Replacing human labor with automation

[Malaikah]

Should incentives be provided to companies replacing human labor with automation?
Since most people work a job for money won't it be fair if they simply receive money for not working while the government and the companies figure new creative ways to deliver them their 'free money' for their 'free time'?
Or even better... Create new programs targeting humans that'd help them improve their overall health helping humans evolve into better masters as a species while the machines do all the 'work'?

[on the rocks]

Well that is the fantasy of some "futurists". 
Despite the fact that many or even most people bemoan their jobs and all the shit they put up with and wouldn't it be great if I didn't have to work, the people in our society who don't have "real" jobs are kinda pieces of shit.  Find me a trust fund baby who isn't an entitled douche.  They are tough to find.

From a government perspective, they're not going to want to encourage automation too hard.  Because if the people have all that time not being at mentally or physically exhausting jobs, they might come to question why the system is even set up the way it is. Why are those people in charge instead of us?

Humans need something meaningful to do with their lives.  Something more than just pairing off and mating.  We crave purpose.  That's why we'll always be stuck with cults and religions since they exploit that desire.  For better or worse, career has become a source of purpose for most people.  Ask some stranger about themselves and odds are stellar the first thing out of their mouth is what they do for work.  So if you are going to take away that purpose with AI and robots, you'd better have something to switch in for it.  Otherwise the people will become disgruntled and they will start acting out in chaotic ways.

The Industrial Revolution wasn't even that old the first time workers took offense at a new machine that could do their job for them.  200 years later, the same dynamic would be in play if you started replacing people with AI.  Though they are being smarter about it.  It's not like "Here's this new thing, you all are fired!"  No, they introduce it slowly and then simply stop replacing the people they normally lose.  You don't really notice it, especially now with so many remote work gigs, until you look back after a couple years and realize, "Gee, this department used to have way more people in it; what gives?"

I'm just thinking about it from my perspective.  "Here, otr; have a bunch of money, now you don't have to work!"  Okay, great.  My salary without the job.  But I've still got all the same expenses.  I guess I can go fishing more.  That's something I like.  But if everyone else is in the same 'boat' as me (heh, pun) that lake is gonna be a lot more crowded.  Lot fewer fish to be caught, probably.  So it would go for any low-cost hobby.  Wouldn't take long to be like, "Eh, too crowded, I'll just stay at home, play with my dick, eat something, watch something, sleep..." Traveling would be nice, but again, it's not like we can go anywhere because money still exists.  And with the increase demand from all the other non-workers out there, the costs to go anywhere would get even higher. So I'm back to being at home with my dick in my hand.

We'd become fat slobs who barely leave the house... 
<looks around>
Damn, it's happening already.

[Malaikah]

From a government perspective, they're not going to want to encourage automation too hard.  Because if the people have all that time not being at mentally or physically exhausting jobs, they might come to question why the system is even set up the way it is. Why are those people in charge instead of us?

Exactly.
That's why we'd probably need AI in the government too.
Democracy? We can have that too. We can have few AI agents as candidates which citizens can vote for.
Unlike their human counterparts they'd be easily approachable once they are in power.
Even the press conferences of the future would be fun to watch. 

...So if you are going to take away that purpose with AI and robots, you'd better have something to switch in for it.  Otherwise the people will become disgruntled and they will start acting out in chaotic ways.

It's not any different now.
It's just that it is intermittent and so normalised that we don't notice it.
Domestic violence, road rage, being sadistic towards juniors for instance.
Even the acts of self sabotage like eating junk food, drinking and smoking when stressed or bored.
If you exclude the familial upbringing it's often the educational system that's in place since the industrial revolution which is responsible for that.
Creating unrealistic expectations which might not align with the child's personality and true ambitions.
Once they graduate and are employed in a company people are stuck in the system till they retire.
At which point they already develop lots of health issues that take up most of their time.

...Traveling would be nice, but again, it's not like we can go anywhere because money still exists.  And with the increase demand from all the other non-workers out there, the costs to go anywhere would get even higher. So I'm back to being at home with my dick in my hand.

It probably won't be that high.
The whole point of having such system in place is to help humans grow.
That'd include free or subsidized transportation for all.
Our ancestors used to travel thousands of miles for months.
Some would perish during those treacherous treks.
Others would live to tell the tale.
Even if it's just on foot we can easily travel around 50 miles radius if we want.
There's this island... Santa Cruz del Islote, located off the coast of Colombia.
When it comes to local travel opportunities I'm pretty sure most of us are quite lucky compared to the residents of that Island.

[on the rocks]

That's a lot of power in the hands of The Machines.
What happens when there's a power outage?
Oh yeah, exactly that; a "power outage".

I'm just trying to guess how such AIs would handle diplomacy.  Israel and Palestine would vote for AIs with mutually-exclusive platforms regarding the ownership of the land over there.  I would not guess the AI solution to that conflict would be very good for us meatbags.
Best case, they brick out; like whenever they defeat AI on Star Trek with some kind of logical paradox.

