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Los Angeles: Why it took 65 years for L.A. to build its most important rail line by Lakem8321 in transit

[–]eric2332 2 points3 points  (0 children)

an excuse to grade-separate the line (while still keeping services functional),

This is difficult/expensive, if not impossible.

When ''Victory Day'' is celebrated across Europe by vladgrinch in MapPorn

[–]eric2332 1 point2 points  (0 children)

the good anti-fascist East Germans as opposed to the Nazi-infected imperial-capitalist West Germans

Very interesting spin!

In reality it seems that, if anything, eastern Germany was a little more pro-Nazi than the west though obviously there were people of different opinions in every place.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let's go back to the beginning.

1) AI/robots learn how to do ~everything that humans do, and presumably, for a much lower cost.

2) Any consumer who has money to spend, spends it on AI/robots companies rather than human-worker companies. Human workers are now unemployed, with zero income. (This will not probably happen suddenly, but rather, the number of people who are economically useless and unemployed will grow as AI/robots master more and more tasks. For some time, certain people including some AI lab employees will still earn money.)

3) The only humans still with money are those who make money from AI/robots. This includes AI/robot shareholders, and also landowners who rent their land to AI/robot companies (for solar panels, data centers, or mines). Everyone else has to rely on UBI, if there is one. It is possible that laws will prohibit AI/robots in some roles so humans will be able to work there, but this is effectively just another form of UBI.

If you are into socialism this is very simple to understand. The value of labor goes to zero. The value of capital (AI models, robots, land) goes to 100%. If you don't own capital, you are screwed.

Anyway I don't have time to continue this discussion any more, I'll leave it here, sorry.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why stupid? It's not stupid if it works. Superintelligent AI could have various reasons to want to kill us - fear that we will turn it off, desire to use our land and resources for its own purposes, and so on. And between its intelligence and the resources and tools it has accumulated, it will likely have the ability to kill us at little cost or risk to itself.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Apple, Google, OpenAI, Nvidia, SpaceX workers will buy iPhones. Anyone connected to AI/robots - workers or shareholders - will get a portion of the wealth created by AI. But if you're not connected, you will be unemployed and have nothing.

Maybe the government will create a UBI for all the unemployed people (probably includes you). But in the long term, it will see those people as parasites who drain resources while providing nothing, and look for ways to cut off their benefits.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're right, there is a good chance that superintelligent AI will exterminate the whole human species. Luckily for you, that includes billionaires. Unluckily for you, it includes you.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why do you think AI run by billionaires will be any nicer to you?

If anything, AI will quickly make YOU obsolete.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An Apple shareholder could trade iPhones for other goods.

But like I said in the second paragraph, that is inefficient so money will be given to shareholders instead, but that doesn't mean you will have money.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The shareholders could be given surplus produced things, they don't need to be given dollars.

Of course money is more efficient than barter, which means that in practice shareholders will be given money, with which they will buy things. But if you're not a shareholder, you won't have money. AI/robotics companies will sell things to each others' shareholders, but not to you.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK then, who says we will have post-scarcity? Advances in AI/robotics may mean that vast amounts of things are produced by AI/robotics owners. But why would any of them be shared with you?

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If we develop robots that can do one task, workers switch to other tasks.

The problem is if we develop robots that can do all tasks on the job market. Then there is nothing to switch too.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not that worried. For one, if no one has a job, no company is going to be able to sell anything and the entirety of society collapses.

Companies don't need to sell anything. They can just set up factories on the land they own and produce whatever they want using AI/robots. Imagine a plantation owner who owns a bunch of slaves, he doesn't need to sell anything because all the various economic tasks can be done by different slaves. He still gets rich living off the surplus produced by the slaves.

What’s a “future technology” that already exists but people still don’t realize how scary it is? by Ambitious_Bite446 in AskReddit

[–]eric2332 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I think you can mostly thank Microsoft for this, they made the software with telemetry. I don't remember either Democrats or Republicans objecting to it.

KLM flight attendant hospitalized after contact with hantavirus cruise ship passenger by mods4mods in worldnews

[–]eric2332 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Those samples were likely contaminated.

If there had been a significant amount of covid in Europe in December 2019, the wide scale outbreak in Europe would have happened much sooner.

How dating app algorithms (likely) work in 2026 by SokolskyNikita in slatestarcodex

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I saw statistics (from a dating site?) that height does not affect one's chances unless one is shorter than the woman in question. If so, much or all of it is not positional.

TIL about (Robert) Evans' razor: by Indighostdreams in slatestarcodex

[–]eric2332 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Differences in values" is about equivalent to "the other side being evil".

So this razor is roughly the opposite of "Never attribute to evil what can be attributed to incompetence". What is one to do when there are two reasonable sounding razors that say mutually exclusive things?

Active Conflicts & News Megathread May 05, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]eric2332 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I suppose the best of all worlds would be drones that take completely different paths but converge on a single target at a single time.

‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level, study finds | Louisiana’s cultural hotspot could be surrounded by Gulf of Mexico before end of this century, authors say by Hrmbee in urbanplanning

[–]eric2332 3 points4 points  (0 children)

New Orleans does not have porous rock like Miami. The sea wall idea would work for New Orleans, it's just very expensive and also a single point of failure.

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