sprpstn

Imagine the economic situation we would be in if the majority of jobs became obsolete in a few years' time. The whole civilization would crumble, possibly hundreds of millions would perish in starvation. How on earth would that be useful for mankind? I think these predictions are silly.

With a significant portion of mass consumption missing, wealth would start to erode. Stable inequality could grow up to a certain point, but not without adverse effects on investments. You can only sustain wealth without consumers in an absolutely totalitarian society, but even there it would lead to a catastrophic societal collapse sooner or later.

I think this is a dead angle for a lot of AI experts. That sudden bump in efficiency might ruin large parts of the markets businesseses are built upon.

Consumption is the bottom line of economy. It isnt possible to substitute consumer goods businesses with non-consumer businesses on a larger scale since the latter also rest on consumption. Hence, "who's going to buy in case a significant portion lose their jobs" is a very good question.