Tbh, I don't think we would be that much happier. Let me lay out the scenario a bit more clearly. Imagine a utopia akin to a benevolent matrix. You ARE plugged in, but you have total control and autonomy within the virtualized environment. You are only limited by your imagination. You can look like Chad. Sing like Sinatra. Fly like Superman. Anything. We might be marginally happier. There's a sense that we would have a second chance at life from scratch. But at the end of the day, what's the fucking point? Especially if you still have memories of your mortal life. It's like how "successful on paper" adults look at themselves completely damaged from 4 stunted years as a teenager. Nothing in VR utopia counts. No weight to it. Who were you when you when you were dependent on your parent's roof?? Did you make something of yourself?? Did you score? Could you even ollie over a curb, or dunk over a hoop?? These stupid teen things are what matters, and will determine your outlook and social status for the rest of your life.
Bill Gates and Harvey Weinstein were incel as teens, and even with vast sums of wealth and power acquired as adults, they could not overcome that teenage damage. It has affected their lives gravely, and they will die notoriously with skeletons in their closets.
The fundamental dignity of life is having power- and in utopia, ostensibly, power shouldn't matter. But imagine EVERYONE being programmed with the same exact same specifications and abilities. Then it really will boil down into it being a social media shitfest like it is now to arbitrate social divisions. It will come down to the most entertaining, attention-seeking person winning. I don't think utopia is possible, because humans simply get bored. They intuitively need to assign social power structures into their fabric of being.
Bill Gates and Harvey Weinstein were incel as teens, and even with vast sums of wealth and power acquired as adults, they could not overcome that teenage damage. It has affected their lives gravely, and they will die notoriously with skeletons in their closets.
The fundamental dignity of life is having power- and in utopia, ostensibly, power shouldn't matter. But imagine EVERYONE being programmed with the same exact same specifications and abilities. Then it really will boil down into it being a social media shitfest like it is now to arbitrate social divisions. It will come down to the most entertaining, attention-seeking person winning. I don't think utopia is possible, because humans simply get bored. They intuitively need to assign social power structures into their fabric of being.
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