[ExI] Free Trade

[efc at disroot.org]

On Tue, 7 Oct 2025, John Clark wrote:

> On Tue, Oct 7, 2025 at 3:07 PM <efc at disroot.org> wrote:
>
>       >I might have a desire to be served food by a human being
> 
> You might have a desire to be served, but not many people have a desire to
> serve you if money can be obtained in some other way, like UBI.   

I disagree. There are many people who make serving others (salesmen,
consultants, lawyers, restaurant staff, chefs, authors, in fact, most, if not
all, participants in markets) their calling and motivation in life.

In my experience, only socialists look down and denigrate people who serve.

That being said however, the great thing is that you would not have to serve
anyone or interact with anyone in a future post-scarcity world. If you are happy
with machine interaction only, then that is of course your nirvana. =)

>       > to own a piece of art created by a human being,
> 
> Does that seem like a sustainable business model to you? If I said "this
> painting (or sculpture or novel or music or movie) was created by a human
> being and a machine had nothing to do with it, how could you tell if I was
> lying? 

If I was present when you created it, if I know you and have a relationship with
you. You also have correcting factor of shame, and reputation. Seems very
plausible to me.

Best regards, 
Daniel


> John K Clark 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
>       to be guided by a human being, ad infinitum.
>
>       You might not, but I might, and I know many people who already today,
>       pre-AI, prefer the human touch over a computer or todays rought "AI"
>       guiding them.
>
>       So if/when AI produces everything, the service sector, artisans, art,
>       politics, sports, will shoot through the roof. Ergo, as long as human
>       desires exists, there will be plenty of jobs for other humans to fulfill
>       them.
>
>       Best regards,
>       Daniel
> 
>
>       > John K Clark
>       >
>       >
>       >
>       >
>       >
>       >       On Tue, 7 Oct 2025, John Clark via extropy-chat wrote:
>       >
>       >       > How do people around here feel about free trade? When I first joined this list in 1993 nearly every member was
>       a
>       >       passionate advocate
>       >       > of free trade including me, but I get the impression that is no longer the case; certainly He Who Must Not Be
>       Named is
>       >       about as far
>       >       > from being a free trade advocate as it's possible to be. Even the AI revolution hasn't caused me to change my
>       opinion
>       >       about free
>       >       > trade but Universal Basic Income is a different matter; back then I would've argued that the idea was
>       completely
>       >       impractical and I
>       >       > would have been correct, but even then I knew that eventually something like it would have to be implemented,
>       however I
>       >       figured it
>       >       > was so far in the future I didn't need to think very deeply about it. But the time has come. 
>       >       >
>       >       > Have the amazing developments in AI during the last five years caused anybody else to change any of their
>       economic
>       >       opinions?
>       >       >
>       >       > John K Clark 
>       >
>       >       Hello John,
>       >
>       >       No, certainly not me. Free trade good, UBI bad. As long as there will be
>       >       human desires, there will be jobs.
>       >
>       >       Best regards,
>       >       Daniel
>       >
>       >
>       >
> 
> 
>