There's a growing debate about the impact that artificial
intelligence will have on our future, with two tech luminaries
themselves -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Facebook CEO Mark
Zuckerberg -- as figureheads representing glass half empty versus
half full perspectives, respectively.However, many are predicting that with
the advent of AI, we will see the rise of a "useless class"
--people
who are not just unemployed, but are unemployable. This is a chilling and pessimistic view of the future. If the last century
of incredible advances in digital technologies leads to the creation
of a "useless class" of people who have nothing better to do than
play virtual-reality video games all day, that's a tragedy for
civilization.Last week Musk commented that
AI is an "existential risk for human civilization." Zuckerberg retorted
that comments like this are "pretty irresponsible," to which
Musk tweeted that Zuckerberg's "understanding of the subject is
limited."We can leverage AI to ensure that
opportunity is more equally distributed around the country and
around the world, rather than concentrated in small pockets of
urban wealth and opportunity.While these comments refer to sweeping impacts, many
are debating one specific area where we are already seeing the
effects of AI: jobs.But if that happens, shame on
us because we are in charge of our destiny, not AI. AI itself is not a
thing; it is a series of combined technologies that humans are
creating and guiding the impacts of, including impacts on work.Everyone in society has
an obligation to ensure that people are educated for a future in
which AI touches every aspect of work.However, there are
indications that people in technology are starting to think
differently about their obligations toward humanity, and to design
their products accordingly.In particular, those of us in the technology industry have an
obligation to shape the future of AI and robotics to help create
better and more productive jobs.But it's up to those of us
who build technology to ensure that it augments human workers,
not replaces them.Jobs are intrinsically linked to our survival, as
they're the way most of us earn income and are therefore able to
provide for our basic needs.If that's what happens, we will look back at Musk's
remarks and say they were accurate.This is an area where Silicon Valley culture has fallen short, with its
obsessive focus on eliminating labor costs.As humans, we're trained to watch for threats to our survival and
predict tragedies.Investing energy in the vigilant watch over the future of work is wise
because only one thing is sure: Jobs will change.However, buying
into doom and gloom is not wise, in my opinion.When it comes to dirty, dangerous, and demeaning work,
automation can save lives and increase human dignity.There is time to
shape our future and make it a positive one.