Being a fretful optimist, hoping for the best but also concerned about not achieving the optimistic outcome. Transitioning to a moderate fatalist, acknowledging the challenges ahead and the uncertainty in achieving success. Believing that the level of uncertainty is influenced by the difficulty of the challenges rather than the effort put in, but still recognizing the potential to improve the odds through inspired effort.
If you didn't have to work to enjoy material abundance, would you do it anyway? If an algorithm or a pill could achieve better results, would you bother shopping or going to the gym? These are the kinds of questions we'll need to ask ourselves if AI makes all human labor and other traditional ways of spending time obsolete. Oxford philosopher Nicholas Bostrom, author of Deep Utopia, is downright bullish about our ability, not only to adjust to a life stripped of labor, but to thrive. Listen as Bostrom explains to EconTalk's Russ Roberts what pleasure and leisure might look like in a world without struggle or pain, and why art and religion may come out still standing, or even become more necessary. Finally, they speak about how AI might free us up to be the best people we can be.