Comment by L_226 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by L_226 | Hacker News Reader

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There's probably not much preventing a society similar to what you describe from arising. I've had some thoughts regarding this, in no particular order;

- Surplus non-elite human stock will be used for mass colonisation of solar system/extrasolar bodies where mortality is high (aside: and possibly beneficial, in terms of accelerated evolution due to reduced reproduction cycles).

- The elite/AI cabal at the top will subject the unknowing masses to physiological and psychological experimentation for their own ends. (this one is probably already happening :)

- A mass uprising of the disaffected non-elites will enforce some kind of Butlerian Jihad (it's just a union to keep the AIs out!).

- Elites will be benevolent overlords who take their stewardship of the species seriously, and we all live blissfully in massive space-elevator-anchored orbiting ring habitats with UBI and free soylent, while the mysteries of the universe are probed until the end of time.

"" - Elites will be benevolent overlords who take their stewardship of the species seriously, and we all live blissfully in massive space-elevator-anchored orbiting ring habitats with UBI and free soylent, while the mysteries of the universe are probed until the end of time. ""

Regarding the above, that has been the way of life in the past. Feudal lords took "care" of the folks under their dominion. I think the key is "Social/Economic Mobility". If the people who at the apex can perpetually be at top by using AI and stomping out any challengers then it would be a major problem.

That particular one was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, i.e. it's the least likely scenario in that if elites were to attain the status described in GP they would not care for responsible, 'fair' stewardship of non-elites as I had illustrated.

However in response to your comment, feudal systems still relied more or less on peasant-powered agriculture, taxes etc for the ruling class to exist. The theorised society in discussion here is one where a very small percentage of humanity can extract all resources required for existence via automated tools - without the need for 'peasant-class' manual or intellectual labour. In this society the vastly larger portion of our species is more or less irrelevant, and thus subject to the whims of the few (as opposed to now, where economies and industries still need peasant-class input to function).

Lifting bodies into space is the expensive part, unfortunately, so a mass approach won't work.

However, once the elites get too greedy, and the masses too marginalized, there will be riots and civil war, so the smart ones will go for the "grow the pie just enough" approach.

Civil war is still labor intensive. Automated Weapons stopped older armies in their tracks, Autonomous weapons can eventually do the same.

Until we have a space elevator there will be no mass exodus to space. Probably not even after we have one. Lifting stuff out of the gravivity well with rockets is just too expensive. It's much cheaper to breed on the target planet.

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