Not sure how sincere you're being, but I'll explain: Robotics is expensive, which is why people are still doing these tasks. 3D printing helps make robotics ubiquitous. Think back to the golden era before the PC, or the days of yore, when the only guys using a 'cell phone' were guys in limousines.
Now, I can go get a computer more powerful than a Cray for $200 & put it in my pocket; not to mention that I can also talk to other people on it.
We're on the shoulders of giants right now, my friend. And in kind, work being done today will give the programmer the capacity to replace cheap, forced labor with cheaper robots.
You've mentioned: 3D printed robots, cell phones, and powerful computers. Programmers didn't build any of these things--other sorts of engineers did. The OP asked: "but what other profession has the potential to let society have the potential of sustainable affordable riches for all WITHOUT this kind of murder for gain?" The answer is: lots of professions will have to work together to make this possible.
The overarching issue is that OP's self-aggrandizing tech utopian gibberish ignores the fact that giving masses of people access to cheap consumer goods will require revolutions in many areas that have little to do with programming. 3D printers are going to be of limited usefulness without advances in materials science. Their reliance on plastics is going to become untenable given the continuing increasing price of petroleum. Etc.
Outside engineering, it will require major advances in social and political systems. Without such advances, 3d printers will put everyone out of work, and all the benefits will go to those who own the means of producing those robots. Moreover, 3D printed robots don't make metals and plastics out of thin air--those have to be mined out of the ground and those deposits are often in countries quite hostile to each other.
Isn't 3D printing the most expensive and time-consuming way to manufacture anything? Rapid prototyping and relatively cheap one-off replacement parts: hell yes. A foundation for a work-free future? On Star Trek, maybe, but I'd have to see some references (with numbers) from anybody even advancing that opinion other than you. I've never heard it sold that way.
Comments
Not sure how sincere you're being, but I'll explain: Robotics is expensive, which is why people are still doing these tasks. 3D printing helps make robotics ubiquitous. Think back to the golden era before the PC, or the days of yore, when the only guys using a 'cell phone' were guys in limousines.
Now, I can go get a computer more powerful than a Cray for $200 & put it in my pocket; not to mention that I can also talk to other people on it.
We're on the shoulders of giants right now, my friend. And in kind, work being done today will give the programmer the capacity to replace cheap, forced labor with cheaper robots.
You've mentioned: 3D printed robots, cell phones, and powerful computers. Programmers didn't build any of these things--other sorts of engineers did. The OP asked: "but what other profession has the potential to let society have the potential of sustainable affordable riches for all WITHOUT this kind of murder for gain?" The answer is: lots of professions will have to work together to make this possible.
The overarching issue is that OP's self-aggrandizing tech utopian gibberish ignores the fact that giving masses of people access to cheap consumer goods will require revolutions in many areas that have little to do with programming. 3D printers are going to be of limited usefulness without advances in materials science. Their reliance on plastics is going to become untenable given the continuing increasing price of petroleum. Etc.
Outside engineering, it will require major advances in social and political systems. Without such advances, 3d printers will put everyone out of work, and all the benefits will go to those who own the means of producing those robots. Moreover, 3D printed robots don't make metals and plastics out of thin air--those have to be mined out of the ground and those deposits are often in countries quite hostile to each other.
Isn't 3D printing the most expensive and time-consuming way to manufacture anything? Rapid prototyping and relatively cheap one-off replacement parts: hell yes. A foundation for a work-free future? On Star Trek, maybe, but I'd have to see some references (with numbers) from anybody even advancing that opinion other than you. I've never heard it sold that way.