BCRE8TVE t1_ivgy5sn wrote
Reply to comment by KeaboUltra in Humanoid robots could generate $154 billion in revenue over next 15 years, Goldman Sachs reports by Gari_305
I could see universal basic income becoming a thing, but there is one problem with that. It means money has to go to the governments to pay the universal basic income, and they'll have to take that money as taxes from corporations making billions using robots.
And why would companies allow that, when they could just siphon that money for the CEOs to become rich instead?
It would be a good thing if there was a UBI due to the use of humanoid robots, but that can only happen if humanoid robots and the profits they generate are seen as a public good, and that's just never going to happen if corporations have any say about it.
Something big is absolutely going to take place this century for sure, not just technology creeping into the workforce and AI becoming smarter, but also because of global climatic catastrophes we'll be facing for the next hundred years. We likely won't be able to keep global warming under 1.5°C.
YaAbsolyutnoNikto t1_ivkel31 wrote
Are you forgetting that rich people can’t get rich if there’s no one to buy their products?
What would you prefer: Making 1 Trillion in net profit but giving 900 Billion in taxes to the government.
Or
Making 0 in revenue but get to keep it all to yourself?
Innovation deals with one part of the equation (the cost one) and it also tends to increase demand. But in this case, demand would be 0 and they wouldn’t be able to sell. What does it matter if it costs a company 5 cents to build a car if there’s no people that can buy said car?
BCRE8TVE t1_ivkf5h4 wrote
>What would you prefer: Making 1 Trillion in net profit but giving 900 Billion in taxes to the government.
The problem is, companies will do everything they can to not pay taxes and keep all that profit to themselves.
I completely understand that companies can't get rich if there's no one to buy their products. But see, that's a problem for 10 years from now, and companies could get rich today, so they'll get the robots and worry about the other problems later.
>What does it matter if it costs a company 5 cents to build a car if there’s no people that can buy said car?
That's a problem for the next CEO to worry about after the current one has doubled the profits over 5 years and gotten a massive bonus when they finish their contract.
It's going to collectively drive humanity over a cliff, but businesses are in it to make money, not to prevent humanity from driving itself over a cliff.
YaAbsolyutnoNikto t1_ivkgl8j wrote
I whole-heartedly agree. It’s our job as citizens to change our governmental institutions to better suit the new age.
Will it happen? Probably not. We’ll probably go through chaos before a revolution happens and we start to live in some kind of utopia. Kind of sad, but that’s how humans work.
Except the french. The french are always protesting. Maybe they can save us 🤷♂️
BCRE8TVE t1_ivkiele wrote
Hahaha lol you know it's a dark day in history when we think "maybe the French can save us", and I say this as a guy with French grandparents ;)
But yeah I agree, some serious reforms are going to be needed, and they'll be needed about 20 years ago. There are rough times ahead for sure.
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