Imagine a world where you don't have to wake up at 5 in the morning to get catch a train that takes you 30 kilometers away to sit in front of a laptop screen all day having no idea about what you are doing. Imagine a world where there are no Monday morning blues and no deadlines. A world where a human doesn't have to choose between bread over family and a place where everyday can be a leisurely picnic.
Critics may say that such a world would induce futility, panic and a sense of purposelessness. The statement in itself reflects upon the dystopia that we currently live in, do we really consider that our white collar jobs give us our identity. Are we defined by the place we work, the salary we generate and salutes we get when we enter a building we wished all our days never to enter. Or are we our ideas ,our beliefs and our value systems.
Yes, I do agree that initially a world without jobs would cause anxiety. Having our perspective of the world change over night is not easy to soak in. But this anxiety could be explained with the analogy of a war veteran. A soldier returning home after having been part of war does face anxiety, however this anxiety is not because a world without war is worse than being a part of the war, its merely because its too difficult to imagine a world that's actually a kinder place.
Once we get used to a world where we don't have to do anything and that all our actions become solely our choices, we would achieve what philosophers call complete freedom. After several years of doing things that are expected of us we could finally introspect and think about things that are important for us. With unlimited amount of money, we wouldn't be bound financially and with everyone having the same amount of money, social norms wouldn't be given as much importance. Therefore, there would be no excuse to give for not doing something that you always wanted to do, you would truly be held accountable for your own actions.
With that kind of freedom and accountability, a person who likes to travel can become an explorer. A person who likes music may go about the street playing music not for money but for his own joy. And if there exists an individual who loves his job, he may as well continue doing the same job for his personal satisfaction.
With limitless funding for literally everything a person could do, we would induce a renaissance like period. He would have our own generation of Van Goghs, Newtons and Vincis. We along with the AI system would have scientific, social, artistic and philosophical developments at a pace never before seen by mankind.
With AI bots doing our jobs for us, our thirst for knowledge would be easily quenched. We could potentially conquer the universe and know of everything that is beyond it.
Even if you disagree with my views over such possibilities, I am pretty sure if I were to provide you with a paid leave for the rest of your life, you would take that offer with both your hands wide open.
Critics may say that such a world would induce futility, panic and a sense of purposelessness. The statement in itself reflects upon the dystopia that we currently live in, do we really consider that our white collar jobs give us our identity. Are we defined by the place we work, the salary we generate and salutes we get when we enter a building we wished all our days never to enter. Or are we our ideas ,our beliefs and our value systems.
Yes, I do agree that initially a world without jobs would cause anxiety. Having our perspective of the world change over night is not easy to soak in. But this anxiety could be explained with the analogy of a war veteran. A soldier returning home after having been part of war does face anxiety, however this anxiety is not because a world without war is worse than being a part of the war, its merely because its too difficult to imagine a world that's actually a kinder place.
Once we get used to a world where we don't have to do anything and that all our actions become solely our choices, we would achieve what philosophers call complete freedom. After several years of doing things that are expected of us we could finally introspect and think about things that are important for us. With unlimited amount of money, we wouldn't be bound financially and with everyone having the same amount of money, social norms wouldn't be given as much importance. Therefore, there would be no excuse to give for not doing something that you always wanted to do, you would truly be held accountable for your own actions.
With that kind of freedom and accountability, a person who likes to travel can become an explorer. A person who likes music may go about the street playing music not for money but for his own joy. And if there exists an individual who loves his job, he may as well continue doing the same job for his personal satisfaction.
With limitless funding for literally everything a person could do, we would induce a renaissance like period. He would have our own generation of Van Goghs, Newtons and Vincis. We along with the AI system would have scientific, social, artistic and philosophical developments at a pace never before seen by mankind.
With AI bots doing our jobs for us, our thirst for knowledge would be easily quenched. We could potentially conquer the universe and know of everything that is beyond it.
Even if you disagree with my views over such possibilities, I am pretty sure if I were to provide you with a paid leave for the rest of your life, you would take that offer with both your hands wide open.
by Saumil Karkhanis
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