What is to be done? (About the profit motive)
I've recently started reading posts and comments here on LessWrong and I've found it a great place to find accessible, productive, and often nuanced discussions of AI risks and their mitigation. One thing that's been on my mind is that seemingly everyone takes for granted that the world as it...
Sep 8, 20232
I don't think I agree that societal structures follow capabilities and not wants. I'll agree that certain advancements in capability (long term food storage, agriculture, gunpowder, steam engines, wireless communication, etc.) can have dramatic effects on society and how it can arrange itself, but all the changes are driven by people utilizing these new capabilities to further themselves and/or their community.
The idea of scarcity in the present is a great example of this. The world currently produces so much food that about a third of it is thrown away before even being sold, more than enough to feed all those who go hungry. There are orders of magnitude more empty houses in... (read more)