When the Robot Takes Your Job (It Probably Creates More)

There could very much be a day where everything you read on this site-blogs on CR4, articles on Engineering360, selection guides in the product finder-is composed by a computer program. That's right, I'll be un- or underemployed, living in a refrigerator box under a New Jersey overpass, because Automated Insights has eliminated my job from IHS.

Last January, Associated Press published the first story composed by Automated Insight's program, "Apple tops Street 1Q forecasts." It was an unremarkable article, but it was analyzed by a logic system with a better understanding of the inverted pyramid than I could ever imagine. The program, called Wordsmith, included no typos or misspellings, but what it ultimately will spell is "D-O-O-M" for most editorial professions. Therefore I've enrolled in clown college, because I figure it's one of the last professions that will be robotized.

In fact, machinery usurping the jobs and roles of humans is a well-worn narrative. But now that artificial intelligence is developing to the point where an AI singularity deserves consideration (the robots are smarter than us), and economies of scale have enabled a greater proliferation of AI (the robots are cheaper than us), we now face a reality where the majority of careers as we know them, both blue and white collar types, could be eliminated in favor of capable robot workforces.

This inevitability has been one of the factors for support of a universal income-a guaranteed, tax-generated stipend that provides every citizen with a [minimal] means to live. In other words, slackers rejoice-you'll get unemployment forever. Of course there will be push back: traditionalists (and labor unions) who won't trust robots to do their job and complain about the effects on the family income.

While it seems like robots will eliminate jobs, it's completely possible they create many more. Author John Tamny points out that when technological advances forced workers off of farms, it created a labor force that had to be more creative in their pursuit of employment. The idea is that once we replace essential tasks with robots, people have more time for labor they enjoy. And companies will have more time to invest in more innovations and more robots.

Eventually robots will be developed enough where everyone can be their own business executive because they will have their own robot [labor] army to command. Jobs will also be created directly due to the design and maintenance of more robots. Further, the nature of labor is constantly changing. Tamny likens it to carriage drivers who rallied against the automobile. Yes, a job is lost immediately, but dozens of other much better, less demanding jobs are created in its wake.

Of course, we're not even up to burger flipping robots yet, so it will be a while before skilled positions such as writer (in my case) or engineer (in your case) are automated. In all likelihood, I'll have retired before a robot starts posting here on CR4. Care workers, food service employees, salespeople and custodians will be some of the first dominoes to fall in the robot labor uprising. However, after that it will be hard to find footing on such a slippery slope.

(Be careful not to engage in soapbox politics in the comments below!)