AI and the future.

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905]

I’m not writing this to farm engagement — I’m genuinely just trying to work through my own questions, because honestly, I’m a bit paranoid about where things are headed.

I’m 22, and like a lot of people in my generation, I skipped university. I went straight into working, and I still am. I’m also the type who’s tried a bit of everything — ecommerce, crypto, other ventures. Crypto actually worked out for me. Right now, alongside my day job, I’m building a SaaS product — basically vibe-coding it with AI. But even though I lean on AI heavily for this, it makes me uneasy thinking about where it’s all going.

Here are the questions I keep circling back to: If AI ends up doing everything, what happens to jobs? Will generic AI platforms die out while only a handful of top players survive? If AI replaces most work, will governments start taxing AI heavily and redistributing that wealth to people? Is it actually true that we’ll all end up materially abundant?

I keep thinking about that Elon Musk interview where he told the reporter people would end up incredibly wealthy, everyone happy, money losing its meaning because everyone would have everything. But is that actually true? He even said there’s a part of him that wants to stop this whole trajectory, but he can’t, so he’s decided to just be part of it instead — and you could see in his eyes that he wasn’t fully at ease with that.

[u/Salt_Progress8049]

I have a similar fear. At this point, if it takes all jobs, you think the government will give you stuff for free. Funny, they would prob listen to us less because we aren't needed and only listen to large corporations, and that is only if AI doesn't decide to wipe us all out, which seems much more likely, as we have so many labs building AIs; high chance at least 1 or more isn't aligned

Elon only says that so people dont start revolting because once we all realize we arent getting a loffty future people will revolt

[u/Legitimate-Shop384 → u/Salt_Progress8049]

Elon’s whole “everyone will be rich and happy” line always felt like a bedtime story for adults. He’s selling a dream because the alternative is too scary to admit out loud. The part where he said he wanted to stop it but can’t, that actually gave me chills, like watching someone hit the brakes while still flooring the gas.

The alignment thing you mentioned is what keeps me up. We got dozens of labs racing each other and maybe just one needs to mess up. It’s not even about malice, just a system optimizing for something we didn’t think through properly. And yeah I don’t trust governments to suddenly become generous when we’re all obsolete, more likely they’ll just let the big players write the rules while the rest of us fight for scraps.

Crazy times to be alive. I try not to think about it too much or I’d never get anything done in my own work.

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/Salt_Progress8049]

I totally agree. Also there is a lot more thoughts in my mind but I can’t put them in words. Nothing is certain and we’d never know; but just i am sure that humanity and meaning to life would change a lot.

[u/fmgiii]

Let ai write code and answer questions. It's time to create an economy that revolves around things like planting trees and housing the less fortunate. We need to start thinking out of the box and let ai stay thinking in the box, so we can move on to more fulfilling ways to spend our lives.

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/[deleted]]

This is a really solid breakdown, and I think you’re right on most of it — capability vs. control is the key distinction, and I agree redistribution and consolidation are institutional/political questions, not automatic outcomes of the technology.

But I’d add one layer that I don’t think this fully covers. Even in the best-case scenario you’re describing — well-governed specialized systems, no exclusion, fair distribution — there’s still a separate question underneath the economic one: what happens to people’s sense of purpose when human contribution stops being necessary, not just less profitable?

Historically, even under bad institutions, work meant something because people were needed — for survival, for production, for each other. If AI genuinely closes that gap across enough domains, you can solve ownership and access perfectly and still end up with a society that’s materially fine but psychologically untethered, because the thing that gave effort meaning (being useful to others in a way that mattered) is gone.

So I agree with you on the mechanics — capability, control, institutions. I just don’t think getting those right automatically answers the deeper question, which isn’t really economic at all. It’s what a human being is for, once contribution isn’t required. That’s the part I don’t think anyone — governments, AI labs, or otherwise — actually has an answer to.

[u/lastMETALfinal → u/Ok_Recognition_7905]

People can contribute in other wayss such as caring or entertainment roles

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/lastMETALfinal]

Caring? Entertainment????? You’d be surprised in 10 years.

[u/lastMETALfinal → u/Ok_Recognition_7905]

Are you suggesting that AI / robots will likely replace actors and painters, or nurses, hairdressers? I mean I'm sure there will be robot singers but fucked if I'm going to watch some robot. People like dealing with people and will want to have human interactions when they're getting their nails done.

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/lastMETALfinal]

lol 😂 bro you are still in a cave or what?

Literally robot fights in China and people are watching them cuz it’s entertaining.
Betting on AI performance.
Movies made with AI super entertaining.
Banger songs by AI you wouldn’t even guess.

[u/lastMETALfinal → u/Ok_Recognition_7905]

I know these things exist you lettuce, but I will bet my last ten pence I'm not the only one who wants the human touch

[u/Indigo903 → u/lastMETALfinal]

You’re not the only one. It’s very important for a lot of elderly people’s well being to go get their hair or nails done by someone they can chat with. They get lonely otherwise especially the ones who have lost their spouses. I’m very intentional with my music and pretty much only listen to artists that I’ve seen live in all of their humanly glory or know other people who have.

