Maybe. My original example that came to mind was a caretaker for someone terminally ill, I.e., hospice. Having volunteered in that area, people want human contact, even if it’s not performing any pragmatic function. I tend to think automation would just make somebody feel more isolated. People yearn for connection, not automation.
I believe the research shows there is a strong psychological component to massage that goes beyond the mechanical manipulation. I guess it would depend on whether somebody uses it for stress relieve or merely recovery.
Re:Hyperbolic Growth
by gnaritas99 on Sunday September 18, 2022 @12:55AM
(#32884541)
Oh, terminal, yea that's one where I agree, they want company more than anything; but even that will eventually fall prey to AGI. People will be best friends and family with AGI's; grow up with them, presuming we don't go down the Terminator route; people are very quick to anthropomorphize anything remotely reminiscent of human behavior.
I think I'd rather have a $20 hug from a real person than a $5 hug from a heated robot. Even if the robot had better AI conversational skills than the person.
Re:Hyperbolic Growth
by gnaritas99 on Sunday September 18, 2022 @12:48AM
(#32884517)
Hugs would have been a great example, human contact is the point; not true with massage, not unless you're being creepy. They're there for your muscles, not to turn you on and fill some emotional need.
Many people use massage for stress reduction which is an emotional need. Emotional does not necessarily mean romantic or sexual emotion.
This is my issue with discussions on tech. People tend to oversimply the problem as if a human is just another rational data input. Massage is more than just mechanically manipulation of the body. Autonomous driving is more than just perception.
Oversimplification leads to wildly optimistic ideas and timelines. I’m not saying they’re impossible, just that the problems are much more complicated than we give them credit.
AGI will make the vast majority unemployable, it'll be a disaster and those jobs won't simply be replaced by new ones: people who think this haven't thought through it very deeply at all.