Lakhasly

THERE’S A GROWING DEBATE ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
WILL HAVE ON THE FUTURE, WITH TWO TECH LUMINARIES THEMSELVES—TESLA
(TSLA) CEO ELON MUSK AND FACEBOOK (FB) CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG—AS
FIGUREHEADS REPRESENTING GLASS-HALF-EMPTY VS. HALF-FULL PERSPECTIVES,
RESPECTIVELY. 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 A RETORT THAT ZUCKERBERG’S
“UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUBJECT IS LIMITED.” WHILE THESE COMMENTS REFER TO
SWEEPING IMPACTS, MANY ARE DEBATING ONE SPECIFIC AREA WHERE WE ARE
ALREADY SEEING THE EFFECTS OF AI: JOBS.

AS HUMANS, WE’RE TRAINED TO WATCH FOR THREATS TO OUR SURVIVAL AND
PREDICT TRAGEDIES. 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. 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. IF THAT’S
WHAT HAPPENS, WE WILL LOOK BACK AT MUSK’S REMARKS AND SAY THEY WERE
ACCURATE. BUT 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.

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. 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.

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. THERE IS TIME TO SHAPE OUR FUTURE
AND MAKE IT A POSITIVE ONE. EVERYONE IN SOCIETY HAS AN OBLIGATION TO ENSURE
THAT PEOPLE ARE EDUCATED FOR A FUTURE IN WHICH AI TOUCHES EVERY ASPECT OF
WORK. BUT IT’S UP TO THOSE OF US WHO BUILD TECHNOLOGY TO ENSURE THAT IT
AUGMENTS HUMAN WORKERS, NOT REPLACES THEM.

THIS IS AN AREA WHERE SILICON VALLEY CULTURE HAS FALLEN SHORT, WITH ITS
OBSESSIVE FOCUS ON ELIMINATING LABOR COSTS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE INDICATIONS
THAT PEOPLE IN TECHNOLOGY ARE STARTING TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THEIR
OBLIGATIONS TOWARD HUMANITY, AND TO DESIGN THEIR PRODUCTS ACCORDINGLY.

WHEN IT COMES TO DIRTY, DANGEROUS, AND DEMEANING WORK, AUTOMATION CAN
SAVE LIVES AND INCREASE HUMAN DIGNITY. THERE ARE ALREADY SIGNS THAT THIS
“FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION” WILL INCREASE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT AND
OVERALL PRODUCTIVITY, JUST AS THE PREVIOUS THREE HAVE DONE, AND IT COULD
ALSO INCREASE THE FLEXIBILITY AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY OF WORK. IF THIS IS
WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM ROBOTS AND AUTOMATION, BRING IT ON.