/sci/ - Science & Math

>If so, what are the social and political ramifications of a populace that does not have a means of income?

Basically, the human is taken out of the picture.

Integrated circuits are now designed and made nearly entirely by machines. No human being can physically produce the circuit, and they're too complex to be comprehended by a single person; human designers now 'click and drop' components in computer program, never once knowing how those components work or relate, except in the vaguest sense.

An engineer friend of mine has told me he's very disappointed with his work, since he doesn't get to use any of the knowledge he learned in school; his company has him use a piece of software that does everything for him, which he claims someone without a HS diploma could learn to use. He says it's no more complex then photoshop. I'm pretty sure he's talking about some sort of CAD program.

Here's the trick though; we're learning to use software that uses the software for us, which is, I think what you're talking about. Soon, we'll hand the software a set of criteria, and then click until we get what we want. Speaking of photoshop, consider the Liquify tool; it's basically software that automates the modification of tens, hundreds, or thousands of pixels at once.

What happens when you have a totally automated industrial base, where humans do nothing but give orders? This isn't something that's going to stop at the supply side of economics; the demand side wants the same equipment.

Factory gifs?