"Eliezer S. Yudkowsky" wrote:
>
> There was a time when everyone on the planet was a farmer. Now, in
> America, it's one in fifty. In a sense, food has ceased to be a problem
> for the vast majority of the population; now it's TV sets. Maybe
> someday work itself will go the way of everyone being a farmer,
> amputations without anesthetic... The economy will just run itself.
But it will always be TV sets. Someday some guy is gonna hack together some device to make something easier or better, and other people are going to have to work to keep with that. I doubt highly that the complete abolishment of work is even possible, but the real question is do we really want to abolish work? Or even the requirement to work.
If a person didn't work then they aren't striving to their maximum capacity to better themselves. If they want to be mediocre that's fine by me. But while they are out there living and letting their automations do everything for them, I know I'll be out there working like crazy to build the faster computer, reach the next galaxy, and to push the limits of whatever mental capacity I will have at the time.
.. Steve Butts
.. sbutts@purdue.edu