AI might give us everything — and leave us with nothing to live for
OverMathematician593 · reddit · 2026-10-21
Drawing on Keynes's 1930 prediction that technology would soon need only 15-hour work weeks, the author argues AI's most overlooked consequence isn't unemployment but the collapse of human purpose when nothing needs doing.
- Happiness derives largely from effort, skill-building and overcoming difficulty — the IKEA effect shows people value what they build themselves even when it's worse.
- Retirement disillusionment and the 1930s Marienthal unemployment study ("the weary community") show people don't rebel without purpose; they quietly wind down.
- The author warns AI plus robotics could scale these conditions globally: everything taken care of, but nothing left worth striving for.
Related event: Researchers Warn AI Doing Everything Could Steal the Joy of Effort(3 posts)→
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