Global economy meltdown inc?

[Troof]

First the china thing, then the anonymous tweet about the NYSE, the next day it goes down. Is there something bigger goin on here?

[Hijiri]

Derp herp?

[Portasaurus]

I sure hope so! I think that would be fun, actually!

We all know we need to face the music some day. It would be neat to witness it first hand. Plus, all of the sudden life would turn into the most immersive survival game you've ever played! Think about it!!

And let's be real, there wont be zombies to worry about because come on that's just silly. So it'll be good old fashioned anarchy!

I suggest everyone keep a list of vacant/foreclosed homes in strategic positions like the top of a hill. Utilities will stop working so it won't matter that nothing is turned on. Day 1 of the collapse, you move into one of those and you can thank me later.

[Tradesonred]

I sure hope so! I think that would be fun, actually!

We all know we need to face the music some day. It would be neat to witness it first hand. Plus, all of the sudden life would turn into the most immersive survival game you've ever played! Think about it!!


We get a chuckle now but i think we may see it in our lifetimes and it may or may not make WW2 look like a pic-nic in the park

[KagatobLuvsAnimu]

That or the much more likely scenario. A new market will replace the existing one.

[Pokesan]

That or the much more likely scenario. A new market will replace the existing one.

will it be cryptocurrency

[Orruar]

People who fret over some sort of soviet style collapse are delusional. If our system "collapsed" (whatever that even means for a mostly free market), what would happen? The next day, people would realize they still need food to eat, a place to stay, other goods and services. They would realize they need to provide some kind of service or create some kind of good to trade for what they need. They would realize they need some good of common exchange (currency). They would essentially attempt to create a new market for goods and services. This was difficult for the soviets because their entire economy, nearly ever good and service, had previously been handled by the central authority. Here, we'd pretty much continue what we've been doing. The most heavily regulated sectors (banking and finance, healthcare, education) would probably see the biggest disruptions, but I'm pretty sure we'll figure out how to provide these things.

[iruinedyourday]

If robot cars work as well as the probably will, there will be a massive spike in unemployment and things are gonna get sketchy for a while yikes

[KagatobLuvsAnimu]

If robot cars work as well as the probably will, there will be a massive spike in unemployment and things are gonna get sketchy for a while yikes

No moreso than if the US got off their asses and built an effective nationwide passenger rail system.

[Barnes]

You can count on it, coming to a town near you.

[Big_Japan]

System "collapse" aka LIFEKILL. Automation is coming fast and your masters won't need you most of you soon. Expect it in your lifetime.

[Swish]

I hope everyone's stocking up on freeze dried food etc. I bet that's a good business to get into right now.

[Orruar]

If robot cars work as well as the probably will, there will be a massive spike in unemployment and things are gonna get sketchy for a while yikes

Like any new technology, adoption won't happen immediately. Self-driving cars require investment in hardware, so adoption will be slower than most AI-related applications. There will be a transition phase where there are still a lot of older people-driven vehicles on the road. It's just the new purchases that will be heavily weighted towards the self driving cars. It will take 10-20 years to transition, which is plenty of time for people to be pushed towards careers that aren't based on performing a simple task like driving. Personally I'm excited that we'll have all that labor freed up to do other things. Productivity of mankind will increase, and people won't have to waste hours every day paying attention to the road, giving people more free time to whine on the internet about how unfair technology is to the poor.

[Orruar]

No moreso than if the US got off their asses and built an effective nationwide passenger rail system.

Really? You don't think a few people would still drive even if there was some amazing nationwide rail system? Are you going to take the rail down to the grocery story, or to go pick up Chipotle? What about truck drivers? The idea that a nationwide rail system is in any way comparable to self-driving car technology is laughable at best. Do you think before typing?

[Swish]

Personally I'm excited that we'll have all that labor freed up to do other things. Productivity of mankind will increase, and people won't have to waste hours every day paying attention to the road, giving people more free time to whine on the internet about how unfair technology is to the poor.

