The Robot Revolution (2 Viewers)

[Jon]

I am so supportive of the robotic revolution. I just understand that it is going to replace every worker in the word. Everything you just said is proof of that. Thank you for winning my argument for me.

Elon Musk predicts that work will be optional in about 10 or 15 years time. Make of that what you will.

One of the big questions is whether or not we will see a large deflation of prices, as AI and robotics slash expenses, such as cost of production, admin, customer service and so on.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Elon Musk predicts that work will be optional in about 10 or 15 years time. Make of that what you will.

One of the big questions is whether or not we will see a large deflation of prices, as AI and robotics slash expenses, such as cost of production, adminm customer service and so on.

The R & D costs will be built-in for generations.

 

[MarkK]

I'm predicting a rebirth. the next Renaissance.

And this is somehow new? What is all of history except constant rebirth?

 

[MarkK]

Elon Musk predicts that work will be optional in about 10 or 15 years time.

Bill Gates predicts no one will need more than 640K.

 

[Thales750]

And this is somehow new? What is all of history except constant rebirth?

There are rebirths, and there are rebirths. Why do we have a name for the Renaissance?
Excluding the arrival of divine entities, This is the single biggest event in human history, and not by a little.
I read I Robot (and every other Isaac Asimov novel i could get my hands on growing up) in 1974. I knew then what most people are just now starting to see in the fog of their limited vision. The singularity is here, look around there's no denying it.
For the last 30 years so many of you have treated me like I'm an idiot. I don't mind though, it's finally here, the end of capitalist subjugation of the working class.

Now they may all die off, or be killed, but they will no longer be slaves. My robots will be doing the work

 

[Thales750]

Elon Musk predicts that work will be optional in about 10 or 15 years time. Make of that what you will.

One of the big questions is whether or not we will see a large deflation of prices, as AI and robotics slash expenses, such as cost of production, admin, customer service and so on.

And Asimov as well.

Of course it (deflation) will, but if the only people with all the wealth are paying subsistence pay, That is the only solution; other than the early demise and controlled rebirth of the entire human race.
Breed out, or genetically modify, the undesirables.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

For the last 30 years so many of you have treated me like I'm an idiot.

Well, despite you being a "voice that cries in the wilderness", at least we didn't treat you like Herod treated John the Baptist. That must be worth something.

And as far as the "Thriller laugh" - don't you DARE abuse that most wonderfully malevolent laugh of Vincent Price.

 

[Isaac]

The jacquard loom took the human out of weaving textiles, and did the job better, faster, cheaper. Same thing.

AI will have costs and payoffs just like fire. Harnessing fire made our lives way better, but fire is also a significant hazard. Same as AI.

But some things are a net loss, i.e. we really were better off without them. Social media, for instance

 

[Isaac]

Elon Musk predicts that work will be optional in about 10 or 15 years time. Make of that what you will.

One of the big questions is whether or not we will see a large deflation of prices, as AI and robotics slash expenses, such as cost of production, admin, customer service and so on.

I'm banking on that - I think most people will be out of a job, but then again, the prices of things will cost less. Going to the doctor might involve stepping into a robotics pod for $5, for instance

 

[MarkK]

But some things are a net loss, i.e. we really were better off without them. Social media, for instance

We really would be better off if there were unicorns and leprechauns.

I think it's hard to calculate the costs and payoffs of social media. One interesting and not well advertised side-effect of social media is that people forming relationships now, and having children, almost 90% of the time met their partner online. So whereas in the past you were 95% likely to meet and marry within your own immediate cultural milieu ("us"), you are now 95% likely to meet and marry into a group completely divergent from your immediate cultural milieu ("them").

And if you think of a society as a network of connections between "us" and "them," those connections now are far broader, for more inclusive, and far more tolerant as a direct result of social media.

Conversely, in some discrete contexts we express our frustrations more easily, but also more meaninglessly. I, for instance, yell curse words at people very commonly when I am driving. I am much more restrained pushing a shopping cart at the supermarket. The bubble of a car is safe place from which I can rage and yell at f*&ing idiots, but it has no staying power, no lasting effect.

I am selling this idea: That quietly, under the surface, social media is totally remapping and revolutionizing a deep connectedness between individuals, families, and social groups around the world. The tip of the iceberg, the little piece of it we can actually see, is a discrete context--a car-like bubble of safety--where people can express their frustration more easily, but also more meaninglessly.

So I advise against judging the impact of social media based solely on the rage it allows us to express.

 

[Isaac]

So I advise against judging the impact of social media based solely on the rage it allows us to express.

I think the worse effect is the self-comparison to others that has almost destroyed a generation of young people, especially girls - but you made some good points too

 

[AccessBlaster]

The robotics revolution was inevitable. Western civilization has been so successful that the need to reproduce has become less urgent. We are at a fork in the road, continue importing third-world values and poverty, or embrace robotics because someone, or something, has to do the grunt work. If Western civilization continues to stand still, it will be assimilated. In the end, it’s a numbers game.

 

[MarkK]

the self-comparison to others that has almost destroyed a generation of young people

My dad's generation was destroyed by war. He could hear the British bombers at night staging over Amsterdam. He could hear the occupying army, who for effect attached steel plates to their boots, marching the cobblestone streets.
• It is a measure of the relative peace, stability, and luxury of our times that we might see the current generation as having been destroyed.

 

[MarkK]

If Western civilization continues to stand still, it will be assimilated. In the end, it’s a numbers game.

No, if a group is cohesive, coherent, and pursues noble ideals, it cannot be assimilated. Consider the example of the history of the Jewish people. A group can only be assimilated as a result of its own internal moral decay.
If you fear assimilation, renew your commitment to the ideals of freedom, liberty, rule of law, kindness, patience, and good-will. These are lasting virtues, and if "we" sacrifice these--our only real strengths--in fear of "them", our assimilation will be mercifully just.

 

[AccessBlaster]

If you fear assimilation, renew your commitment to the ideals of freedom, liberty, rule of law, kindness, patience, and good-will. These are lasting virtues, and if "we" sacrifice these--our only real strengths--in fear of "them", our assimilation will be mercifully just.

I don't fear assimilation, I made a general statement about how Western civilizations grapple with automation.