All new technologies eventually displace obsolete jobs. But crucially, they usually do it slowly enough that the workers whose jobs are being obsoleted aren’t all sacked virtually overnight (i.e. society has the time to evolve relatively peacefully) and more of the new and better paying jobs are created for newer generations.
The internet is no different. My Grandpa was a telegraph operator. My Father worked for AT&T installing landlines and I’m a computer guy. Both their jobs are virtually gone and mine will be soon. But I did manage to make a career out of it.
The first real, violent disruption is happening now however: AI is on the verge of obsoleting a MAJORITY of all jobs within a few years, and no new jobs are really created to replace them. Society will be deeply uprooted and won’t have time to prepare for the shift. A lot of people will lose their jobs with no alternatives to put food on the table. That’s a recipe for war.
The main threat of AI is that it’s software. At least when robots displaced factory jobs, they introduced robot design, manufacturing, and maintenance jobs. But software is infinitely scalable. You don’t have to program every new instance of a software, it’s just copy paste. Sure there’s tailoring, debugging, and developing new models, but the number of jobs displaced is orders of magnitude higher than jobs created, and rollout is relatively quick and easy. Once a software is mature enough, it can displace an entire industry basically overnight.
AI & AGI have me kinda terrified because of how we worship the rights of ownership especially in America.
Some major company will own the AI/AGI and will have the right to all of the profits it generates. Combining AGI with the advancements of robotics, pretty much any job that could justify the expenditure of the robot and AGI will be eliminated. With how we treat the rights of ownership and with how the ownership class sees the rest of humanity, the only future I see is a future where “we have too many people” is the only conversation and not because we can’t feed them or house them, but because there isn’t enough work for them to “earn their own living.” The ownership class will never accept “giving” anything away to help people that “aren’t productive.” You’re not a human, you’re a profit generating labor machine.
I’m not and I’m nearing the end of my professional career. Even if I get the sack tomorrow, I’ve had a very good run. And I have other skills that simply can’t be replaced by AI or robots, so I’m not really worried. Concerned, yes. But not worried.
But I know I won’t have any retirement, that’s for damn sure. Still, it beats not having any professional prospects from the get-go.
All new technologies eventually displace obsolete jobs. But crucially, they usually do it slowly enough that the workers whose jobs are being obsoleted aren’t all sacked virtually overnight (i.e. society has the time to evolve relatively peacefully) and more of the new and better paying jobs are created for newer generations.
The internet is no different. My Grandpa was a telegraph operator. My Father worked for AT&T installing landlines and I’m a computer guy. Both their jobs are virtually gone and mine will be soon. But I did manage to make a career out of it.
The first real, violent disruption is happening now however: AI is on the verge of obsoleting a MAJORITY of all jobs within a few years, and no new jobs are really created to replace them. Society will be deeply uprooted and won’t have time to prepare for the shift. A lot of people will lose their jobs with no alternatives to put food on the table. That’s a recipe for war.
The main threat of AI is that it’s software. At least when robots displaced factory jobs, they introduced robot design, manufacturing, and maintenance jobs. But software is infinitely scalable. You don’t have to program every new instance of a software, it’s just copy paste. Sure there’s tailoring, debugging, and developing new models, but the number of jobs displaced is orders of magnitude higher than jobs created, and rollout is relatively quick and easy. Once a software is mature enough, it can displace an entire industry basically overnight.
AI & AGI have me kinda terrified because of how we worship the rights of ownership especially in America.
Some major company will own the AI/AGI and will have the right to all of the profits it generates. Combining AGI with the advancements of robotics, pretty much any job that could justify the expenditure of the robot and AGI will be eliminated. With how we treat the rights of ownership and with how the ownership class sees the rest of humanity, the only future I see is a future where “we have too many people” is the only conversation and not because we can’t feed them or house them, but because there isn’t enough work for them to “earn their own living.” The ownership class will never accept “giving” anything away to help people that “aren’t productive.” You’re not a human, you’re a profit generating labor machine.
So: Work or Die!™ Now with 95% less jobs!
Fun future. :(
If you’re young, you should be.
I’m not and I’m nearing the end of my professional career. Even if I get the sack tomorrow, I’ve had a very good run. And I have other skills that simply can’t be replaced by AI or robots, so I’m not really worried. Concerned, yes. But not worried.
But I know I won’t have any retirement, that’s for damn sure. Still, it beats not having any professional prospects from the get-go.