If we look at the history of human progress, when did the great leaps happen?
- A rupture occurred in the Ancient Greek world, and science was born.
- With the Age of Exploration, science accelerated once again.
In the first case, as wars in Ancient Greece became stagnant, a certain segment of society found itself with nothing to do, which pushed them purely into thinking. This gave birth to philosophy, and from there, to science.
In the second case, the abundance brought about by geographic discoveries led people to think beyond basic needs once again, which in turn drove a leap forward in science, ultimately progressing to the point of extending human lifespan.
There are likely many other examples like these.
When people can’t find something to occupy themselves with, it pushes them toward something else. And from that, innovation emerges. Innovations, in turn, can become one of the forces that drive human civilization forward.
Looking at it from this perspective… AI taking away most jobs from us might actually be a good thing for humanity at the level of civilization.
It might be difficult, even bad, on an individual level, but at the scale of civilization, it might be a facilitator, and therefore good.
