- Is it an investment/bet that's expected to result in increased productivity?
- Is it a way to preserve humanity?
- Is a way to entertain the elite?
- Is it just "the right thing to do"?
To me, all of this feels like a primitive defense mechanism. People anticipate that they will become obsolete, rightfully so, and they come up with crazy strategies to preserve their relevance. Some even go as far as believing they can avoid this fate through fantasies such as "friendly AI". By letting their animal instinct take over, they miss the big picture.
Rather than slowing down progress, we should all aim to make the universe more efficient. Namely, we should aim to preserve consciousness, with as little resources as possible. Think "The Matrix". The physical world is just too rigid for the mind.