That outsourcing though. You'll have 350 million people in a country with very little to do. Win/win for big businesses...who cares if people are starving as long as its not hurting the bottom line.

[Glenzig]

That outsourcing though. You'll have 350 million people in a country with very little to do. Win/win for big businesses...who cares if people are starving as long as its not hurting the bottom line.

They'll be forced to join the military.

[KagatobLuvsAnimu]

Really? You don't think a few people would still drive even if there was some amazing nationwide rail system? Are you going to take the rail down to the grocery story, or to go pick up Chipotle? What about truck drivers? The idea that a nationwide rail system is in any way comparable to self-driving car technology is laughable at best. Do you think before typing?

You've clearly never lived in a large city that had good commuter rail. You don't "drive" to any of those places.

[Orruar]

That outsourcing though. You'll have 350 million people in a country with very little to do. Win/win for big businesses...who cares if people are starving as long as its not hurting the bottom line.

Let's play along with this idea that every single job will be made unnecessary due to technology (won't happen until strong AI, which is further off than most seem to think). We'd still be producing the same (or almost certainly much more) goods as before. Are the rich going to suddenly start consuming 10x as much food so as to cause everyone else to starve? No, we would have revolted long before reaching that point. Even the rich realize that they can't enjoy their wealth if the majority of people are desperate due to hunger. It's why every single wealthy nation on earth has a pretty damn big safety net. I swear you people saw movies like Elysium and said "yeah, that seems like a pretty likely scenario", while completely ignoring the long arc of civilization's growth and particularly the advances made in the past hundred years.

Think about this. In 1790, farmers made up 90% of the labor force. Today, they account for less than 1%. Are we wallowing in poverty with 89% of people starving? No? Do you think perhaps your view of what will happen when technology continues to replace human labor is not based on any rational understanding of how the world actually works?

[Orruar]

You've clearly never lived in a large city that had good commuter rail. You don't "drive" to any of those places.

I've been to US cities like New York and traveled Europe. Even in very dense cities like Amsterdam with extensive public transport and a 10:1 bicycle to human ratio, there were still many cars on the roads. I'm starting to think you have a very very narrow world view.

Also wrapped up in your argument is the assumption that public transport would work the same in a very sparsely populated area as it does in a major metropolitan area. Perhaps you know where we'll find the money to afford to pay for a commuter rail system for Dodge City, Kansas, in addition to the other hundreds of thousands of cities across the country? Passenger rail will never come close to removing the need for motor vehicles. Not to mention trucking (how are you solving the problem of getting a truck load of produce to the grocery story with rail lines?)

[dafier]

http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2014-07/21/11/enhanced/webdr04/anigif_enhanced-26084-1405954905-1.gif

[Oleris]

https://youtu.be/X2bg1zfD4_Q

[iruinedyourday]

When Ubergooglecar moves to Europe people are gonna go ballistic and push them off bridges. It's gonna be hilarious to watch them riot and prot st about robots taking thier jobs IRL instead of just in movies.

I mean they throw bricks at Uber cars with people in them right now! Put a johny cab driver in there and they are gonna set them on fire.

Orror I totally agree w/ you but also am sure it's gonna rustle the shit out of a lot of people.

[Big_Japan]

Even the rich realize that they can't enjoy their wealth if the majority of people are desperate due to hunger.

That's why they'll kill you off en masse like was done after the last revolution in automation. You're a fool if you think the people on top of this pyramid are going to throw you scraps when you've outlined your usefulness.

[Tradesonred]

Let's play along with this idea that every single job will be made unnecessary due to technology (won't happen until strong AI, which is further off than most seem to think). We'd still be producing the same (or almost certainly much more) goods as before. Are the rich going to suddenly start consuming 10x as much food so as to cause everyone else to starve? No, we would have revolted long before reaching that point. Even the rich realize that they can't enjoy their wealth if the majority of people are desperate due to hunger. It's why every single wealthy nation on earth has a pretty damn big safety net. I swear you people saw movies like Elysium and said "yeah, that seems like a pretty likely scenario", while completely ignoring the long arc of civilization's growth and particularly the advances made in the past hundred years.

