[TobTobXX]

> Hobbies, hanging out with friends, reading, etc. That's basically it. > It will be like a simple retirement on a low income [...].

Yes, like retirement but without the old age. Right now I'm studying, so I do live on a very low income. But still, there are so many interesting things! For example, I'm trying to design a vacuum pump to 1mbar to be made of mostly 3d printed parts. Do vacuum pumps exist and can I buy them? Absolutely. But is it still fun to do the whole designing process? You bet. And I can't even start explaining all the things I'm learning.

> This will drive a lot of young ambitious people to insanity.

I teach teenagers in the age where they have to choose their profession. The ones going insane will be the unambitious people, those who just stay on TikTok all day and go to work because what else would they do? The ambitious will always have ideas and projects. And they won't mind creating something that already exists, just because they like the process of it.

We already see this with generative AI. Even though you could generate most of the images you'd want already, people still enjoy the process of painting or photographing. Humans are made to be creative and take pleasure from it, even if it is not economically valuable.

Hell, this is Hacker News. Hacking (in its original sense) was about creativity and problem-solving. Not because it will make you money, but because it was interesting and fun.

[voidspark]

Introverted high IQ nerds are a tiny percentage of the world population. We exist in a tiny bubble here in Hacker News.

I am thinking about society as a whole, how it will affect all types of people and cultures on this planet.

[TobTobXX]

There is nothing "introverted high IQ nerd" about being creative. Think about everyone that is practicing music, artistry, crafts, rhetoric, cooking, languages, philosophy, writing, gardening, carpentry, and whatever you can think of. Most of them don't do it for money.

> [...] how it will affect all types of people and cultures on this planet.

Some will definitely feel without purpose. But I'd argue that just having a job so that you have a purpose is just a band-aid, not a real solution. I won't say that purposelessness isn't a problem, just that it would be great to actually address the issue.

Granted, I do hold a utopic view. I continue to be curious due to my religious belief, where I'm looking forward to life unconstrained by age. Regardless whether this will manifest, I think it is healthy to remain curious and continue learning. So on "how it will affect all types of people": I really do think that people without purpose need to engage in curiosity and creativity, for their own mental health.