On the one hand, I feel really proud of how far we as a species have come in the past 200 years—we went from almost everyone being farmers to jobs like mine (Python programmer) existing. But I'm not trying to imply that farming is somehow inferior to programming, because it isn't! It just makes me happy that the percentage of humans who are free to pursue careers they actually want is so much higher nowadays than it was in antiquity.
But I can't help but hope for more. Right now, if you're privileged, hard working, and lucky, you can work a high-paying job doing something you enjoy for a few decades, then retire comfortably. This is already semi-decent, but it really only applies to a tiny fraction of the worldwide populus. I envision a future where it's no longer necessary to work at all to provide basic necessities for yourself and your family. I imagine a society where privilege and lucky don't determine how much agency you have, how much ability a person has to choose to do good things with their life.
Maybe I'm waxing overly prosaic, but this is why I'm working in AI. I firmly believe that AI is the field of study that can get us to this utopia. It may take a decade or a millenia, but I think it's possible — when we can decouple the act of living from the necessity of survival by building adaptible, benevolent machines, we also pave the way for a society where all is provided for everyone.
I know some people don't like this vision of the future. They worry about what will happen to humanity if everyone can just "freeload". They believe everyone will just sit around lazily 24/7 and be bums. I understand this viewpoint! And to some extent, I agree with it—there will be large parts of the population who embraces complacency and sedentary life. But the key to me is the ask the ever-relevant question "compared to what?". I would rather have a society of lazy freeloaders than a society where poor people die from starvation on a regular basis. I would rather a third of the population spend their lives in the metaverse than watch non-privileged people slowly work themselves into depression and misery to counteract the classism they've battled their whole life.
I'd rather everyone survive, and let them make their own choice whether they thrive or not, than accept our current status quo, where people must either thrive or suffer with slim in-between.
Anyways, sorry for the long, off-topic spiel, as well as for the disorganization of its presentation. As always I'm curious to hear others' opinions and am open to having my mind changed.