Sam Rowe retweetledi
Iain M. Banks wrote one of my favorite sci fi series (Culture Series) about what society would be like in an abundant future.
One of the ideas that stands out is that even if people don’t strictly need a job, they will still want mastery, stories, to build, and to feel useful to others.
In the society he imagines, the hard problems are no longer allocation problems, but are instead about values (what’s good, beautiful) and identity.
The scarce resources become trust, attention, and, for institutions, claims to legitimacy. Values, not resources, drive differences in cultures. Societies choose different aesthetics, morals, and attitudes towards risk.
Banks’ world offers infinite comfort, and some people basically opt into endless pleasure. But the books focus on the people who crave intensity,
put themselves in danger, chase purpose in hard environments, and want friction and consequence.
In the books, “the Minds” are basically benevolent, well-aligned ASIs who solve all our problems and run everything. Even if that’s where we are headed, it’s fun to imagine what we will still care deeply about.
Banks is amazing at thinking through what that might mean. I highly recommend them.
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