a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment
rob05c  ·  3965 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A Parallel Between Present Society and Pre-Industrial Revolution Society

    Energy is everything.
I think there will be an Energy Singularity, just like the predicted AI Singularity.

Futurists talk about "Type 1 Civilizations" and "Type 2 Civilizations." I don't think those labels will apply. Energy doesn't "go away" when we use it. It simply turns into a form that's less usable. I think we'll eventually figure out how to recapture all "waste" energy. Hence, the energy available will be effectively limitless. Energy will no longer be a limiting factor, for anything.

I think we'll reach that stage long before we would otherwise reach Type 2 on the Kardashev scale. It may even be engendered by the AI Singularity.

Disclaimer: I'm a software engineer, not a mechanical engineer or a physicist.