The Second Socialist Economy
I was particularly interested to read this article on the "second economy" -- that of computers talking to computers -- and how it's failing to create jobs for humans. It comes very close to touching on some Deep Thoughts I had a few weeks ago.
The Deep Thoughts originated from the cognitive dissonance I was feeling about the progression of automation. My geeky side said that computers and robots doing more of the tedious or strenuous tasks is a good thing. My realist side said that massive numbers of people being out of work because they'd been replaced by machines is a bad thing.
I realized that my instinct towards more automation comes from a childhood immersed in science fiction. And there the light bulb went off -- in those futures that I'd been shown, more automation led to everyone being equally better off. At the very extreme end, there was the Star Trek universe, where everything was plentiful and free and people only worked out of a desire to contribute.
But in the future we're living in now, that's not the case. Yes, prices for consumer goods are falling. But the income gap is still widening -- and doing so ever faster. Instead of the largesse of automation being distributed amongst those it displaces, it's being hoarded by those it enriches. Is this a temporary bump? Or are we headed for a dystopia?
(And I'm quite sure that wotw will have something to say about this. ;-)
The Deep Thoughts originated from the cognitive dissonance I was feeling about the progression of automation. My geeky side said that computers and robots doing more of the tedious or strenuous tasks is a good thing. My realist side said that massive numbers of people being out of work because they'd been replaced by machines is a bad thing.
I realized that my instinct towards more automation comes from a childhood immersed in science fiction. And there the light bulb went off -- in those futures that I'd been shown, more automation led to everyone being equally better off. At the very extreme end, there was the Star Trek universe, where everything was plentiful and free and people only worked out of a desire to contribute.
But in the future we're living in now, that's not the case. Yes, prices for consumer goods are falling. But the income gap is still widening -- and doing so ever faster. Instead of the largesse of automation being distributed amongst those it displaces, it's being hoarded by those it enriches. Is this a temporary bump? Or are we headed for a dystopia?
(And I'm quite sure that wotw will have something to say about this. ;-)