RE: The lady who drove a Mercedes to pick up food vouchers.
July 22, 2014 at 9:03 pm
(This post was last modified: July 22, 2014 at 9:11 pm by Heywood.)
(July 22, 2014 at 12:19 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote: This is a real possibility. I'd like to think it can be avoided, that a Star Trek future where people's common material needs are met for free and self-fulfillment is the rule, is possible. And maybe it is. Intelligent machines are electronics and electronics gets less expensive over time. When the common person has that kind of intelligence at their fingertips, they'll come up with things I can't imagine...maybe an economy based on creativity and social connection.
Unlike the Star Trek universe.....there will always be a need for money. I suspect Brands will become even more important to people. Your 3D printer will print either Costco jeans or Calvin Kliens....the Calvin's will cost you a more money as you will need to compensate the designer a little more if you want to be able to manufacture a pair in your home. The Costco jeans will be just as practical as the Kliens of course....but people will have simply decided the Klien's should cost more. Go on a cruise....well an outside cabin with a verandah is going to cost more than an inside cabin with simulated windows. Automation isn't going to change the laws of physics.....not every one can occupy the prime real estate.
(July 22, 2014 at 2:41 pm)Rhythm Wrote: At present, the human machine can work around 5 acres of mixed crops in varied conditions on a bowl of rice, an egg, some of the unmarketable veggies - and copious amounts of water...lol. So that's the efficiency benchmark that automation will have to at least meet before it's commercially viable.
A human needs quite a bit more than rice, eggs, and vegetables. A human needs rice, eggs, and vegetables for their spouse and children too. As well as a house and car and clothes.....and entertainment, medical care, toilet facilities....etc. There is much more that goes into sustaining a human being than you initially think.
All a robot needs energy and maintenance. A robot like ASIMO should be physically capable of doing most of the chores a human can do right now. The part of the puzzle that is missing is the intellect.....and those pieces are being filled in as we speak.