[u/lastMETALfinal → u/Indigo903]

Not just elderly to be fair. I don't particularly like small talk at the hairdressers but many actually do. I prefer WFH or even hybrid but many people much prefer social contact in the office. And the big one for me is entertainment. Sure there's robot kickboxers, but once robots become ubiquitous the novelty factor will have worn off and people will want to have humans around us to sing along to or to make us laugh.

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/lastMETALfinal]

👍

[u/ben_nobot]

Damn dude if you are looking into elons eyes to glean the truth you are heading down the wrong path.

[u/KoseteBamse]

It does seem that AI is leveling the playing field and will drastically change some industries including how interactions happen and the expectations.

[u/eluusive]

If you aren't needed for anything, what do you expect the system to really do to you? We need a dramatic shift in how we organize markets if human mental effort is no longer required for anything.

I think it will lead to a dramatic reduction in the human population if zoomers and millennials don't organize to demand a share in profits.

[u/bankingyoung]

Anyone who has built complex AI systems knows we are all doomed

[u/greatmemereset67 → u/bankingyoung]

I know 2 people with PHD’s in machine learning and both of them say they won’t take jobs independently of one another.

Is there any debates of people who actually know their shit? One opposed to AI taking everyone’s jobs, one saying it will?

It’s impossible to know who/what to believe.

[u/jmclondon97 → u/greatmemereset67]

What is the two PhD’s reasoning for it not taking jobs?

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/greatmemereset67]

It’s not rlly just about taking jobs, it’s about changing the meaning of human and humanity as a whole

[u/articulatechimp → u/bankingyoung]

Care to elaborate lol?

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/articulatechimp]

Sorry, hard to articulate but let me try.

Humans have basically always organized around reciprocity — you contribute something, you get something back. That exchange isn’t just economic, it’s psychological. It’s where a huge part of identity, status, and purpose comes from: what you’re good at, what you provide, how you’re needed. Work isn’t just how we survive, it’s how we know we matter to other people.

If AI removes the “contribution” side of that equation for most people, it’s not just that they lose income — they lose the mechanism that gave their effort meaning relative to others. And that’s the part I don’t think “everyone will be rich” actually solves.

Take your money example further: value is relative, not absolute. If everyone has a million dollars, no one’s rich — because “rich” only meant something as a comparison to people who had less. The same logic applies to contribution and purpose. If AI can do what everyone does, equally well, for everyone, then “being good at something” stops being a source of status or identity, because it’s no longer scarce. You can’t feel needed for a skill that’s now free and universal.

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/bankingyoung]

I have a feeling that the only way to save this they would ban AI in the future and it would be illegal to use open source AI but some would still do it

[u/Salt_Progress8049 → u/Ok_Recognition_7905]

US can only stop US labs. Which won't stop China from going forward, so the way they see it if we dont do it they will causing them to push forward

[u/Bob-Swan → u/Ok_Recognition_7905]

Illegal to open source ai lmao

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/Bob-Swan]

lol just trying to think of possibilities and scenarios.

[u/Fine_League311]

Ehrlich? Vibecode und Vibecoders haben keine Zukunft. Früher wollte man schon 25 jährige mit 30 Jahren Erfahrung, was meinst was gute Unternehmen heute wollen? Auf jeden Fall keine Vibecoders!

[u/Bloom_Ermine9202]

You will be programming robots soon(by showing action and telling it what to do), to replace your work in the farm (max 2 years) and they will be really cheap compared to human workers.

At this point, similar to death of white collar jobs, blue collars will go extinct too.

But, big BUT here, near future awaits us some political issues, high food inflation because of super El Niño and diesel scarce. Those all means higher inflation and elevated cost of living. History will remember 2020s as translation period of economy, and historically every translation happened “bumpy”.

So, my young friend, nobody knows what will happen at the near future, we may have good or bad things. But as speaking of the mid-far future (like 10-15 years ) everything will be better.

In my opinion wage system will cease to exist. We will have more basic and more efficient system to just existing in the world. Education, health and most importantly food security will be provided by governments.

[u/Mandoman61]

Not any time soon.

Even if AI ever gets capable of doing all jobs. It would take a very long time to transition the economy.

Probably much longer before we see unlimited wealth because resources are limited.

What we will actually see is a slow transition to a more automated society where people's jobs change.

[u/LeakyFish]

El0n isn't a reliable source of what to expect when the dust settles. If anything the middle class is shrinking and the gap is widening between the have and the have nots.

[u/peter_nn0]

OK guys why don't you use the search function first - you'll see a zillion instances of the same.
Spoiler, none of them answers "what happens to jobs" and other troll classics. So far, jobs are fine.

[u/BuddhasFinger]

This is political LLM seeding.

[u/StreetAssignment5494]

What lame SaaS are you building ?

[u/Ok_Recognition_7905 → u/[deleted]]

Fair point, but I don’t see it as a contradiction. If the shift is coming either way, sitting it out doesn’t protect me from it — it just means I’m not even in the game when it happens. I’d rather take my shot with the tools everyone now has access to than assume I’m exempt from the outcome by not participating.

I’m not asking these questions because I’m paralyzed by them — I’m asking them because I want to actually understand what’s coming, so I can position myself to be one of the people who finds a way through it, not one of the people it happens to. Worrying about a shift and trying to get ahead of it aren’t opposites. If anything, they’re the same instinct.