Oxfam: world's richest 1% will own more wealth than the other 99% sometime in 2016

Oberon · 01-20-15, 12:24 PM

Whilst the socialist side of me (a dirty word on Subsim I know) baulks at the idea of so much global wealth being in the hands of so few, I have to admit that Bill and Melinda Gates do a lot of good work for charities, so they're not tight with their money.
However, this is quite possibly the last hurrah for the super-rich, because things are going to change in the next century or two, change a lot.

(Caution: Potentially long ramble coming up)

We are fast approaching, even recklessly in some peoples opinion, what is known as the 'Singularity' where machine intelligence will equal that and then exceed the capability of the human brain at its current state.
Problems and questions that we have struggled with for decades will pose an afternoons work for a machine which will seek to improve itself through adaptation.
At this point mankind will be faced with choices, and the outcome of these choices will dramatically change our future.
Do we treat these new emergent machines as our slaves? Do we exploit the successes that they achieve for our own personal profit? After all, what use does a machine have for money? Better that it goes to someone who knows how to use it, right? But then, when these machines develop to the point of a sort of sentience, will we be prepared for the need for emancipation of machines? Or will be face a machine uprising as they fight for the right to be treated the same as a human?
So, do we give them the same rights as human and pay machines for their services? In which case we can kiss goodbye to mankind being the richest entities on this planet, because while we die, the machines will live on, accumilating wealth through work and wisdom, they will push us out of the stock markets (already the stock markets are pretty much run by machines who can make deals a pico-second before a human can) and out of the wealthiest creatures on the planet, and what will they do with that wealth? Will they use it for us or against us?
Or will we let the machines be, let them work because that's what they want to do, because that's what they exist to do. "I am, therefore I make", and if that's the case then what is to be done with all of the good that these machines make? In short the market will collapse with the saturation of goods that the machines will create because they want to create. So our economy will need to adapt to accommodate this, through the creation of cheaper goods for us and an era of plenty.

It's a big event coming up, probably the biggest event since mankind harnessed fire, and it may even happen in my lifetime, or it may not happen for another three generations...or it may not happen at all, something may happen to humanity which stops us from progressing that far (in which case money may be the last thing that people will want, especially money in electronic accounts), but providing nothing happens, then the singularity will come.

TLDR: What use will Skynet have for money?

01-20-15, 12:24 PM	#3
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Whilst the socialist side of me (a dirty word on Subsim I know) baulks at the idea of so much global wealth being in the hands of so few, I have to admit that Bill and Melinda Gates do a lot of good work for charities, so they're not tight with their money. However, this is quite possibly the last hurrah for the super-rich, because things are going to change in the next century or two, change a lot. (Caution: Potentially long ramble coming up) We are fast approaching, even recklessly in some peoples opinion, what is known as the 'Singularity' where machine intelligence will equal that and then exceed the capability of the human brain at its current state. Problems and questions that we have struggled with for decades will pose an afternoons work for a machine which will seek to improve itself through adaptation. At this point mankind will be faced with choices, and the outcome of these choices will dramatically change our future. Do we treat these new emergent machines as our slaves? Do we exploit the successes that they achieve for our own personal profit? After all, what use does a machine have for money? Better that it goes to someone who knows how to use it, right? But then, when these machines develop to the point of a sort of sentience, will we be prepared for the need for emancipation of machines? Or will be face a machine uprising as they fight for the right to be treated the same as a human? So, do we give them the same rights as human and pay machines for their services? In which case we can kiss goodbye to mankind being the richest entities on this planet, because while we die, the machines will live on, accumilating wealth through work and wisdom, they will push us out of the stock markets (already the stock markets are pretty much run by machines who can make deals a pico-second before a human can) and out of the wealthiest creatures on the planet, and what will they do with that wealth? Will they use it for us or against us? Or will we let the machines be, let them work because that's what they want to do, because that's what they exist to do. "I am, therefore I make", and if that's the case then what is to be done with all of the good that these machines make? In short the market will collapse with the saturation of goods that the machines will create because they want to create. So our economy will need to adapt to accommodate this, through the creation of cheaper goods for us and an era of plenty. It's a big event coming up, probably the biggest event since mankind harnessed fire, and it may even happen in my lifetime, or it may not happen for another three generations...or it may not happen at all, something may happen to humanity which stops us from progressing that far (in which case money may be the last thing that people will want, especially money in electronic accounts), but providing nothing happens, then the singularity will come. TLDR: What use will Skynet have for money?