Let’s Hope Machines Take Our Jobs: We Want Wealth, Not Jobs
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3309980/posts
interesting article. And responses.
The article is too optimistic because it assumes technological benefits will go to infinity, which it won’t. That is God’s realm and we needn’t waste time thinking that it will. This is the problem with Ayn Rand in some cases. The once forgotten free energy machine, and to a lesser extent Reardon metal, are both examples of fantasy, not technology. Would it be possible to write those novels and paint those scenarios with incremental or even disruptive technology? What would the linked article look like if the technology mentioned only eliminated the need for drivers, and not magically provide for every human need? The actual impact on our lives and the economy of fantastical technology, like magic and alchemy, is zero. Technology is incremental and fraught with issues and problems.