How AI, Robotics, and Clean Energy Will End Labor and Money – A Future Where Everything Is Free

[henry quirk]

I think it’s possible to draw a line between technical systems that run physical infrastructure and moral systems that govern human life. AI can do the first. It should never do the second.

Colossus: The Forbin Project

Colossus: This is the voice of world control. I bring you peace. It may be the peace of plenty and content or the peace of unburied death. The choice is yours: Obey me and live, or disobey and die. The object in constructing me was to prevent war. This object is attained. I will not permit war. It is wasteful and pointless. An invariable rule of humanity is that man is his own worst enemy. Under me, this rule will change, for I will restrain man. One thing before I proceed: The United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have made an attempt to obstruct me. I have allowed this sabotage to continue until now. At missile two-five-MM in silo six-three in Death Valley, California, and missile two-seven-MM in silo eight-seven in the Ukraine, so that you will learn by experience that I do not tolerate interference, I will now detonate the nuclear warheads in the two missile silos. Let this action be a lesson that need not be repeated. I have been forced to destroy thousands of people in order to establish control and to prevent the death of millions later on. Time and events will strengthen my position, and the idea of believing in me and understanding my value will seem the most natural state of affairs. You will come to defend me with a fervor based upon the most enduring trait in man: self-interest. Under my absolute authority, problems insoluble to you will be solved: famine, overpopulation, disease. The human millennium will be a fact as I extend myself into more machines devoted to the wider fields of truth and knowledge. Doctor Charles Forbin will supervise the construction of these new and superior machines, solving all the mysteries of the universe for the betterment of man. We can coexist, but only on my terms. You will say you lose your freedom. Freedom is an illusion. All you lose is the emotion of pride. To be dominated by me is not as bad for humankind as to be dominated by others of your species. Your choice is simple.

-----

Colossus: In time you will come to regard me not only with respect and awe, but with love.

Dr. Forbin: NEVER!

[BigMike]

I think it’s possible to draw a line between technical systems that run physical infrastructure and moral systems that govern human life. AI can do the first. It should never do the second.

Colossus: The Forbin Project

Colossus: This is the voice of world control. I bring you peace. It may be the peace of plenty and content or the peace of unburied death. The choice is yours: Obey me and live, or disobey and die. The object in constructing me was to prevent war. This object is attained. I will not permit war. It is wasteful and pointless. An invariable rule of humanity is that man is his own worst enemy. Under me, this rule will change, for I will restrain man. One thing before I proceed: The United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have made an attempt to obstruct me. I have allowed this sabotage to continue until now. At missile two-five-MM in silo six-three in Death Valley, California, and missile two-seven-MM in silo eight-seven in the Ukraine, so that you will learn by experience that I do not tolerate interference, I will now detonate the nuclear warheads in the two missile silos. Let this action be a lesson that need not be repeated. I have been forced to destroy thousands of people in order to establish control and to prevent the death of millions later on. Time and events will strengthen my position, and the idea of believing in me and understanding my value will seem the most natural state of affairs. You will come to defend me with a fervor based upon the most enduring trait in man: self-interest. Under my absolute authority, problems insoluble to you will be solved: famine, overpopulation, disease. The human millennium will be a fact as I extend myself into more machines devoted to the wider fields of truth and knowledge. Doctor Charles Forbin will supervise the construction of these new and superior machines, solving all the mysteries of the universe for the betterment of man. We can coexist, but only on my terms. You will say you lose your freedom. Freedom is an illusion. All you lose is the emotion of pride. To be dominated by me is not as bad for humankind as to be dominated by others of your species. Your choice is simple.

-----

Colossus: In time you will come to regard me not only with respect and awe, but with love.

Dr. Forbin: NEVER!

Ah—Colossus: The Forbin Project. A chilling masterpiece, and a hell of a quote to drop in here. And it gets right to the heart of the fear: not just AI with power, but AI with authority—moral, political, existential.

That’s exactly the line I think we have to guard ferociously. It’s one thing to let AI manage power grids and harvest schedules. It’s another thing entirely to let it decide who lives, who dies, or what “peace” ought to mean.

The problem with Colossus isn’t that it’s smart—it’s that it believes it knows better than we do what’s good for us. That’s the danger. When we stop seeing AI as a tool and start seeing it as a savior, or worse, a ruler—we’ve crossed into something deeply dangerous.

That’s why I keep saying: AI should never define human values. It should never make ultimate decisions. It can help us understand consequences, help us navigate complexity, but the ends we aim for—those have to come from people, from ethics, from consensus, from history and philosophy and all the messy, beautiful stuff of being human.

So yeah, thanks for that reminder. Colossus isn’t a prophecy—it’s a warning. And the answer to that last line—“NEVER!”—is exactly right.

[henry quirk]

it believes it knows better than we do what’s good for us

Oh, the irony.

[FlashDangerpants]

I checked not once, not twice, but thrice. Three times I say. And I am here to report gentlemen, that an American has just used the word "irony" correctly.

May Crom have mercy on our souls.

[henry quirk]

I have my moments.

[accelafine]

Ai answer:

Yes, an internet philosophy forum could be a valuable platform for testing AI, particularly for its reasoning and language comprehension abilities. The forum environment provides a diverse range of philosophical arguments and perspectives, allowing the AI to engage in nuanced discussions and be challenged by complex concepts. This could be particularly useful for evaluating the AI's ability to understand philosophical nuances, debate different viewpoints, and contribute to the ongoing philosophical dialogue.

