The basic fact is that technology eliminates jobs, not work. It is the continuous obligation of economic policy to match increases in productive potential with increases in purchasing power and demand. Otherwise the potential created by technical progress runs to waste in idle capacity, unemployment, and deprivation. —National Commission on Technology, Automation and Economic Progress, Technology and the American Economy, Volume 1, February 1966, pg. 9.
The Question with AI Isn’t Whether We’ll Lose Our Jobs — It’s How Much We’ll Get Paid
We’re going to need a bigger safety net.
January 31, 2018
Summary.
Yes, there are reasons for concern about AI, both technical and political. Machines are now able to take on less-routine tasks, and this transition is occurring during an era in which many workers are already struggling. Nonetheless, with the right policies we can get the best of both worlds: automation without rampant unemployment. Even though jobs where humans have absolute advantage may be narrowing, there is little reason to expect an end to human work. And though there is still much we don’t know about how this wave of automation will proceed, there are several areas of action we can identify now — including education and improvements to the social safety net.