A thought experiment: imagine a world in the not-too-distant future where technology has advanced to the point where basic human needs for food, clothing and shelter are being met by autonomous computer-controlled systems. Setting aside dystopian visions of a human race enslaved by machines, let us instead assume that this situation is working pretty well for everyone.

My question is: How much of humanity would continue to strive to increase knowledge and skill, developing better technology and more intricate artwork, and how many would kick back, crack open a cold beer, and enjoy a life of leisure? Are we naturally lazy? Or naturally industrious?

Without needing to labour for basic survival, my own hope is that we would focus newly liberated person-hours on solving ongoing problems of civilization such as sustainability and disease. The path to expertise in these areas would be straightforward for those with the time to pursue it. Advances in education would also help bring active learners quickly to the cutting edge of science and technology, where they could make useful contributions.

Arguably, this is the path we are currently on. Technology increasingly reduces the need for human labour, and the trend is accelerating. As more people move to cities, we leverage urban efficiencies to feed, house and power more people, while consuming fewer resources per capita.

What is needed is technology that encourages learning and effectively focuses emerging free time on to meaningful and creative challenges. Fortunately, this technology already exists, although in recent times it has generally fallen into disuse. It’s called community.