Mercury was once used to treat intestinal obstruction, and at first, no problems were noticed either
Problems arise later - not suddenly, but gradually, building up until they reach a critical point of no return. The total automation of human jobs will irreversibly lead to global unemployment. Or suggest an alternative - where will the millions and hundreds of millions of people go who will be replaced by humanoid or other robots, which will be much more profitable and less problematic for manufacturers?
P.S. Don’t confuse the automation of assembly lines in Japan with the total replacement of humans by robots in most sectors where people used to work.
It's true that automation of human jobs will lead to global unemployment. But that doesn't mean the economy will collapse. In fact, many experts are predicting that the future will be one where you will do absolutely nothing while AI and robots take care of everything. They will handle everything from production, to capital allocation, etc. The economy will be flowing as usual. Only that instead of being driven by humans, it will be driven by machines. Governments will simply collect taxes from companies (those in-charge of the AI and robotics infrastructure) directly. Meanwhile, people will get paid some money (Universal Basic Income) while doing nothing.
China knows that robots are the future. So it's deploying them at a large scale to take over the world. The country is advancing at a very fast pace. Perhaps it will reach as far as surpassing the US someday? Only time will tell...
I’m familiar with this theory. It vaguely resembles the utopian idea of communism.
I’ll ask a couple of very simple questions:
- In this model, who will manage the distribution of resources, and who will decide who consumes what and how much?
- How will a society function when there is no employment, an abundance of free time, and no consumption issues?
Communism is a speculative utopia. Even the simplest reasoning shows this. For example, let’s reason according to Marx: as a result of complete robotization under the control of AI, the rate of profit fell to 0 (Marx’s tendency for the rate of profit to fall), which made capital accumulation impossible, and capitalism ended.
At the same time, the cost of production fell almost to zero, which made almost everything free or very cheap (according to Marx’s labor theory of value). Human labor is hardly used anywhere in the economy, even in the service sector. But this didn’t make people eat or consume less. And then the question arises: why feed them and ensure their consumption? This is inefficient in terms of energy expenditure.
And here Marxism offers a fantastic solution to the problem - through the education of a new type of person who consciously consumes the minimum necessary. Well, it’s clear that this is fantasy and contradicts evolution and human nature. Therefore, most likely, minimized robotic production will provide for only a small number of people, and all the rest will die out. The AI will decide who to feed and who not to. He will also determine each person’s level of consumption through a social rating. Everything will be managed by a narrow circle of people who control AI and robots.
The problem with all such concepts comes down to the idea of "raising an ideologically correct population".
I was born in the USSR, so I understand this problem perfectly. Back in college, during my political economy classes where we discussed the idea of communism, I asked a simple question: Imagine you walk into a car dealership wanting to buy a car, and there’s a Trabant, a VAZ, a Volvo, and a Mercedes to choose from. The question is - which one would you choose?
And that’s when things got really interesting
The professor would start dodging the question and say that "a conscientious communist would choose, say, a VAZ, because a Mercedes and a Volvo are an extravagance! Because a true supporter of communism shouldn’t strive for luxury… Blah blah blah"… In a word, it’s simply manipulation of the masses, nothing more, to justify the low standard of living and force people to work under near-slave conditions for the sake of the unattainable dream of communism.
A little humor: there was a joke back in the days of the USSR:
A barrel of beer was delivered to the square. The vendor had just opened the barrel and was about to start selling when a guy walked up to him and asked:
- Listen, how much does the whole barrel cost?
The vendor does the math:
- Well, let’s see: there are 200 liters here, at so-and-so per mug… That comes to so-and-so rubles.
The man hands over the money:
-Here’s your money. Go take a walk, relax.
The vendor takes the money and leaves. The man turns the sign around: "Beer-free!"
Immediately, a huge crowd gathers; everyone pours themselves mugs, and a stampede begins - screaming, cursing, and then a fight breaks out over the best spots in line. The police arrive and take the man to the station.
At the station, the chief starts yelling at him:
What have you done?! Riots, a fight in the street!" What was the point of all this?!
The man sighs, spreads his arms guiltily, and says:
- Chief, you have to understand… I’m not a young man anymore. I definitely won’t live to see communism. But I really wanted to see what it would be like under communism…
