what about waiting in line at the DMV

Simply put, VR will always be more adaptable and cheaper. The goal will not be to unlock a utopian world, but rather to supply the demand for escapism more and more human's desire. This is a physics problem first and foremost. It requires much less energy to represent an experience than to create it physically, as our brains necessarily much smaller in scope than the world they operate in. You can see a mountain and take that experience with you in your mind without having to move the mountain physically.

Maybe it's the cynic in me, but brains and utopia are incompatible. The brain navigates problems. Without the wonders of modern civilization, there is always a problem to solve. In our world, we sometimes don't have anything to do, as the systems around us do so much for us. So, we fill the gap with anything we can find.
"Diversions" as you say, even the "meaningful experiences with people" are this. There are diversions that speak to our more basic drives (start a family for example) that can sustain us for much longer than our artificial entertainment, but many minds "see through this" and find themselves on the losing side of a battle with their mental health. This is not an anomaly, it's the expected outcome of making the brain unemployable. In your utopia, if humans could live healthy for 1000 years, I suspect mental health disorders would be the leading cause of death.

Pretty much. You can experience just about anything.

It’s nowhere remotely close. AI is a nifty tool but it’s really limited still. Yes it’s growing but it really has along way to go

You might think entertainment is meaningless but that's not the case for everyone.

If in the future I can go explore Pandora in full dive VR, live there for a while and enjoy the beautiful environments from the movies as if they were real, that would no doubt be a meaningful or even transcendental experience for me, probably something I'd remember the rest of my life.

What makes you think we live in a simulation? Multiverse seems just as likely and given so the odds are equally in either favor given infinity.

VR can feel every bit as real as the real world, once it's fully developed and connecting to our brains directly.

And it will take far fewer resources than the real world.

Why settle for one planet when we could have a million virtual ones, each unique, in the same space? And a million times the population to enjoy it.

If people don't find the real world satisfying things then let them be in the simulation.

> at the same time comment that 'AI doomers' shouldn't be doomer about it?

Where did I say that or even imply it..?

>Sort of an aside, but I wanted to get ahead of the "we could live in the
matrix already" people as if I haven't deeply probed that question...
heh.

You didn't really address the argument. I am sorry, but you can't remove arguments, by simply mentioning them.

Nothing in laws of physics says, that this "reality" cannot be fully simulated at human perception resolution. Why can't there be large scale simulations with billions of people and be meaningful ? To me, I think there is lack of imagination in saying "All possible VR's are not meaningful"

but 'viewing' means what exactly? that they actually watched the whole video? or that they just clicked play?

I'm not sure how long but if they ever do that does not make the drive bad. The drive of pursuing things at the expense of others is wise in this world not all imagery ones.

>Kong bucks

Snow Crash reference?

Did you read what I said about living in a simulation in my OP?

>VR is just a other meaningless, more advanced entertainment system

It's just lack of imagination to say, that all possible VR's are meaningless.

As I've said, we probably live in simulation right now, and I would say it's not the only meaningful simulation possible.

Also... everyone likes power and control on some level.

There are more satisfying things to pursue.

The year is 2058. Nuclear fusion, quantum supremacy, high temperature superconductivity, and first contact are old news. The world population is now four billion and dropping. I vaguely remember it being more. I have programmed my brain implant to ignore facts I don't care about. The clique of OpenAI owns 43% of all businesses on Earth. I live on a comfortable pension because I saw something bad coming and prepared. The majority of humans live on ten Kong dollars a day. I vaguely remember other currencies, but my implant is suppressing that.

Ten Kong bucks buy you a plate of rice and some proteins. It also pays for a room you get to share with seven other people. Unless you are lucky. The oligarchs still appreciate talent. Just not any kind of talent. Most people live in virtual reality. AI invented drugs that do almost the same but without too many side effects. Of course there are people who are allergic. One in hundred I heard.

I am too old to do anything meaningful except participate in the global hive mind. It's filtered and moderated, but at least I have an idea what folks are up to. My personal robot brings me breakfast. Robots know how to cook. They are much better than the average human. But there are human cooks who are actual geniuses. I can't afford to eat in their restaurants.

I don't have to work out because I have pills for that. My body functions as though I am twenty years younger. But I can't afford cellular rejuvenation. Rumors claim that aliens have been sending instructions about achieving immortality. Hivenet is full of rumors. From time to time, someone will rant about rebellion.

On the 3D and VR news, there are always protests. Androids and drones take action if it all gets out of hand. Someone on Hivenet says that our drinking water is full of opiates, but hey I haven't noticed anything. I am just a bit forgetful. It's normal for people my age.

Sounds like hell. And why would Such an advanced AI even care about humans or our needs?

Yes... but that's missing the point.

The point is that you can experience a lot of things, but they're just things at the end of the day, without substance.

I'm saying that VR is just a other meaningless, more advanced entertainment system.

I'm saying that such a drive is unwise to pursue at the expense of other things.

How long before one tires of the fake thing and seeks put the real thing?

We most likely live in simulation, so what you define as real - is probably another VR. That makes your whole argument actually pro-VR.

For the VR's that we going to create soon...

Even AI will be constrained by laws of physics. You cannot slow/speed up time, you can't travel faster than speed of light. Lot of experiences are extremely dangerous in real world. They can also be expensive and polluting environment.

Finally, I don't see why we can't have both. It's not competition. Balanced life will probably consist of some VR time and some this-simulation time.

Oh yeah if it's just a comfortable dystopia then ye that's fair not a bad imagination

Some people like me like control and power that doesn't mean we all want to be dictators but it's about the experience in itself. I want to live in a world were no matter what I do or say will never get me in trouble which is not possible. I want to live in other worlds with having powers like marvel are also not possible. The only way for your plan or idea to work is for everyone to be content with this world. Which is fine with not being content with this world.

In many ways our current existence is the same.

I am not trying to build or envision a perfect world. I am envisioning a likely comfortable dystopia.

With endless possibilities you are really emphasizing in destroying the world