The combination of AI/robotics + finite and increasingly scarce natural resources (there’s only so much mining you can do without turning Earth hostile for organic life, and trade dependency is a lot more brittle than we thought in 2019) + anything other than an egalitarian and unified species with a tradition of sacrifice = potential for really bad stuff for the working class and quite a bit of the middle and upper middle class (possibly excepting native-passing citizens of certain northern countries with a strong welfare tradition). Brace yourself for a rogue’s gallery of crooks and extreme ideologies straight out of 1936.

This may be a hot take, but as long as they aren't overused and therefore don't interfere with walkable cities modern/electric vehicles have the potential to be really good for humanity. What else can act as not only transportation but shelter, backup battery, and increasingly even media center/AI companion?

> debates around things like the blue brain project

It would really suck if at the end of the day it turned out there were tasks that silicon and computers literally cannot do and that anything more complex than a slow-motion self-driving delivery bot requires organic brain cells.

Communazis, basically

And I don’t want to think about what happens if the UBI transition ends up rewarding certain prosperous and cohesive cultures over others. Strasserism is no fun.

Tbh the decline in birth rates/workforce size (and decline in carrying capacity for immigrants) will probably mask that for 20-30 years. I only hope that comprehensive Northern European-style welfare systems can be implemented in countries with little to no Northern European heritage or influence. Equality between peoples is the heart of the post-WWII world order and its relatively consistent improvements in living standards.

Falling birth rates + supply-side issues that make it harder for us to sustain the population we already have = no alternative.

Humans tend to overestimate their own competence and those of other humans, which therefore means that a given robot is likely to be held to a higher standard. There’s also a level of otherness with AI and robots that doesn’t exist with humans, so naturally robots will face higher standards/discrimination until humans see them as part of their in-group.

IMO robots and AI are going to be a change factor comparable to domesticated animals, as they don’t have the same levels of demands that humans have (pack animals only require nutrition and veterinary care and each horse can each replace several human laborers, and robots only require energy and maintenance/parts while humans in relatively developed countries require food, water, energy, housing, education, and entertainment).

Automation + scarcity = not a good look bro