AI will end capitalism in its current form this century. Though what comes after is still an open question.

Sure, the same way printing press, electrification, education and what not did.

The printing press predates capitalism.

But its usage to “enlighten the masses” - does not.

I think you are misunderstanding my reasoning then. I'm not saying AI will enlighten the masses or anything.

The current system is based on capitalists employing workers. But with AI there will not be a need to employ workers. Goods and services can be provided without human labor. From the worker's perspective, currently they perform a job and get money they buy the things they need. The question is then, if the job disappears how will they aquire the things they need? Basic income? Charity? We shall see.

From the capitalists perspective if they forgo workers then there is no need for their goods and services.

It's odd to me that the current thought is that this idea is lost on them because they want nothing more than to get rid of workers? They want more productivity from their workers for the same or slightly less cost, which they are hoping AI can squeeze out of them. Eliminate too many workers and you have to pay the ones left more as they are now specialist, and productivity gains from AI only brings production back to when they had more workers without AI and paying less for them bringing it to about even. They gain by keeping around the same amount of workers (maybe a few less--that amount to a rounding error, but not the doom being predicted), at their current job title paying the same scraps and using AI to get more productivity out of them. And in which workers will now turn around and spend their check buying said goods at a higher cost than they were paid to make them.

Unless UBI becomes a thing, capitalists know they need workers who will buy their goods and services.

> then there is no need for their goods and services.

Would still need to produce goods for the shareholders.

Without the worker bees being able to participate in the buying of goods there's not enough profit for the shareholders to gain enough to buy the goods. The whole thing collapses. And capitalist know this and is against their best interest.

Capitalism is “capitalists employing workers” only in Marxist doctrine. Capitalism is free market. And that will not disappear because AI displaces workers.

Did the printing press eat all creative seed corn and completely ossify business? Because that is what AI is going to. No new creatives other than influencer creators. No new programmers other than hobby programmers who learn from influencers. No teachers just influencers. No people rising up through the different areas of a business with that kind of domain knowledge. Just CEOs, AI, and social media influencers.

>Though what comes after is still an open question

I'm seeing a lot of people yelling that what's coming after is a technologically advanced form of feudalism. It doesn't seem like that much of a question.