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Elon Musk on How to Build the Future

(www.ycombinator.com)
1106 points sama | 3 comments | 15 Sep 16 18:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.72s | source
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astazangasta[dead post] ◴[15 Sep 16 18:40 UTC] No.12508638[source]▶
Of course Elon Musk thinks that AI and brain interfaces are the most important things to work on, that's all that is holding back his raging space boner. Meanwhile, a large part of the world is still using Iron Age technology to get by with the bulk of their lives.

The most important work of "How to Build the Future" is political work - reforming our property relations, for example, so that we aren't organizing our economic lives around feudal holdovers like land titles. Who gives a shit if Elon Musk can connect his brain to the Internet and live forever as a sentient AI, while the rest of humanity drinks ditch water and lives small, dull lives?

yyyuuu ◴[15 Sep 16 18:49 UTC] No.12508721[source]▶
I don't know why you are being downvoted. You put forward a valid point. Perhaps the fanboys here could understand the desperation most of the world still lives in, even today!!!
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paradite ◴[15 Sep 16 19:00 UTC] No.12508817[source]▶
He might have a valid point but the point is off-topic.

Here the context is technology, not politics or economic policies.

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astazangasta ◴[15 Sep 16 19:17 UTC] No.12508967[source]▶
Haha, yes, technology has nothing to do with politics or economics, of course.
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1. TeMPOraL ◴[15 Sep 16 19:33 UTC] No.12509100[source]▶
Focus. Some people want to focus on the tech side. If you want to focus on politics side, go ahead and do it.

I understand the technology focus though, policy is probably the worst possible use of your time if you want to help, and it carries a great risk of turning you into an evil person.

replies(1): >>12509735 #
2. astazangasta ◴[15 Sep 16 20:55 UTC] No.12509735[source]▶
There is no "tech side" or "politics side", it's all the same fucking side. You can't create the Internet without vast political consequence. You can't indefinitely extend life without the same. Every human action is steeped in political and social consequence.
replies(1): >>12509922 #
3. TeMPOraL ◴[15 Sep 16 21:23 UTC] No.12509922[source]▶
You can't create tech without political consequence, no. But there are "sides" in a sense that tech can be driving changes in policy. So you can use tech to make political changes without getting directly involved in all the mess the politics is.