You write: > I explained my reasoning (that in such a world, AIs can...
· Comment — Archer T. Ships replied to his own comment. · View on Facebook · Markdown source
You write: > I explained my reasoning (that in such a world, AIs can be greatly increased in number, so anything you'd hire a human to do can be better done by spinning up an AI to do it) I was trying to point out that you can’t just assume we can spin up an infinite number of AI “genies” that satisfy any wish for zero cost. Spinning up AIs or building robots will always involve real costs, no matter how far into the future you project. And even if robots could be produced at zero cost, their presence would enrich us, not impoverish us. Think back to my desert island thought experiment. If you’re right, shouldn’t you destroy the HALs as soon as they wash ashore? After all, the HALs can do everything you can do, 10× faster and cheaper. Therefore, the more HALs that arrive, the more goods Sam could produce without you. Why should Sam hire you to build a fishing canoe, cultivate trees for lumber, or mine ore for metals when he could hire a more competent HAL for less money instead? By that logic, you’d want to nip things in the bud and destroy the HALs as they arrive so that demand for your labor stays high, right? But I hope you can see that destroying the HALs would be foolish. When it’s just you and Sam, the number of goods you can produce for each other is very limited. Yes, the demand for your labor might be high, but because your production capacity is so limited, you’re both still very poor. With only you and Sam, you’ll do a mediocre job at many tasks because you can’t afford to specialize and become excellent at one thing. As more HALs arrive, everyone can specialize more, and the quality, quantity, and affordability of goods all increase for everyone. I argue that there is no point at which it makes sense to destroy new HALs as they arrive, because both they and you can always be put to valuable work. If you disagree, when do you think it would start making sense to destroy the HALs on arrival? After the first? A hundred? A thousand?