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hankbaumbachjr t1_ivfqqsn wrote

If our economy was not so cart before the horse in being set up to funnel wealth to the ownership class, automation would be an amazing step for our species in freeing us from the human labor debt incurred in maintaining a modern society.

Due to our current work-to-eat model of labor, displacement of any of the labor force is bordering on a death sentence for the working class precisely because our efforts in automation are focused on increasing profit margins for those already incredibly wealthy.

Instead, we should be focusing automation on producing and distributing the basic (modern) necessities of running a human society.

Food, water, and electrical production and distribution should be the primary focus of automation, reducing the hours of human labor needed for each to the point that the notion of "paying someone" for electricity becomes moot.

Coupled with automation we will need to focus on de-centralization as well. Power plants will still exist, but we should augment their capabilities on a local level by encouraging all new structures have their own source of power generation via improving solar and wind technologies and tapping in to geothermal energies where avaialble.

Technology throughout human history has always meant increased leisure time for a given civilization until 300 years ago when the current economic system threw away cooperation in favor of competition and abandoned sustainability for increased profit margins next fiscal quarter.

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Hvarfa-Bragi t1_ivgknml wrote

Shortish read: Manna goes over two possible futures for automation/post scarcity.

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brettins t1_ivj3yl6 wrote

I love Manna!! It gives so much hope for that potential future.

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Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho t1_ivh2c1m wrote

What "we"? "We" aren't developing robots. Engineers are, they are very well paid, and they have no interest in or motive to help the working class. You talk about your animosity towards the elites, you don't think the feelings are mutual?

>Technology throughout human history has always meant increased leisure time for a given civilization

Thanks for the concern, the people making the robots get plenty of vacation days.

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Bramblebrew t1_ivjl8bw wrote

Admittedly I'm still just an engineering student, but I for one absolutely do have an interest in helping the working class. Which makes being most interested in automation engineering slightly uncomfortable, but I've at least got a solid aim at a nieche branch in agricultural resource management.

Hell even one of the most Musk worshipping rich kids in my current class is for the idea of giving everyone ownership of a robot or a few at birth so they can live off of the revenue generated by the robot once they can't find work due to automation. Which certainly sounds strange to me, as it seems like universal basic income with extra steps, but it's a form of caring.

Don't paint the people making the stuff as villains because the people paying us to make the stuff pay us more than they pay others. In fact, I'd argue that doing so is playing into the hands of the wealthiest part of society, because if we see the people working in the "middle" and those working on the factory floor etc as enemies rather than as a group of people being more or less screwed over by the giant ticks drinking all our blood, we'll be at each others throats instead of making joint demands for a liveable future for everyone.

That's nit saying there aren't amoral shits in engineering, of course there are, but we're not the ones in power, at least not usually. I haven't looked all that much into it myself, but from my understanding mr musk even treats the engineers working to bring his fantasy projects to life like absolute shit.

Edit: forgot to finish a sentence, now finished

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Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho t1_ivogsbg wrote

I'm past that point, and there is a huge difference between engineering class, and actually working in the industry. You picked a good career, and by all accounts, its only getting better with time. You'll find that VCs, investors and big companies aren't enemies. It's a symbiotic relationship where we all get paid very well.

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