The Jobless Future of Abundance
Here’s a prophecy;
the future will either be seen through the lenses of great prosperity or it shall be seen through a mind in a great depression.
The idea of seeing a glass as either half full or half empty will become a concept obsolète, because in the future, glasses will runneth over.
Why do I believe that prosperity and depression will define the human experience of the future? Well, my thinking is pretty simple really —due to the pace at which technology is changing, producing, and facilitating the exchange of commercial goods and services, human labour will soon be made redundant, and the dexterity of the smart machines that will replace us will produce unprecedented levels of wealth in shorter lengths of time.
“A lot of exciting new innovations are going to be created, which will generate a lot of opportunities and a lot of wealth, but there is a real danger it could also reduce the amount of jobs.”
—Richard Branson
What Is This Bull**** All About?
Before we go any further, I’d like to make it clear that this article isn’t about the rise of robots and the jobless future; it is not about how robots will take our jobs or how universal basic income will give us enough money to live and buy the awesome products they will create.
This is about acknowledging the fact that technology is moving at an ever increasing pace in virtually every sphere of life, and it is liberating people, opening new markets, and creating massive amounts of wealth.
It is about realising the fact that with all this technology, humanity is on the verge of eradicating poverty from the human experience forever, and we have to come to terms with one of the effects this reality might have on the great human experiment.
Getting Paid in New Money
If we are to entertain the idea of universal basic income becoming an actual reality, then we are really talking about the end of poverty as we know it. When we no longer have to worry about being hungry or how to afford paying the rent, I think it would be safe to claim victory over the war on poverty.
But as good as getting free money from the government might sound, it also raises obvious concerns like what people will now do with their time, and if people will still be motivated to occupy themselves with activities that give meaning to their lives and the lives of others.
Hopefully we do, but what about the ones who won’t? What about those for who the land of milk and honey might become nothing more than a distorted reality? Imagine a world where so much abundance around people without a definite purpose creates a situation where mental illness becomes the norm?
I’m Not Crazy, My Illness Is Just A Little Mental
In fact, this may just be the reason why there has recently been a big public campaign behind mental health awareness.
There are now various initiatives aiming to stop the discrimination around mental health, essentially making the illness more socially and professionally accepted. I am all for it, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
This happening around the same time that universal basic income is seriously being considered by developed nations as a possible solution to the economic problem posed by the jobless future should certainly provide some insight.
It suggests that the future is going to be filled with people who may never have to earn a living through physical or even mental labour, but that some of these people might become mentally unstable precisely because of this paradigm shift.
Are You Qualified in Empathy?
I would argue that it is possibly also the reason why empathy is being touted by futurists as the most attractive skillset or trait for the future of work.
What this infers is that the more humanity struggles to occasionally unplug from the world of artificial intelligence and augmented reality, the more necessary it will become for humans to help one another reconnect with nature, and humanity itself.
In the very near future, it won’t seem so ridiculous to see businesses that offer to help millennials deal with the social awkwardness and inferiority complex that many of them currently face from the horrors of a negative social media experience.
If that’s the case, then I guess being able to help other people rise above the dark clouds of low self esteem and depression will become one of the most important jobs for human beings in the so called jobless future of prosperity and abundance. And that, my friends, is what this is really all about!
