Rise of the Machines: Robots are after our jobs - Part 4

                                              

Artificially intelligent computers and robots are here to stay. They will get better and better at doing everyday tasks at a faster and faster rate. They will be able to do the jobs we do now better than we do, faster than we do, more precisely than we do and without rest.

Why do we need work?

Work forms a significant part of lives -without labour we cannot earn money and support ourselves and our families. Work gives us a sense of purpose, self worth and is often a measure of our contribution to society. Further without enough people earning money to buy goods and services why would we need the increased productivity of these robots?

How do we beat automation?

I want to keep my job and I'm sure you do too. What can we do to beat this tsunami of change headed our way?
Some experts say we won't need to - there will always be work for humans and enough of it. Most however agree that human work is no longer guaranteed.

How we should meet this challenge? It is a matter of varying opinion and truth be told no one really knows the best way (after all non of us can predict the future). In my research for this blog post I continuously came across three things most people agree on;

• We would have to become more adaptable - more ready to change, more radically and more frequently than ever in our history as a race.
• We need to respond to those changes at an individual level.
• There needs to be a response to increased automation at the level of government[s].

We're going to look at these three approaches, all the while remembering that no one person has all the answers. What the experts think now could all change very soon.

Being Adaptable

Change causes anxiety, stability is comforting and 'ideal' for us humans. But there is gonna be a new normal - faster paced and more radical change than we've ever known. We must if we are to survive it accept that radical change will be the norm for as long as we live as individuals and exist as the human race. Nothing will be as it has ever been before - not school, family life, work life, love, war, retirement -  nothing! We must be ready to change from the day we are born right up to the day we die. The old dog will have to learn new tricks - even as his teeth fall from his mouth.

Change is the new normal - accept it prepare for it - live it!

How do I adapt as an individual?

Your government (where ever you live) is behind the curve when it comes to the coming impact of AI and advanced robotics on the human work force. In fact you can count youreself lucky if theya re even aware that it has started. You need to look out for your self until they catch up.

As you are reading this blog post-you've taken the first step by becoming aware of the problem. Here are some more pointers you may find helpful

•  Automation will hit lower skilled jobs first, up skill to stay ahead. Identify the trends in automation and see if your job is 'low hanging fruit'. Find professions that require more advanced skills or skills that aren't being targeted for automation.
• Seek out new professions (as in didn't exist before), particularly those still in infancy of the early stage of maturation. There's probably less investment in AI research to take over such jobs (General Artificial Intelligence research will still be a factor though).
• Niche professions will probably go last because of the low ROI on the R&D needed.
•  While robots will definitely become better at doing our work they are still not used to frame the problems we want solved. There maybe an opportunity in helping tech companies find problems to solve. 
• Be prepared to change professions three or four times in your life time. This means reading the winds of change, identifying a new career, getting training and moving on before you're kicked out.

How can my government adapt?

We the people can only do so much for our selves. Our governments must start to recognize the benefits and risks that are posed by artificially intelligent robots. Fewer human workers means fewer tax payers-which translates into reduced service delivery capacity. No government can justify its existence if it fails to deliver services and rights of citizenship to its people. No politician will receive votes from a frustrated, impoverished out of work electorate. For politicians and governments accelerated automation represents an indirect existential threat.

It is the interests of governments to consider this new phenomenon and start to plan and fund research on its impact on society. Luckily there is already some research being done into this and there are some academics looking at ways of dealing with accelerated job automation due to AI.

• All governments need to research robot/computer job automation and the potential impact on their industries, work force and trade. They can then start to pilot interventions.
• Governments must avoid protectionist barriers against work automation. These have been shown to be unsustainable and harmful in the long term. However robotics and automation should be regulated to ensure human workers are duly compensated during transition, incentives are given to automation that has greater net benefits to society amoung other reasons.
•  Governments need to consider radical changes in their social security schemes to insulate against economic collapse -  Universal Basic Income  is one concept under research and pilot trials in some first world  countries. Though this maybe difficult for third world countries like my own.
• Our education systems will also need radical change to meet the demands of a continuously evolving workforce and our governments being the biggest players in the is sector will need to get involved in setting up a system of life long learning and re-training. 

We've looked at the influence computers have had on the human workforce and what current trends may mean for us. This is not meant to frighten us but rather to alert us to an inevitable reality. This blog post considers ways of meeting this new challenge. We need to be proactive rather than reactive.

What do you think we should do to adapt to the rise of the machines? Drop a comment -  lets get the conversation started.