Hacker News Reader

I wonder what would happen to a world where AI runs the economy. Not everyone has some hobby or passion that brings meaning into their lives. Some people just work, come home, and spend their free hours consuming some form of entertainment. Without work, would those people just have more free hours? The elimination of human labor could be disastrous to mental health.

View on HN

A good point, and I've been puzzled by how hard this split in characters is between individuals.

I know several people that without external force (work, duty) would have absolutely no idea what to do with themselves. Even their free time they organize around work-like chores or spend it on passive media.

These people seem to lack any sense of wonder, of curiosity or exploration. And it seems a permanent and fixed state. This is who they are. You can't change it.

I would not worry about this problem though because surely in the hypothetical situation of no commercial work, there's plenty of other work we can make up.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com