I hard an NPR interview with the author of this book
He has a very valid point. If the job involves doing anything repetitive, it will be replaced by automation at some point. Do you think just because you have a degree does not mean you are immune.
Computers are generating many of the basic news articles that used to be cranked out by beginning journalists.
Computers are generating many of the basic legal documents that law clerks and attorneys used to do.
Yes, factories are reopening in the USA. But, factories that employed 2000 people 20 years ago now employ less than 200.
He points out that we have weathered such changes in the past by being able to shift the workforce from one sector to another. Agricultural jobs moved to factories. Then, factory jobs moved to the service sector. But, where will we move people to now? Automation is hitting all sectors of the economy. In the next 50 years we are likely to see a situation where there just are not enough jobs for the population of this country. And, we will then faced with a very serious question, what to do for/with all of these people we just do not have jobs for? Will we end up with a huge percentage of the population on welfare? Will we start creating make work jobs? Will we just let them starve?
This is a perplexing problem that I see only one good solution for. We must find a way to open new frontiers where people can choose to go for better opportunities. These frontiers can be places like the sea, Antarctica, or space. But, if we do not open these frontiers, things will go downhill in this country and throughout most of the developed world.
Computers are generating many of the basic news articles that used to be cranked out by beginning journalists.
Computers are generating many of the basic legal documents that law clerks and attorneys used to do.
Yes, factories are reopening in the USA. But, factories that employed 2000 people 20 years ago now employ less than 200.
He points out that we have weathered such changes in the past by being able to shift the workforce from one sector to another. Agricultural jobs moved to factories. Then, factory jobs moved to the service sector. But, where will we move people to now? Automation is hitting all sectors of the economy. In the next 50 years we are likely to see a situation where there just are not enough jobs for the population of this country. And, we will then faced with a very serious question, what to do for/with all of these people we just do not have jobs for? Will we end up with a huge percentage of the population on welfare? Will we start creating make work jobs? Will we just let them starve?
This is a perplexing problem that I see only one good solution for. We must find a way to open new frontiers where people can choose to go for better opportunities. These frontiers can be places like the sea, Antarctica, or space. But, if we do not open these frontiers, things will go downhill in this country and throughout most of the developed world.
Rise of the Robots
NPR coverage of Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin Ford. News, author interviews, critics’ picks and more.
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