Unemployment may not be the real threat, as AI forms the labor market. It may be subtle and corrosive.
This was commented in an interview released Wednesday on a “possible” podcast hosted by LinkedIn co-founder Reed Hoffman, according to MIT economist David Autor.
Autotor warned that Rapid Automation could guide what he calls the “Mad Max” scenario. This is a world where jobs still exist, but once wage-generating skills are cheap and commoditized.
“The more likely scenario to me looks like Mad Max: Fury Road, where everyone is competing for some remaining resources somewhere uncontrollable by some warlords,” he said.
The references drawn from the dystopian film series set in a world of rarity and inequality after the collapse symbolize that AI will force most workers to fight what remains, focusing wealth and power on the top.
While some economists and some tech CEOs are worried that AI will drive away millions of workers, Autor has argued that damage can occur differently through devaluing skills once-valuable.
“The threat posed by rapid automation – to the extent that it poses as a threat – is no longer worth it because it creates valuable skills that people have so much more,” he said.
He pointed out the roles of touch typists, factory technicians, and even taxi drivers as examples. It's all skilled, paid jobs that technology has downgraded or sometimes replaced.
“Previously touch typing was an invaluable skill. There wasn't much anymore,” he said.
This does not mean people are losing their jobs, he added. Instead, many people are more likely to move to low-paid service jobs, such as food service, cleaning, and security, with little training required.
“Automation can increase your job expertise by eliminating support tasks and allowing you to focus on what you really are good at,” he said.
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“Or you can remove the work by automating the parts of the experts and leaving something like the last miles.”
Autor's concerns are increasingly reflected in the corporate world.
A Salesforce survey in May predicts that 23% of workers will be relocated over the next two years as AI adoptions surge, and even employees who remain in their current roles are expected to evolve.
Meanwhile, technology executives are expanding their premiums not only to technical specialization, but also to adaptability, creativity and the ability to manipulate AI tools.
To avoid a future in which technology is increasing inequality, Autor said AI must be intentionally designed to support workers.
“My philosopher friend Josh Cohen likes to say, “The future is not a prediction exercise — it's a design exercise, and you're building it.” ”
“So it's not just the question of luck that breaks our path. It's the question of making good collective choices, and that's very difficult.”
For Autors, the best place to get started is to focus on AI where AI can do the best. It is to expand access to healthcare, education and meaningful work.
“Healthcare and Education – two activities with 20% GDP in the US and actually a lot of public funding – this is where there are great opportunities where AI can become a useful tool for us in ways that are not other tools.”
“Many of these are feasible,” he continued. “If you think we're not trying to do them, it's not because we couldn't do them.
