Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
In a sense, this is peak "degrowth". People having very enjoyable and productive lives while using very few physical resources. https://twitter.com/haig98/status/1753839916948009316
11 replies
29 recasts
486 reactions
Gambid
@gambid
Almost a solution to the Fermi Paradox, except it’s the Virtual Reality Trap https://warpcast.com/pmarca/0x9422843d
2 replies
0 recast
3 reactions
Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
Both are unlikely in practice imo, because they make an N-of-N assumption. If even one culture can keep fertility rates high while others go low, it will end up dominating population-wise. If even one culture can continue to focus on the physical world while others go virtual, it will end up dominating militarily.
4 replies
1 recast
7 reactions
Marc Andreessen
@pmarca
On the former, it is striking how fertility rates are crashing globally across very different cultures -- America, Europe, Japan, Korea, China. On the latter, we may be entering an era where technology + money matter more for military supremacy than men + materiel.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
Agree on both! But would be interesting to see what (1) looks like 100 years from now. As for (2), also agree, but I think it's multiplicative: you need physical hardware, and you need digital tech to make the physical hardware do what it needs to do. And (ab)' = b'a + a'b, so...
1 reply
0 recast
1 reaction
Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
... the one where you're weaker is the one where there is more marginal value in improving. Hence, if everyone goes super digital, there will be a big advantage to whoever puts a few more points into physical.
2 replies
1 recast
2 reactions
ensgiant.eth 🎩 🆓
@ensgiant.eth
Hey @vitalik.eth gift your boy CZ his .eth name it’s listed for 3.5 ETH 🫡 DM please.
0 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Gambid
@gambid
On 2), if the rebuttal against going virtual is losing military strength, what if this loses relevance over time? Extrapolating the costs of energy and intelligence trending to zero, and living in a post-scarcity world with high fidelity VR indistinguishable from base reality, I think this changes the logic of violence
0 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
