So. Because of a reddit comment, I read Marshall Brain's Manna.
First, don't. It is not a story. Technically a narrator and other characters exist and do things, but the story has no plot. The characters only exist so that the author can posit two possible futures for AI.
The first future is a nightmare in which AI controls everything and humans are its self-aware robots until actual robots are capable enough to replace them. Eventually, anyone not wealthy is shuffled off to live in permanent dorms where they have nothing to occupy them beyond walking outside (but not too far) and TV.
The second future is one where one wealthy and visionary man anticipated the nightmare and so created an alternative that people could buy into for $1k per share (and one share per person). Once you buy in, you're given a UBI that is more than you can possibly spend per month as everything is created by robots to be fast and reusable. (This vision assumes we have paper and plastic alternatives that are endlessly recyclable and reusable without creating air pollution/etc). Then you can do whatever you want, so long as you live your life fully and do not harm others. Everyone has equal power. (This vision also assumes everyone is on the same page about others; It also assumes that no one is power hungry). Also, no one is fat. The novella goes into detail about how no one is fat (b/c the implant uses excess sugar and because if you don't want to exercise, you can go into the shared virtual reality or watch a movie while giving the AI bodily control so that it can do the exercise for you. All pain is suppressed during and afterward).
The trade-off for this utopia (besides the initial buy-in) is that you must get an AI implant that monitors you at all times. The data of where you go or what you do is available to everyone. No anonymity is one of the rules of the society. If you are about to harm someone, the AI can shut down your body entirely. With the implant you view movies, get directions, connect with other people mentally, enter virtual space, and obtain information. If you ever break the rules, you get sent for re-education.
And these futures, according to one reddit commentator, are what we're moving toward. Either we end up with AI that micromanages us every moment of our lives as the richest prosper and everyone else ends up basically in prison or we end up in a utopia where AI does all of the work and we all live on permanent vacation relaxing or creating at will.
And I want neither of these. I don't think AI is going to solve crime and strife.
My biggest takeaway from reading Manna is that the author does not understand people, inequity, crime, or anything. He's made a lot of assumptions based on what he thinks is ideal and that fuels the worlds he created as well.
...It actually reminds me a lot of an old forum for rationality. They argued that if everyone just thought right and acted rationally, the world would be a better place, all while ignoring every assumption baked into their idea of what is and is not rational.
