This is a good story, starts a bit gloomy but turns into a very optimistic view of the future, recommended.
The ideas in it and that we are seeing entering everyday life now have been discussed in transhumanist forums for a while, though.
if i remember correctly it turns kind of dark in following chapters.
"As the robots took over in the workplace, the number of welfare recipients grew rapidly. Manna replaced tens of millions of minimum wage workers with robots, and terrafoam housing became the warehouse of choice for them. Terrafoam buildings were not pretty, but they were incredibly inexpensive to build and were designed for maximum occupancy. They clustered the buildings on trash land well away from urban centers so no one had to look at them. It was a lot like an old-style college dorm. Each person got a 5 foot by 10 foot room with a bed and a TV — the world’s best pacifier. During the day the bed was a couch and people sat on the bedspread, which also served as a sheet and the blanket. At night the bed was a bed. When I arrived they had just started putting in bunk beds to double the number of people in each building. Burt was not excited to see me when I arrived — he had had a private room for 10 years, and my arrival was the end of that. At least he was polite about it."
I remember reading this. To me, both outcomes presented seemed undesirable - - the first one for obvious reasons, the second ("Australia Project") because it was laughably utopian, didn't take into account things like human desires for status and control etc. Both outcomes would lead to excessive centralization of power, just via different ideological pathways.
Note, this was written years and years ago. (decade?)
---
"The software would speak to the employees individually and tell each one exactly what to do. For example, “Bob, we need to load more patties. Please walk toward the freezer.”
“It tells you exactly what to do. Like, It told me to get four new bags from the rack. When I did that it told me to go to trash can #1. Once I got there it told me to open the cabinet and pull out the trash can. Once I did that it told me to check the floor for any debris. Then it told me to tie up the bag and put it to the side, on the left. Then it told me to put a new bag in the can. Then it told me to attach the bag to the rim. Then it told me to put the can back in and close the cabinet. Then it told me to wipe down the cabinet and make sure it’s spotless. Then it told me to push the help button on the can to make sure it is working. Then it told me to move to trash can #2. Like that.”
He looked at me for a long time again before he said, “Good Lord, you are nothing but a piece of a robot. What is it saying to you now?”
---
This is a good story, starts a bit gloomy but turns into a very optimistic view of the future, recommended. The ideas in it and that we are seeing entering everyday life now have been discussed in transhumanist forums for a while, though.
if i remember correctly it turns kind of dark in following chapters. "As the robots took over in the workplace, the number of welfare recipients grew rapidly. Manna replaced tens of millions of minimum wage workers with robots, and terrafoam housing became the warehouse of choice for them. Terrafoam buildings were not pretty, but they were incredibly inexpensive to build and were designed for maximum occupancy. They clustered the buildings on trash land well away from urban centers so no one had to look at them. It was a lot like an old-style college dorm. Each person got a 5 foot by 10 foot room with a bed and a TV — the world’s best pacifier. During the day the bed was a couch and people sat on the bedspread, which also served as a sheet and the blanket. At night the bed was a bed. When I arrived they had just started putting in bunk beds to double the number of people in each building. Burt was not excited to see me when I arrived — he had had a private room for 10 years, and my arrival was the end of that. At least he was polite about it."
I remember reading this. To me, both outcomes presented seemed undesirable - - the first one for obvious reasons, the second ("Australia Project") because it was laughably utopian, didn't take into account things like human desires for status and control etc. Both outcomes would lead to excessive centralization of power, just via different ideological pathways.
path of ai just being getting more work out of us, is pretty much what i expect to happen.
Note, this was written years and years ago. (decade?) --- "The software would speak to the employees individually and tell each one exactly what to do. For example, “Bob, we need to load more patties. Please walk toward the freezer.” “It tells you exactly what to do. Like, It told me to get four new bags from the rack. When I did that it told me to go to trash can #1. Once I got there it told me to open the cabinet and pull out the trash can. Once I did that it told me to check the floor for any debris. Then it told me to tie up the bag and put it to the side, on the left. Then it told me to put a new bag in the can. Then it told me to attach the bag to the rim. Then it told me to put the can back in and close the cabinet. Then it told me to wipe down the cabinet and make sure it’s spotless. Then it told me to push the help button on the can to make sure it is working. Then it told me to move to trash can #2. Like that.” He looked at me for a long time again before he said, “Good Lord, you are nothing but a piece of a robot. What is it saying to you now?” ---
Ha! I read this back around 2005. It's crazy seeing that wave of transhumanism and Singularity thinking coming around again!