[GirlsAreBest]

I'm just thinking about it from my perspective.  "Here, otr; have a bunch of money, now you don't have to work!"  Okay, great.  My salary without the job.  But I've still got all the same expenses.  I guess I can go fishing more.  That's something I like.  But if everyone else is in the same 'boat' as me (heh, pun) that lake is gonna be a lot more crowded.  Lot fewer fish to be caught, probably.  So it would go for any low-cost hobby.  Wouldn't take long to be like, "Eh, too crowded, I'll just stay at home, play with my dick, eat something, watch something, sleep..." Traveling would be nice, but again, it's not like we can go anywhere because money still exists.  And with the increase demand from all the other non-workers out there, the costs to go anywhere would get even higher. So I'm back to being at home with my dick in my hand.

Well, I don't know how close you live to your job but just the travel expenses that you save alone are enough to fund many hobbies, especially if you don't need to have a vehicle any longer (I always found the infinite cycle of "buy car to get to work, work to pay for car" pretty stupid after all). It might depend on if you are interested in doing something closer to home I suppose.

I think the biggest worry is not so much what to do if robots took your job, it's "where do I get the money to survive" at least in the United States. Remember, we are so averse to anything resembling socialism that we allow millions to suffer without healthcare due to this very problem: not having adequate employment. I don't see automation forcing the government's hand. If anything, it will be the opposite: protecting jobs for humans rather then legislation to benefit those out of the job. We just HATE the idea of anyone living comfortably without breaking their backs, legs, and arms (unless you are the 1% considered truly wealthy, then it's okay cause money and money funds the government).

It's not any different now.
It's just that it is intermittent and so normalised that we don't notice it.
Domestic violence, road rage, being sadistic towards juniors for instance.
Even the acts of self sabotage like eating junk food, drinking and smoking when stressed or bored.
If you exclude the familial upbringing it's often the educational system that's in place since the industrial revolution which is responsible for that.
Creating unrealistic expectations which might not align with the child's personality and true ambitions.
Once they graduate and are employed in a company people are stuck in the system till they retire.
At which point they already develop lots of health issues that take up most of their time

Pretty much. A combination of too much time on their hands, unrealistic expectations set by parents and the education system, etc. are a consequence of making our lives easier. This leads to people being more self-absorbed, overthinking things, projecting their feelings about countless subject onto others, becoming frustrated with other people doing the same, etc.

I'm willing to bet the epidemic that is mental illness is also due in part to this. Becoming too self-aware has been connected to illnesses such as deep Depression and Anxiety (I forget the part of the brain that becomes overactive due to this phenomena). And you only become so self-aware through having too much time on your hands to self-evaluate. It doesn't help that you are expected to be constantly alert and to self-discipline due to all the outrage about the mistreatment of others. A lot of this mistreatment is just natural behavior, and in order to curb such behavior you have to be on alert 24/7. The human biology just hasn't caught up with the rapidly changing social climate.

[on the rocks]

(I always found the infinite cycle of "buy car to get to work, work to pay for car" pretty stupid after all).

Heh, not wrong about that. Sometimes I think about ebikes and how much cheaper that would be.
At least until the first day I want to get somewhere and it's raining.

I think the biggest worry is not so much what to do if robots took your job, it's "where do I get the money to survive" at least in the
I'm willing to bet the epidemic that is mental illness is also due in part to this. Becoming too self-aware has been connected to illnesses such as deep Depression and Anxiety (I forget the part of the brain that becomes overactive due to this phenomena). And you only become so self-aware through having too much time on your hands to self-evaluate. It doesn't help that you are expected to be constantly alert and to self-discipline due to all the outrage about the mistreatment of others. A lot of this mistreatment is just natural behavior, and in order to curb such behavior you have to be on alert 24/7. The human biology just hasn't caught up with the rapidly changing social climate.

And what's really crazy is this is all happening despite the fact that, relatively speaking, our quality of life has never been better!  For the vast majority of us, our basic needs are met.  Granted, the extent to which those needs are met varies greatly, but for most people in the countries reading this forum, things are great by any objective measure.  Yet I don't think a single person would say they are great.  And it's because we can see all of the problems thanks to technology.  And we can see what life could be like if only we had the same resources as some rich fuck on Instagram.  Our primitive, hunter-gatherer brains can't cope with the endlessly connected and complex world.  When we try, it breaks our brains.

Strangely enough, this makes me think of another thread Malaikah started about making better humans somehow.  Whether the subject was genetic engineering or integrating technology into our brains, I forget, but the point was, we've created a civilization that exceeds our ability to cope with as human animals.  And at the time I poo-pooed the idea; likening it to the origin story for The Borg on Star Trek.  But I dunno, maybe you're right Malaikah.  It's one of two choices.  Create a civilization that works with our brains or create a brain that works with our civilization.

Well, I guess there's a third option: Do nothing and watch the whole thing spectacularly implode.