The rich and powerful have hijacked progress throughout history, says Daron Acemoğlu. They did so back in the Middle Ages and also now in the age of artificial intelligence. In an interview, the MIT economist dives into the question of whether Silicon Valley is plunging humanity into destitution.
    • saucyloggins@lemmy.worldEnglish
      381·
      10 months ago

      Trump is almost 1:1 a character straight from Transmetropolitan.

      Then you have people like Elon that are straight from any cyberpunk media corporate heads.

      The parallels between the themes of a cyberpunk dystopia and the present are drawing pretty close.

      We just don’t get any of the cool shit like cybernetic implants.

    • Kodemystic@lemmy.kodemystic.devEnglish
      37·
      10 months ago

      I agree, but sometimes I think, imagine you were in the middleages and your village just gets raided by a Ghengis Khan battalion or a Viking tribe or something, your wife and daughter get raped and killed in front of you, your frinds killed, you get chosen for blood eagle for later on in the day. Wtv middleages scenario, or any other ancient lawless period of time you choose, these events were not that much unlikely to happen. What word do we use for that? Not dystopian but what? Were things ever better than what they are now? Maybe democracy was an interesting experience, convenient for times when the beer flows easy out of the barril, and everyone’s happy. Now, the tide is changing, ressources are scarce, environment is changing, we’re now 8 billion and counting. Maybe dystopian times were always inevitable. I will resist it sure, but, thinking rationally, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of hope honestly. Unless Aliens show up to straighten us up or something wild like that.

  • Peanut@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    15·
    10 months ago

    Humanity is already plunging into dystopia without AI. Changing A.I. Doesn’t matter as much as changing our economic system, and flaunting of wealth and power to ensure it only gets worse. A.I. Just makes it more immediate and obvious.

  • rivermonster@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    61·
    10 months ago

    Getting rid of capitalism is the first step to a better future. AI advances and productivity are completely and utterly incompatible with capitalism.

    UBI and near 100% tax on all AI productivity gains are critical to avoiding the worst of the worst dystopian hellscapes.

  • photonic_sorcerer@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    4·
    10 months ago

    I’m really worried about what will happen when a paradigm-changing technology is in the hands of a precious few. The last few times went alright. But will this time be different?

    • markr@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      10 months ago

      The last time was social media, and that hasn’t has benefited anyone except the shithead billionaires who got rich off of it. Social media is an astounding disaster.

  • Chickenstalker@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    10 months ago

    The Fediverse is the first pebble rolling down the hill of corporate internet. 3D printers, AI generated media, right to repair, modular phones and laptops, all are the beginning of the end of mega tech companies in the consumer sphere. Our grandchildren will look at us the same way we look at medieval societies.