, and happiness. We have made a lot of progress in that field, but the knowledge is mostly locked up behind the iron gates of universities and clinics, and not spread widely to the public through our schools.