When AI Takes Our Jobs: Three Scenarios
Utopia, dystopia, or something in between?
Unlike the Luddites
In the 19th century, a group of textile workers, know as the Luddites, protested against machines taking over their jobs. Their form of protest often involved destroying the machines that replaced them. Since the, the term ‘Luddite’ has become synonymous with a person that opposes new forms of technology out of fear for job loss, rising inequality, etc.
However, the Luddite fear seemed out of proportion. Jobs were lost, yes, but many others were created. As machines and robots became able to do menial, manual (‘physical’) jobs, we humans could always find some comfort in knowing that there would always be ‘cognitive’ jobs for us, such as teaching, communicating, interpreting data,…
Then came machine learning/AI. Suddenly, even the cognitive jobs are no longer safe from artificial applicants.
Whereto now? Shall we embrace neo-Luddism and strongly curtail the abilities of AI, or do we fully embrace the possible revolution in our jobs, our societies, and our lives?
Right now, it’s still up to us to figure out which way we want the pendulum of possibility to swing.
