The Fall of Capitalism (Future of AI #1)

Slavery is bad.

Almost anyone would agree with that. Yet, a meager two hundred years ago, people may not have perceived it as such.

It brings into question: what do we find acceptable today that in two hundred years we will look at with disdain?

My guess: capitalism.

The way society is currently structured, money is a basic need. Generally, to get money, we need a job.

85% of people are unhappy with their jobs:

Most people just work for the money. And if money was a fair way to distribute workload in society, that would be fine. But it is not. There is a lot of unfairness around money.

The main problem with money is that it serves the people in power.

In capitalism, people are usually paid the minimum amount the employer can get away with. Which is, usually, a totally unfair amount compared to the value of the delivered work. Most people work to fill other people’s pockets.

Another issue with capitalism is that anti-social behavior is often rewarded. Point a gun at someone on the street and mug their wallet? $200 for you. Scam an old lady out of her retirement fund? $5,000 for you. Outsmart the market through High-Frequency Trading? $100,000 for you. Well done. I hope you’re happy.

Note that I’m not against capitalism.

Capitalism is necessary.

But AI is here to change that.

With the current trends of AI, it will likely become better at most human cognitive tasks within five years. Give it another ten years, and it will have fully penetrated the physical domain, coming for all jobs that require manual labor too.

Getting rid of jobs is a good thing.

But only if we get rid of capitalism as well.

I envision a world where people have more autonomy over choosing what they want to do, rather than what the world needs. I don’t know what should replace capitalism. Probably there will be a hybrid of capitalism and socialism for a while.

The transition period will be painful. Lots of protests will be held. But, as per my prediction, at some point capitalism will not work well anymore for a rapidly changing society.

And what happens afterward is beyond anyone’s imagination.