4.7.17 - Dream Pastime

Whenever someone talks about AI bringing about the "end of work," the natural inclination is to get petrified for the coming age of oblivion. Going to work sucks, we know, but the prospect of a life devoid of work is terrifying in the same way that an eternity full of bliss feels horrifying.

Well, I just woke up from a dream. It was one of those perfect dreams that creates an entire world and populates it with goals, meaning, romance, drama, fun, your favorite people, composite new people with whom you have no barriers, sex, quandaries, everything. 

This dream, since I'm talking about it, was about some sort of seaside camp that for some of the people there served as a vacation resort, and for others was a preparation camp. People were either preparing (like studying, working out, practicing) for something big, or were friends of those individuals just there to support them. The implication of the preparation/vacation camp was that there is no better place to be than among people exercising vital, energetic drive. A relaxing beach vacation is great, but what's much more fulfilling is being subsumed in a feeling of capably active purpose. I started a casual relationship with one of the girls who was friends with someone, and my favorite people from regular life were all there. I met football players getting ready to be drafted and people trying to finish their plays and all that stuff. It was great.

Back in the real world, I read that Elon Musk has started a company devoted to creating a high-bandwidth connection to the brain. That project, or one like it, will one day lead to the ability to export thoughts wholly, and import entire psychosomatic experiences. It will end the need for writing, but it will make for some great entertainment.

Imagine being able to oAuth an experience through an API, where it says it'll be triggering the following (x) feelings in you, and you give it permission to give you, at varying points of the experience, shots of cortisol, endorphins, dopamine, etc. It will present a fully interactive imaginary that basically replicates a dream.

Suddenly, the idea of heaven is possible. What would you do in heaven but spend all your time doing what you want, hanging around with who you want, etc? Heaven sounds great; the only problem with it is the eternity part.

If we develop this capability to stream high-fidelity experiences directly to the brain -- presumably at a point in history when we've taken care of all our bodily needs, so we don't need to toil for food -- we will essentially have created heaven on earth. And fears about the "end of work" will make no sense. Being able to go back to this perfect dream, at will, would be the only thing I would feel like doing, and I would appreciate having lots of time to do it.