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Kicking Robots, by James Vincent (harpers.org)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by to c/techtakes@awful.systems
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A Harpers contributer does the legwork and gets a head start on deflating the next dumb hype cycle.

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[–] 6 points 8 months ago (2 children)

They had robots in galts gulch, which means that all businesses need them. If you aren’t randmaxxing 24/7, can you really call yourself a technological visionary at the vanguard of the libertarian master race?

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Did they? Dont think Rand thought that far and the robots were fan fiction.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    I can’t find any good sources right now, I’m absolutely not going to find a copy of that particular screed and look up the relevant bits, but I think the oil wells in galts gulch were automated, with self driving trucks, I think? It might also be implicit in the goods that are produced there, but that is drifting a bit into fanfic, I admit.

    Anyway, between boston dynamics and the endless supply of rand fans on the internet, it’s very hard to research without reading the damn thing.

    If I find a new source, I’ll report back.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    I might be able to borrow a digital copy and run a search through it, but im afk for now.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago

    So, curse you for making me check the actual source material (it was freely available online, which seems somehow heretical. I was intending to torrent it, and I’m almost disappointed I didn’t have to) and it seems I’m wrong here… the anconia copper mine in the gulch produced like a pound of copper, and they use mules for transporting stuff to and from the mine. The oil well is still suspicious, but it just gets glossed over.

    I’m not prepared to read any more than that, so if there was anything else about automation in there I didn’t see it. I’d forgotten the sheer volume of baseless smug that libertarian literature exudes.

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