I started a debate on Singularity Hub, back in April 2011 (Posted: 04/6/11 6:06 AM). Some of my comments appear to be missing because I originally commented via a now defunct Facebook account. I have two different accounts on Singularity Hub. Here is a recent comment.
Should “Post-Scarcity” be a more prominent Singularity topic?
Time scarcity is something I have considered, and a PS of time could be possible via simulations where a century can be lived within a period of seconds. Black holes are interesting regarding altered time, thus perhaps they could be utilized for a PS of time. With a virtual reality running on a different time scale to our traditional time, you could place a virtual you in the simulation and then reintegrate the virtual you with the traditional-original you, thus essentially you will be able to do two things at once.
On the issue of “spacial rarity” regarding only one person having the best seat at the opera, you could again bypass this via full immersion tele-presence VR or AR (virtual and augmented reality); thus one million+ people could occupy the same seat but each person would think they are the only person in the seat due to sophisticated filters, furthermore the tele-presence would be so sophisticated it would in essence be utterly indistinguishable from the real thing.
On the issue of “artistic exclusivity” I think this will be easy to transcend via 3D printing thus “great art works, particularly signed ones” will not have a price because they will be reproducible with atomic precision. When you can replicate something so that all the atoms are utterly identical then the copy actually becomes the original. If you cannot tell the different between original and copy then there is no difference thus no scarcity. Furthermore the desire to possess items of artistic exclusivity is only a form of purchasing or status power wholly related to a culture based on scarcity, thus such social traits will be obsolete when anyone can easily create any product or food they want.
Privacy is easy. You could build you own cloaked world, or universe, or simply fly off into a very distant part of our universe.
Social intimacy will also be post-scarce, via simulations, robots, or simply greater intelligence which allows people to communicate their desires with greater skill.
