points by scottLobster 10 hours ago | 0 comments
Agree to a point, but I don't think it would be the majority. It would be a minority of people who subscribe to philosophies that provide meaning and motivation to life beyond hedonism and material gain. The rest will be happy, or at least resigned, to vegetate in endless endorphin loops.
It's already visible today, with people of all ages spouting all sorts of hedonistic nihilism to justify not making an effort to improve their condition. Some sort of technological singularly would simply be an amplifier of our current dysfunctions.
To some extent it would be the apocalypse. The motivated people would band together and live in physically secure communities, while the nihilists form what amount to a vast expanse of homeless encampments and wallow in their addictions, occasionally making poorly coordinated attacks on the gated communities to dry and drag the motivated people down to their level out of spite.
Picture drug addicts who win the lottery. It won't be pretty
[–] autoexec 1 hour ago
[–] someothherguyy 4 hours ago
in a utopian future, addictions like that would be cured and siloed. hopefully, those with motivation to understand the mechanisms of human suffering would be in charge of policy.
Hedonism and materialism demand active and social lifestyles. Chasing a different high, the next purchase, the newest model, the next sexual partner, the last in a set, the finest foods, the rarest most limited edition, etc. Part of the fun is showing off, comparing possessions or experiences with others, and learning about what else is still out there.
> The rest will be happy, or at least resigned, to vegetate in endless endorphin loops. It's already visible today, with people of all ages spouting all sorts of hedonistic nihilism to justify not making an effort to improve their condition.
That's a symptom of hopelessness and despair. In the event of a utopia where all our needs are met and we're all able to pursue our own interests to whatever extent we want people will have hope. Living a carefree life like children protected and spoiled by their parents the world will be full endless possibility with the only remaining constraint being that we have only a single lifetime to enjoy it all.
> Picture drug addicts who win the lottery. It won't be pretty
People who are drug addicts don't get clean the moment they win money. Money can make drug treatment more pleasant, but the hardest part is overcoming the learned helplessness and committing to get help. I'd guess that the odds a drug addict lottery winner getting clean aren't that much better or worse than the odds of a drug addict who doesn't win the lottery. People who became addicted looking to self-medicate due to mental illness or trauma don't suddenly have those problems cured when you give them money either. Some lottery winners end up going overboard and gaining addictions they didn't start with (although addictive personalities are more likely to gamble in the first place). Thankfully most people who win the lottery still end up happier and better off.
The truth is that there's no reason think that AI would bring about any kind of utopia for anybody, but if it happened, people will still love the things they love and want the things they want, and share and grow and experiment. No matter what happens, humans won't stop being humans.