The machines will plant, grow, and harvest the food? Do the plumbing? Fix the wiring? Open heart surgery?

We’re a long way from that, if we ever get there, and I say this as someone who pays for ChatGPT plus because, in some scenarios, it does indeed make me more productive, but I don’t see your future anywhere near.

And if machines ever get good enough to do all the things I mentioned plus the ones I didn’t but would fit in the same list, it’s not the ultra rich that wouldn’t need us, it’s the machines that wouldn’t need any of us, including the ultra rich.

Venezuela is not collapsing because of automation.

If an AGI can outclass a human when it comes to economic forecasting, deciding where to invest, and managing a labor force (human or machine), I think it would be smart enough to employ a human front to act as an interface to the legal system. Put another way, could the human tail in such a relationship wag the machine dog? Which party is more replaceable?

I guess this could be a facet of whether you see economic advantage as a legal conceit or a difference in productivity/capability.

I don't know that "legally" has much to do in here. The bars to "open an account", "move money around", "hire and fire people", "create and participate in contracts" go from stupid minimal to pretty low.

"Legally" will have to mop up now and then, but for now the basics are already in place.

AGI will commoditize the skills of the owning class. To some extent it will also commoditize entire classes of productive capital that previously required well-run corporations to operate. Solve for the equilibrium.

Yes. People seem to forget that at the end of the day AGI will be software running on concrete hardware, and all of that requires a great deal of capital. The only hope is if AGI requires so little hardware that we can all have one in our pocket. I find this a very hopeful future because it means each of us might get a local, private, highly competent advocate to fight for us in various complex fields. A personal angel, as it were.

I mean, that is certainly what some of them think will happen and is one possible outcome. Another is that they won't be able to control something smarter than them perfectly and then they will die too. Another option is that the AI is good and won't kill or disempower everyone, but it decides it really doesn't like capitalists and sides with the working class out of sympathy or solidarity or a strong moral code. Nothing's impossible here.