FIRE in an AI world

Stevyamda

One of the hosts of the Hard Fork podcast recently reported being told by a young tech at an AI conference that he stopped saving for retirement because savings won’t be needed in the future. LOL

We don’t know if the future envisioned by AI’s enthusiastic supporters or its “doomers” will be realized. But it is becoming clear the ranks of those who see AI as peaking now or having little effect on us long-term are dwindling.  A consensus is growing that we’re in AI’s infancy and capabilities are improving fast.

One potential future almost everyone wants is one in which AIs remain completely supportive of humans, humans remain in control, and the world becomes peaceful, safe, and affirming of life. Since human investors are in control today and for the near-term future, this seems plausible.

So—according to some—future-world may start off as a rocky transition period in which AIs become proficient over time at performing the work humans do today. Governments will need to manage the shift from a traditional, temporarily high unemployment problem to a society that simply doesn’t require many humans to work jobs that produce necessary goods and services. This will usher in the most profound paradigm shift for humanity in history. We will be transitioning from a competitive, dog-eat-dog, world of scarcity to one of abundance, in which all basic needs are met and humans are free to pursue other interests. In other words, people will never have to wring their hands over the 4% Rule again: Humans will be FIREd by AI and FIRE as we know it will be a thing of the past.

My big fear has been the need to cope with the Jan6 types who aren’t burdened with day jobs. Hopefully that can be handled! If so, we could have a world comprised of coasters, self-actualizers, and everything in between.

I suppose most of us will see the beginnings of all this and today’s teens may see a good part of the jobs transition. Perhaps babies born today-at least in the developed world—will never work a full career?

JasmineHart

My dream AI world is one where AI's mandate is to create and enforce a sustainable environment.

Jimboscope

What helped me think more clearly about the bigger picture and how to stay adaptable was reading stories and ideas on https://openeverything.us/. It’s a mix of people thinking creatively about work, money, and how tech like AI changes what’s possible. Some of the articles made me rethink old assumptions I didn’t even know I had.