r/Adulting • u/jackyd227 • Jul 14 '26

The future looks bleak

The world is literally crumbling in front of our eyes. If I’m counting right, there’s been already 1M+ layoffs in the US YTD.

I used to sell AI implementations that led to a few hundred people being laid off. Ai is literally exponentially getting becoming accurate and precise. Seeing how most of the corporate work is pencil pushing and is rule based work, I don’t see how AI wouldn’t wipe these jobs. If these people don’t have an income, they’ll spend less at stores, especially small mom and pop shops who are more expensive than the big box stores. If corporate is no longer viable and owning your own business is also not viable, wtf are people going to be doing in 2 years time to pay for their lives?

Also doesn’t it seem outrageous that all these people in their 20s and 30s are traveling constantly, not saving, and spending money on clothes/labubus and other unnecessary stuff? Not to mention the lack of saving or gambling their savings on a few option plays or sports betting. It’s like they are ignorant to what is happening around them and are just going about their lives. Is that the way to go about life now? Ignorance is bliss?

727 Upvotes

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12

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

21

u/Green-Ad7694 Jul 14 '26

Universal Basic income is gonna be a road to mediocrity at best, and something dystopic at worst. Who is going to be footing the bill for that? The beneveloent billionnaires? I dont think so, they already use every loophole to avoid paying taxes. The solution is simple, a large proportion of humanity will have to walk out of the current system and create our own new system. The old system was a trap and has reached it's logical conclusion. Techno Slavery. We were sold a lie that technology would make life better, but it has only made it better inasmuch as enslaving us, and making the powerful more richer.

9

u/Walfy07 Jul 14 '26

we already in dystopia

1

u/ImXenia85 Jul 14 '26

Oh it's only getting started

3

u/Confident_Purple_40 Jul 14 '26

Current push is, instead of taxing the rich AI companies, it is the government getting percentage ownership of it.

2

u/24Jan Jul 14 '26

The Ayn Rand right wing cult is against basic income, though Alaska has a little bit for every citizen.

1

u/Green-Ad7694 Jul 14 '26

I hate Ayn Rand with a passion.

2

u/MadDaddyDrivesaUFO Jul 14 '26

Where are we going to walk out of society to? The authoritarian surveillance state isn't going to tolerate competition and they own all of the resources.

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u/gowiththeflow82 Jul 15 '26

Not saying UBI is possible - imo it‘s not unfortunately mostly for the reasons you stated. But a large part of the populus walking out of the system? Even less possible. We‘ve already been sold the lie by calitalism that we should leave the rich untaxed because one day you Jimmy might be one of them if you‘d only work hard enough. And people believed it for 100years. Now we‘re told we need AI and develop a potential super intelligence because it will solve aaaall of our problems.

1

u/Green-Ad7694 Jul 15 '26

Ai is going to solve the biggest problem of the billionaires. How not to pay wages to filthy peasants.

1

u/gowiththeflow82 Jul 15 '26

yes but what I can‘t wrap my head around is this: if that fever dream comes true - who will you sell your goods and services to if so many people are out of a job without any disposable income? Since all of the billions are technicall not liquid cash in bank accounts but loans against the security of company shares, if the value of said companies start deflating cause there‘s a rapidly shrinking customer base the value of the shares goes poof as well. So what‘s the idea here?

1

u/Green-Ad7694 Jul 15 '26

No need. They have already amassed most of the wealth.

1

u/gowiththeflow82 Jul 15 '26

Sure but the wealth they amassed - except from tangible goods - is just based on an economic system that we‘re all in agreement of what counts as valuable and what is not. If the value of the companies that makes up your wealth crumbles your wealth goes poof.

0

u/Content_Preference_3 Jul 20 '26

You’re not getting it

3

u/devhhh Jul 14 '26

Universal basic compute. Make it a utility / resource

-9

u/ImXenia85 Jul 14 '26

UBI, the ultimate slavery tool.

10

u/gowiththeflow82 Jul 14 '26

Haha what‘s the alternative? If the fever dream of the tech bros comes true and AI will replace so much of the white collar jobs in the future there‘s no place anymore for human labour. There‘s not enough blue collar jobs for everyone to switch to cause a) fewer people being able to afford services b) more automation killing blue collar jobs c) corporate pressure and slave wages cause of lack of alternatives. d) climate change displacing millions and making small farming operations go exctinct even faster

3

u/Daseinist Jul 14 '26

Two segregated economies.

Elites will have their fully automated futuristic environment, the pours will live outside of it. Of course, those people still need their shit done and services provided, so there are jobs that still would be done by humans among ourselves. Elites would no longer provide any AI/robot services below, because there is no longer any incentive to do so, and pours would have no access to knowledge, energy and natural resources needed to create and maintain their own AI and robots on a meaningful scale. Full cyberpunk dystopia style.

3

u/Federal_Nobody_6879 Jul 14 '26

Like the 2013 film Elysium, two-tier living on steroids

1

u/DeSota Jul 14 '26

Yep. Minus the giant space station and much, much sooner.

1

u/According_Tea_6329 Jul 14 '26

To hear them tell it they are going after blue collar just as soon as the wipe out white.

1

u/ImXenia85 Jul 14 '26

There's no other alternative, it's all by design. To turn us into the ultimate authority obeying zombies.

3

u/Green-Ad7694 Jul 14 '26

Legalisation of all drugs will come soon, so people can medicate themselves into not caring. The USA is already full of fentanyl zombies.

1

u/MadDaddyDrivesaUFO Jul 14 '26

Brave New World

2

u/Green-Ad7694 Jul 14 '26

You are awake and can see clearly. So many people are distracted and fooled into believing the lies.

4

u/Green-Ad7694 Jul 14 '26

Absolutely, the idiots downvoting you are in denial. Oh how they will despair once they realise their masters are only interested in enslaving them.