Erstellt am: 15. 12. 2012 - 13:04 Uhr

Today's Webtip: Manna

Two alternative endings to the end of scarcity.

Two days ago I ran across an old post from the man who created howstuffworks.com. It was called Manna, and it describes a future in which global productivity skyrockets thanks to the invention of functioning aritificial intelligence and robotic devices. As more and more people are put out of work, income disparity increases creating a massive block of basically unemployable poor people.

Although it sounds pretty depressing, the story also offers an alternative that reminds me of more than a few ideas presented by pro-singularity writers. One in which the graces of a postscarcity economy are shared with all, unleashing a wave of creativity and development unlike any seen before.

Fans of Rudy Rucker and Iain Banks will probably recognize the basic ideas that Manna is dealing with. It's fun to think about, and sort of nice to have two possible endings portrayed in a single story.

Anyway, the day after reading Manna, I ran into something rather interesting. A local gas station had closed, and just reopened as a fully automated self service station. Not a single human is present during normal operation of the sale. Machines serve the human customers, while human service operators maintain the machines. Almost like the beginning of Manna.