Even if an apocalyptic AI-induced job loss scenario becomes a reality, we need not give up on our fundamental goal of building a full-employment economy centered around work and the purpose it provides. A far better path is to offset job losses due to AI by creating and expanding millions of desperately needed jobs that provide dignified care, preventive health services, educational opportunities, counseling for people with mental health and addiction issues, and navigation services for individuals who face barriers to work due to disability, prior incarceration, or long-term unemployment.
In other words, our response to the AI revolution must be to support what I call “work of double dignity.” In this work, human workers receive the dignified compensation they deserve in exchange for providing care and dignity to other humans.
Dual dignity jobs are unlikely to be replaced by AI because they primarily involve essential human touch tasks. For example, a study conducted by Anthropic found that healthcare support and personal care support jobs are at the lowest risk of automation. MIT’s David Orter similarly found that this kind of care work is difficult to automate because it involves nonroutine, interpersonal, and manual tasks. Intuition supports this analysis. Would most Americans want an AI-powered robot that could dress, shower, dry, and comfort their parent with dementia? Or will kids stop learning with other kids and sit alone with an AI tutor? Or will we tell teens who are struggling with bullying or suicidal thoughts to only seek counseling from Claude or ChatGPT?