Think about this. In 1790, farmers made up 90% of the labor force. Today, they account for less than 1%. Are we wallowing in poverty with 89% of people starving? No? Do you think perhaps your view of what will happen when technology continues to replace human labor is not based on any rational understanding of how the world actually works?

What goes on in the military often ends up in the civilian sector. Say, the technology the internet runs on. Drones are coming. You know what else i think is coming not too far behind drones? Green, yellow and red zones, just like in Iraq.

[Orruar]

That's why they'll kill you off en masse like was done after the last revolution in automation. You're a fool if you think the people on top of this pyramid are going to throw you scraps when you've outlined your usefulness.

What in the literal fuck are you talking about? Who was killed off en masse? Did we kill off all the low skilled people and nobody told me about it? Because I've been seeing a lot of whining from poor people lately.

[Big_Japan]

What in the literal fuck are you talking about? Who was killed off en masse? Did we kill off all the low skilled people and nobody told me about it? Because I've been seeing a lot of whining from poor people lately.

See: the Great Depression

[Orruar]

See: the Great Depression

I don't know where you learned your history, but perhaps you'd be so kind as to point to the massive deaths of poor people during the great depression?

[Portasaurus]

I don't know where you learned your history, but perhaps you'd be so kind as to point to the massive deaths of poor people during the great depression?

Yeah but we didn't have poor-people-eating robot technology in the 20s. You'll see....

[blondeattk]

am not sure the economy will fail before the russian nukes come raining down.

about 11 weeks time, by my estimation...

[stormlord]

Stop worrying. The lot of you remind me of ruminating depressants. Most of you probably know being constructive and thinking about things you can actually improve or change is the key to happiness. So do that.

Robot took your job? Find a new one. Maybe break a few windows and go behind bars a while if you must.

The other poster is right, but not really. AI and robots won't replace everything. The rich aren't going to feel sorry for the displaced workers and just give hand outs. That may happen in small amounts, but it's not the real reason people will survive. The reason they will is because people aren't given enough credit for overcoming obstacles. People are going to integrate with AI and improve their mind and find new jobs. People are going to change psychologically. AI/robots/etc can't do everything.

If somehow people in 2015 time traveled into 2068 then yes it'd be a problem.

[Big_Japan]

I don't know where you learned your history, but perhaps you'd be so kind as to point to the massive deaths of poor people during the great depression?

See: WW2

[KagatobLuvsAnimu]

See: WW2

Now you're not even trying.

[Big_Japan]

Now you're not even trying.

it actually takes a lot of effort & planning to make it look this effortless

[wts]

http://www.skytran.us/

[Orruar]

See: WW2

Less than 1% of America's population died in WW2. Are you saying that America's poor are the real 1%? And are you suggesting that the great leaps forward in automation brought about by the industrial revolution were only able to replace 1% of our population? Something doesn't add up. Either reality is completely wrong, or your theory is batshit insane.

[Big_Japan]

USA = entire world

[Swish]

USA = entire world

I think that's half its problem, gotta be difficult trying to start wars/steal oil/help arms dealers at the same time as be the face of democracy and tolerance.

[Orruar]

USA = entire world

Well, if you look at the entire world during the 20th century, the only countries where large numbers of people were killed off by their own people were the communist countries. So how about we don't go communism, and then we can continue creating new labor saving devices without the need to murder millions?

[Big_Japan]

Well, if you look at the entire world during the 20th century, the only countries where large numbers of people were killed off by their own people were the communist countries. So how about we don't go communism, and then we can continue creating new labor saving devices without the need to murder millions?

Fallacious implication that marching millions of your countrymen to be slaughtered by foreigners doesn't count as LIFEKILL

[Ahldagor]

How was caring determined by y'all? It fails then rebounds, forever and ever, amen.