Edmund Storms <stor...@ix.netcom.com> wrote: A truly scary prospect, I would say. Humans now have three ways they could > make themselves extinct - atomic weapons, biological weapons, and smart > computers. >
I do not see it that way. Nuclear or biological weapons would cause only massive harm. Nothing good can come of using them. Whereas it is easy to imagine a society in which computers do nearly all the work, but we all prosper. I am confident that if we can devise wonderful robots, we can also devise an economy to fit them and benefit everyone. An economy is a human invention like any other -- like a building, a railroad or a computer. People sometimes say that an economy must follow the rules of economics so we have no choice about how we shape it. It has to be free market capitalistic. No other kind works. That is silly. A building must follow the laws of engineering. You cannot make it out materials so weak the walls will collapse. You cannot make a house out of straw or bubble gum; you have to use wood, stone, brick or steel. But within these restrictions we can make an infinite variety of different houses. Martin Ford described one possible economy based on robot labor. ( http://www.thelightsinthetunnel.com/) Other people will come up with better ideas. I am sure we can work something out, if we try. Mankind has fixed countless similar problems in the past. Life has improved tremendously for most people. History gives us every reason to be optimistic. - Jed
