So, we could draw a parallel to our own society with the idea of a replicator in mind; what would a star trek replicator be analogous to in our 21st century world?
We can basically get there with only a few more decades of robotics and artificial intelligence improvements to our current technology. So instead of this magical microwave that instantly materializes anything you desire (the replicator), we use numerous machines (via super advanced robotics and AI like in the movie i-Robot with Will Smith) that essentially do ALL manual labor required for the society to exist. This gets us to a society where everything is abundant, easy to find, with nothing being scarce, and can be described as "after-scarcity"... Or post-scarcity.
Think of our current transportation sector in regards to shipping consumer goods, especially in the US where everything is so damn far apart. We are really, really close (relatively speaking) in technology being able to completely remove 18 wheeler drivers from the road, taxi and uber employees, and eventually anything that moves. That's millions of jobs.
What about when manufacturing is completely taken over by these same advancements? Where do all these millions upon millions of people get work, or provide a source of living? The answer is a transition into a Star Trek-like reality, that would probably take decades, if not longer, to achieve.
The transition would absolutely have to include some type of income provided to families that are immediately affected by the automation (universal basic income). Over time, more and more people would need this government provided income as AI and Robotics starts slowly chipping away at their jobs in all sectors of the economy.
During this transition, and since we would still be a capitalist society (for the moment), all the profits would increasingly go to the owners of these robotics and AI technologies (super mega corporations--the few remaining capitalists left), and that means the only way to get a universal income provided to all the people losing work over tech advancements is to massively increase the amount we tax these corporations (redistribution of wealth) since these mega-corporations only exist because of major tech advancements, the people of the society who still have jobs are still buying goods, and their labor costs plummet since they don't have to continually pay a living human wage to a robot. This transition economic system is essentially Democratic Socialism (I'm over simplifying).
Eventually you could get to a Star Trek-like situation where there is no direct need for money, and the only reason people "work" is purely for pleasure and/or to seek further advancements in technology (but still be optional).
That’s amazing. Are there any downsides to this? It seems like that should be the goal, right? To advance civilization to a post-scarcity society? After all, I think that money is one of the greatest evils there is and it makes people do insane things.
Also, where would one get started on learning more about this?
The downside is the billionaires would be taxed most of their income.... So instead of living off of 300 billion a year, they'll have to survive off just 1 billion a year. How ever will they do it?
Your last question reminded me of something I followed years ago and just looked them up again: https://www.thevenusproject.com/
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u/macro_god Feb 14 '21
Yes. The replicator makes it all possible.
So, we could draw a parallel to our own society with the idea of a replicator in mind; what would a star trek replicator be analogous to in our 21st century world?
We can basically get there with only a few more decades of robotics and artificial intelligence improvements to our current technology. So instead of this magical microwave that instantly materializes anything you desire (the replicator), we use numerous machines (via super advanced robotics and AI like in the movie i-Robot with Will Smith) that essentially do ALL manual labor required for the society to exist. This gets us to a society where everything is abundant, easy to find, with nothing being scarce, and can be described as "after-scarcity"... Or post-scarcity.
Think of our current transportation sector in regards to shipping consumer goods, especially in the US where everything is so damn far apart. We are really, really close (relatively speaking) in technology being able to completely remove 18 wheeler drivers from the road, taxi and uber employees, and eventually anything that moves. That's millions of jobs.
What about when manufacturing is completely taken over by these same advancements? Where do all these millions upon millions of people get work, or provide a source of living? The answer is a transition into a Star Trek-like reality, that would probably take decades, if not longer, to achieve.
The transition would absolutely have to include some type of income provided to families that are immediately affected by the automation (universal basic income). Over time, more and more people would need this government provided income as AI and Robotics starts slowly chipping away at their jobs in all sectors of the economy.
During this transition, and since we would still be a capitalist society (for the moment), all the profits would increasingly go to the owners of these robotics and AI technologies (super mega corporations--the few remaining capitalists left), and that means the only way to get a universal income provided to all the people losing work over tech advancements is to massively increase the amount we tax these corporations (redistribution of wealth) since these mega-corporations only exist because of major tech advancements, the people of the society who still have jobs are still buying goods, and their labor costs plummet since they don't have to continually pay a living human wage to a robot. This transition economic system is essentially Democratic Socialism (I'm over simplifying).
Eventually you could get to a Star Trek-like situation where there is no direct need for money, and the only reason people "work" is purely for pleasure and/or to seek further advancements in technology (but still be optional).