Robot Jobocalypse And Ways To Stop It

Kevin Drum from Mother Jones doesn’t beat around the bush: in the next 40 years, a robot will replace you in your work. It doesn’t really matter what your job is, sooner or later, robots will become as smart and as effective as human beings. Soon after, they will most likely outdo us. They will be cheaper, faster, and more reliable, they will manufacture themselves, program themselves, repair themselves, and manage themselves. No capitalist could resist the potential of true AI.

“In one sense, this all sounds great. Let the robots have the damn jobs! No more dragging yourself out of bed at 6 a.m. or spending long days on your feet. We’ll be free to read or write poetry or play video games or whatever we want to do,” writes Drum.

But in order to live this happy, worry-free life, we need to fix some things and figure out how to fairly distribute the fruits of robot labor. We could, for instance, introduce universal basic income or levy a tax on robots. We obviously cannot continue just sitting and waiting. And if we do, we’ll face a dreadful era of mass joblessness and poverty.

“A hundred years from now, all of this will be moot. Society will adapt in ways we can’t foresee, and we’ll all be far wealthier, safer, and more comfortable than we are today – assuming, of course, that the robots don’t kill us all, Skynet fashion. But someone needs to be thinking hard about how to prepare for what happens in the meantime", concludes the author.

Even though robots taking over jobs is a topic that has been discussed so many times before, trust me, you won't be bored with this one. The author reviews different arguments and perspectives, but it's the reflexion of his personality in the text that makes this read truly enjoyable.