An Oxford University study estimates that 47% of jobs in the US will be at risk of being lost to robots within the next 20 years. This has led some to conclude that robots and AI could become the greatest existential threat to mankind, by virtue of the economic devastation such high unemployment would bring.
That conclusion is short sighted at best, neither the machines nor the technology that underlies them are responsible for the financial consequences of their implementation. In actuality, billionaires and big corporations are now and will continue to be the greatest existential threat to mankind.
A decision to lay-off and abandon a group of workers is made by the wealthy corporate entity that invested in their demise. Cutting them all loose is the step just before announcing increased profits to shareholders
Extreme greed and lack of empathy/morals/ethics are driving the downfall of civilization, it’s in progress now, and has been for some time. Automation is accelerating this destruction, it’s picking up speed exponentially. Without question it will continue, but just how much farther can it play out in a way that lacks even the tiniest bit of consideration for the working class?
The economy is already in a dangerously weak place. As greed and corruption, augmented by technology, grind away at the middle class, the path we are on will lead to increasing poverty and greater inequality. The rich get richer, the poor get even poorer and become more numerous — a bleak outlook at very best. At some point unrest and dissent will reach critical mass, and the people will have no alternative but to rise up.
Science fiction has often foretold the story of a war against the machines, where robots and computers usurp authority and enslave mankind. I think it much more likely that widespread poverty will fuel a regular old fashioned biological revolt, long before machines become smart enough and dissatisfied enough to take over. Look at all the human unrest now. How much more of this bullshit will the down-trodden 99.9% take?
The irony is, robots and AI could be a boon to all mankind, they could bring leisure and prosperity for all. Working could be optional — imagine how much more efficient and effective we would be if every human position was staffed by someone that actually wanted to be there! What if people could go to school their entire lives, if they wanted to. Imagine the freedom to change a career path without risking financial ruin. Imagine being able to focus all of your energy on self-betterment, while machines provide for everyone’s needs.
It could happen that way, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility, but sadly it is anything but likely. The wealthy ruling class is so disconnected from the plight of those they exploit, gouge, swindle and discard, they see no value in the comfort of all mankind. The way they perceive concepts like want, need and contentment is so distorted by extreme wealth and greed, they no longer even remotely compare to those of the common man.
Does a billionaire really live more comfortably than a multi-millionaire? Is owning 100 vehicles really more advantageous than owning 10? There surely must be a point of maximum opulence, a point at which the point of acquiring more wealth becomes moot… But if there is you’d never know it by observing the wealthy elite..
Imagine if we all got to share in the benefits of technology, loss of jobs or job function to robots could be a reason to celebrate! Businesses that automate can still afford to pay the workers they lay off, they still make the same money! Their plan, of course, is to boost their bottom lines, add what they save to their fortunes, so they can net $2B in profits instead of only $1B
Imagine everything being priced based on cost of manufacture, as opposed to the absolute maximum that can be extracted from buyers at any given moment. Imagine big pharma without monetary incentive to fake tests and disregard the people that take their drugs. Imagine energy providers without a vested interest in destroying the environment. Imagine banks and government that are more concerned with making sure everyone has a place to live, than with hoarding hundreds of thousands of foreclosures waiting for prices to go back up. Imagine a world where we don’t squander trillions each year on wars of aggression and weapons capable of destroying our entire planet many times over.
A robotic work force could support everyone comfortably, there’d be no need for crime, no threat of homelessness or hunger, no health insurance companies, no parasitic multi-national industries netting billions of any kind. The primary concern of government and business would truly be the greater good of mankind.
Ok sure, it’s utopian, and it will never come about, because deep down at its core, human kind is inherently fucked up.