Economic Agency is the ability to make independent economic decisions and participate in shaping economic policies. Here's why (and how) we ensure people maintain economic agency when AI destroys their jobs forever.
First part is a dystopia where human workers wear Google glasshole type headsets. The AI monitors them and can see what they see. Workers are basically puppets who do everything as told by the AI. When to do what task. How to do it. When to take a break. What to do on that break (eat, take a dump, etc.). When to come back.
If you didn't like it, you got the boot. Try to apply somewhere else that had that AI, forget about it. Bottom 10% performers got the boot every 3 months. Then every week, etc.
Basically a poor man's human robot task force ran by the AI. Very little capital investment needed and the AI learned by experience how almost all possible tasks should be done and that was fed into AI assisted design of robots that came later.
This ^^^ one can easily see mass adoption in five years and that is how long Brain depicted it happening on the book.
During all this time, robotic automation was being introduced as well, as stated.
The capitalists' solution on what to do with the permanently unemployed later on was also depicted...as well as a 'counter utopia' in response.
All very interesting. I wonder how market demand will play in this DPO world. Will the free hand of the market still play out? Meaning will consumer demand reward DPOs that provide an in-demand service and/or product and allow the under performing, out-of-demand DPOs to fail and have their resources absorbed by other DPOs? How will the ownership transfer? How will the owners of the "losing" DPO acquire funds to invest in a new DPO? Will existing DPOs even allow new investment, like a stock exchange? I actually think this could work perfectly. People will be incentivized to invest in DPOs that are "profitable" and the free hand of the market will measure the success and apply corrective action just like it does today. Basically, everyone will just have an investment portfolio. There will need to be some controls in place to prevent predatory practices, and maybe some caps, but overall this could work. Perhaps a simulation/game could be developed to prove out some of these ideas!
Disregarding the corruption possible when power is placed fully in the governments hands, I still don't think a UBI or even DPOs address the agency issue. Wouldn't those who are unemployed and subsisting off UBI simply be forced to use that money to buy back into the economic engine of Big Tech AGI owners-that is, those who own the means of production. Do people really have the agency to engage in life-affirming, purposeful, or entrepreneurial activity if there exists an entrenched, privately owned structure above them? Wouldn't that make them almost a permanent underclass, secondary to those rulers who manage the AGI and provide the means of their lifestyle? Even with universal investing and DPOs, since costs and therefore risks are so low, especially with the whole world depending on these entrenched corporations, the investors really wouldn't have any sway over the corporations, and there would be no incentive to sell any shares of the company in the first place. Wouldn't it really just be feudalism with more steps, with "investors" acting almost as peasants subsisting on their lord? Who would be the ones to do the work of managing the AGI and any leftover, high knowledge, or high skill jobs? Would they be inherited or chosen?
The usurpation of labor by capital is inherently paradoxical in a capitalist framework, which relies on the relationship between labor and capital in order to maintain the agency of the individual. That is, the more labor you do, the more capital you are awarded. This is fundamental to the system.
Currently, I see the only healthy road for society being something akin to communism, if not it exactly. It will not need violence as a catalyst. The gradual, peaceful revolution will be catalyzed by the fulfillment of capitalism by itself. That said, a convincing economic forecast that supports a functioning, fair, fluid capitalist economy Post-Labor could change my mind.
Your solution sounds identical to Vyrdism.
Btw, have you read "Manna" by Marshall Brain?
First part is a dystopia where human workers wear Google glasshole type headsets. The AI monitors them and can see what they see. Workers are basically puppets who do everything as told by the AI. When to do what task. How to do it. When to take a break. What to do on that break (eat, take a dump, etc.). When to come back.
If you didn't like it, you got the boot. Try to apply somewhere else that had that AI, forget about it. Bottom 10% performers got the boot every 3 months. Then every week, etc.
Basically a poor man's human robot task force ran by the AI. Very little capital investment needed and the AI learned by experience how almost all possible tasks should be done and that was fed into AI assisted design of robots that came later.
This ^^^ one can easily see mass adoption in five years and that is how long Brain depicted it happening on the book.
During all this time, robotic automation was being introduced as well, as stated.
The capitalists' solution on what to do with the permanently unemployed later on was also depicted...as well as a 'counter utopia' in response.
Only 80 pages long and I think it is free on Amazon: https://a.co/d/fLYFUKa
All very interesting. I wonder how market demand will play in this DPO world. Will the free hand of the market still play out? Meaning will consumer demand reward DPOs that provide an in-demand service and/or product and allow the under performing, out-of-demand DPOs to fail and have their resources absorbed by other DPOs? How will the ownership transfer? How will the owners of the "losing" DPO acquire funds to invest in a new DPO? Will existing DPOs even allow new investment, like a stock exchange? I actually think this could work perfectly. People will be incentivized to invest in DPOs that are "profitable" and the free hand of the market will measure the success and apply corrective action just like it does today. Basically, everyone will just have an investment portfolio. There will need to be some controls in place to prevent predatory practices, and maybe some caps, but overall this could work. Perhaps a simulation/game could be developed to prove out some of these ideas!
Hey what's the best way to get in touch with you? I'm a UX/UI designer. You spoke of potentially
making a Body First Living app in the Alien Zookeeper video. Happy to chat about that.
Disregarding the corruption possible when power is placed fully in the governments hands, I still don't think a UBI or even DPOs address the agency issue. Wouldn't those who are unemployed and subsisting off UBI simply be forced to use that money to buy back into the economic engine of Big Tech AGI owners-that is, those who own the means of production. Do people really have the agency to engage in life-affirming, purposeful, or entrepreneurial activity if there exists an entrenched, privately owned structure above them? Wouldn't that make them almost a permanent underclass, secondary to those rulers who manage the AGI and provide the means of their lifestyle? Even with universal investing and DPOs, since costs and therefore risks are so low, especially with the whole world depending on these entrenched corporations, the investors really wouldn't have any sway over the corporations, and there would be no incentive to sell any shares of the company in the first place. Wouldn't it really just be feudalism with more steps, with "investors" acting almost as peasants subsisting on their lord? Who would be the ones to do the work of managing the AGI and any leftover, high knowledge, or high skill jobs? Would they be inherited or chosen?
The usurpation of labor by capital is inherently paradoxical in a capitalist framework, which relies on the relationship between labor and capital in order to maintain the agency of the individual. That is, the more labor you do, the more capital you are awarded. This is fundamental to the system.
Currently, I see the only healthy road for society being something akin to communism, if not it exactly. It will not need violence as a catalyst. The gradual, peaceful revolution will be catalyzed by the fulfillment of capitalism by itself. That said, a convincing economic forecast that supports a functioning, fair, fluid capitalist economy Post-Labor could change my mind.