@okennedy @dysfun

I tend to agree with you both. We don't need artificially high barriers to entry; but we do need a lot more accountability for some software.

Its the "some software" bit that is important here, I think. Tossing together some software and dumping it on GitHub under a GPL license is one thing, writing safety critical systems for automobiles is a very different case.

@Over2you
I have often thought that the main point of elections is to change governments without having to resort to gun fire.

However to say that our alternative governments are equivalent just because by one measure the outcome is the same, is a bit of a stretch.

I really don't miss opening The Guardian each and every morning to read about the latest bit of corruption, or other idiocy, of the Morrison government.

Based on the ACT where there is a Labor-Green coalition, I think the best answer would be to get a similar situation at the federal level.

@justincrozer
Not much chance of that in the short term.

In the long term go for the party that does the best at encouraging the transition to EVs. (That will remove the demand, and hence reduce the price of fuel.)

@flaki
Car making in USA(and Japan) is basically stuffed.

On one side of politics the oil coal and gas companies are being protected. On the other the industries the make up a significant part of the economy (auto makers) are being protected to save jobs.

The Chinese car makers are out competing the Americans in EVs. The move to EVs is already beginning to have an affect on oil consumption.

Spikes in oil prices, and shortages, are a really good way of encouraging people to stay with their ICE vehicles - not.

@timrichards
I agree that a UBI is a logical consequence of AI and robotics.

The problem is how to manage it.

A UBI inevitably requires the transfer of wealth from those that are the beneficiaries of this new economy, to those that are pushed aside (most of us).

Given that those beneficiaries are also those with considerable influence over governments, how do we ensure that there is a fair distribution system established?

#UBI

@screwlisp
A good intro to an interesting bit of history. Thanks.

I am a long way from convinced that building a knowledge database of general knowledge will be of much use on the path to general AI. Knowledge is not understanding.

Imagine having spent your entire life on the space station. You could read everything about weight and gravity, but it would give you no comprehension of what it would feel like to pick up a stone.

I think we need to use the experiences of a robot as training data. Tell it go outside and play.

@DropBear
My guess is that he (or any Australian government) has been put in very difficult situation:

On one hand the Labor base is wanting him to move away from the USA.

On the other the intelligence services desperately want access to 5-Eyes info; the armed forces are advising that much of their equipment is unusable without US permission; and multiple US companies are threatening to take their investments back.