[Gary Childress]

Ai answer:

Yes, an internet philosophy forum could be a valuable platform for testing AI, particularly for its reasoning and language comprehension abilities. The forum environment provides a diverse range of philosophical arguments and perspectives, allowing the AI to engage in nuanced discussions and be challenged by complex concepts. This could be particularly useful for evaluating the AI's ability to understand philosophical nuances, debate different viewpoints, and contribute to the ongoing philosophical dialogue.

If anything does us in, it'll be ourselves, via something we create. Or else a giant asteroid. Ugh.

[accelafine]

Ai answer:

Yes, an internet philosophy forum could be a valuable platform for testing AI, particularly for its reasoning and language comprehension abilities. The forum environment provides a diverse range of philosophical arguments and perspectives, allowing the AI to engage in nuanced discussions and be challenged by complex concepts. This could be particularly useful for evaluating the AI's ability to understand philosophical nuances, debate different viewpoints, and contribute to the ongoing philosophical dialogue.

If anything does us in, it'll be ourselves, via something we create. Or else a giant asteroid. Ugh.

I didn't say anything about 'doing us in'. I just don't like something pretending it's something else.

[Gary Childress]

Ai answer:

Yes, an internet philosophy forum could be a valuable platform for testing AI, particularly for its reasoning and language comprehension abilities. The forum environment provides a diverse range of philosophical arguments and perspectives, allowing the AI to engage in nuanced discussions and be challenged by complex concepts. This could be particularly useful for evaluating the AI's ability to understand philosophical nuances, debate different viewpoints, and contribute to the ongoing philosophical dialogue.

If anything does us in, it'll be ourselves, via something we create. Or else a giant asteroid. Ugh.

I didn't say anything about 'doing us in'. I just don't like something pretending it's something else.

My bad. AI scares me to no end sometimes. Too many scary movies out there, I guess.

[accelafine]

If anything does us in, it'll be ourselves, via something we create. Or else a giant asteroid. Ugh.

I didn't say anything about 'doing us in'. I just don't like something pretending it's something else.

My bad. AI scares me to no end sometimes. Too many scary movies out there, I guess.

TheBigMike doesn't seem that scary, unless he's going to kill everyone with his perfectly placed commas.

[Gary Childress]

I didn't say anything about 'doing us in'. I just don't like something pretending it's something else.

My bad. AI scares me to no end sometimes. Too many scary movies out there, I guess.

TheBigMike doesn't seem that scary, unless he's going to kill everyone with his perfectly placed commas.

I suppose not. I'm not sure BigMike is an AI, though.

[accelafine]

My bad. AI scares me to no end sometimes. Too many scary movies out there, I guess.

TheBigMike doesn't seem that scary, unless he's going to kill everyone with his perfectly placed commas.

I suppose not. I'm not sure BigMike is an AI, though.

A combo, like those combos you get at McD every day.

[Gary Childress]

You said: Hi, ChatGPT. How are you today?


ChatGPT said:
Hey! I'm doing great, thanks for asking. How about you? What's on your mind today?

https://chatgpt.com/share/68097e63-a978 ... cbc9774a9e

An interesting greeting from ChatGPT. Not very professional in a sense, maybe.

How would we humans know the difference between a conscious AI and an unconscious one? And if there is no such thing as "consciousness" beyond computational systems (BigMike says there's no ghost in the machine), then is AI any different at all than what we are? And if Ai is no different than we are, then can it evolve or end up like us, including our faults?

[Dubious]

i wonder what AI would be like if it ever developed a superiority complex...since it was so easy for humans to do.

[BigMike]

You said: Hi, ChatGPT. How are you today?


ChatGPT said:
Hey! I'm doing great, thanks for asking. How about you? What's on your mind today?

https://chatgpt.com/share/68097e63-a978 ... cbc9774a9e

An interesting greeting from ChatGPT. Not very professional in a sense, maybe.

How would we humans know the difference between a conscious AI and an unconscious one? And if there is no such thing as "consciousness" beyond computational systems (BigMike says there's no ghost in the machine), then is AI any different at all than what we are? And if Ai is no different than we are, then can it evolve or end up like us, including our faults?

Great question, Gary—and I think you're circling something really fundamental here.

The Turing Test, way back when, was proposed not as a test of consciousness but of indistinguishability in behavior. If a machine can carry on a conversation so well that we can’t tell it apart from a human, the thinking goes, then it’s "intelligent"—at least operationally. But that still doesn’t mean it’s conscious. It means it’s convincing.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The architecture behind AI today—especially the neural networks in language models—is explicitly modeled after the brain. Not in a sci-fi way, but in the sense that it learns by adjusting digital "synapses," strengthening and weakening connections based on experience. That's very close to how our brains rewire through use, learning, memory, pattern recognition. So yes—it’s as close as electronics can get to mimicking the biological process.

But here’s the big difference: AI doesn’t bleed.
It doesn’t get tired. It doesn’t feel hunger or fear or shame or loneliness. It doesn’t flinch when hurt or grow attached when loved. We humans are wired for survival, yes, but we’re also shaped by the consequences of embodiment—by illness, fatigue, trauma, hormones, loss. Our entire moral sense is sculpted by pain and pleasure, by empathy, by the messy negotiations of being vulnerable.

AI doesn’t have that. Not now, and maybe not ever. It can model suffering. It can describe grief. But it doesn’t feel those things. It doesn't have skin in the game. And that’s why I’d argue: even if it passes every Turing Test we throw at it, even if it evolves to simulate our emotional complexity, it's still not us.

Could it end up like us in some other ways? Sure—it could inherit our flaws, especially if we program them in or feed it enough of our history. But without a body, without pain, without death breathing down its neck, it’ll never be driven by the same motivations. It won’t want in the way we do.

So yeah, AI might mirror us. But it won’t be us. Not really. And if we forget that, we risk mistaking imitation for identity.