Rock Mite
From Mylegokingdom
As someone who used to teach hisorty and now programs computers, I've been saying the same thing for years. Consider what Watson's (the computer unveiled on Jeopardy) progeny will do to customer service and tech support in the next few decades. Also consider how many marketers software like recommendation engines have already made obsolete. At the same time, there may be one hope I can currently see in transitioning away from some form of Neo-Feudalism brought on by technology, and ironically, it is technology itself. Currently, what gives the wealthy their leverage and power is their ability to control both raw materials and the means of transforming those into useful products. While technology is eroding away at the need for human labor to produce these items, it is also becoming cheaper and smaller and ultimately more affordable. Eventually, it may largely supplant the need for large centers of production, and in doing so, it will destroy the grip that the wealthiest have on our resources. Without going into too much detail, we are seeing this beginnings of this trend. Many alternative energy generation technologies are much more decentralized than modern industrial power plants and refineries. In the area of manufacturing, there are now 3d printers which can literally print plastic products with moving parts in one's own home, and there are plans all over the internet for small scale CNC machine. Each of these cost less than $2,000 currently, and if recent hisorty is any indication, these devices will come down in price. The ultimate, though far off culmination of this trend is nano-technology. Small machines capable of self replication that could break down and produce anything so long as they are given the instructions to do so. If this technology does come to fruition, it will end the need to for accrued capital not only to produce items but also extra raw materials. Everything will be manufactured on location, and most if not all materials will be recycled from the local area. In the end, what I feel will largely determine the outcome of this change is the rate at which manufacturing technology becomes smaller and more accessible to the masses relative to the rate at which people become obsolete as labor. If the former is able to outpace the latter, we may be headed for a bright future. Sadly, I think the latter is currently winning, and it will lead to very troubled times.
