Elon Musk warns us: Could we all lose our jobs…to Robots?

Here’s a topic that’s slowly beginning to gain some mainstream attention…and that is the era of automation and artificial intelligence. Is this good for society, and are Elon Musks concerns about artificial actually warranted? Let’s discuss. Add me on Snapchat/Instagram: GPStephan

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It should be no surprise that automation has helped us get to where we are today, and it’s been around for quite some time. Up until this point, automation has eliminated jobs, but CREATED other, better jobs that increase our overall output in the economy. While heavy machinery eliminated the need for manual labor on farms, it opened up those jobs increase output elsewhere…from transport, grocery stores, tellers, and everything else that goes into the sale of food. While the automotive industry lost 800,000 manual labor jobs due to automation, it actually opened the door to CREATE 3.5 MILLION NEW jobs…which paid, on average, $13,000 per year more.

Throughout history, we’ve encountered that machine innovation leads to higher productivity, which means fewer jobs are needed for that specific task, with the end result being that newer, better jobs are created to increase our net output. But is there an exponential curve as to how much we, as humans, are actually needed, until robots can eventually just create other robots to do other jobs more efficiently, until we as humans become useless and obsolete?

After all, Elon Musk believes that will ruin mankind. He believes AI could help create our downfall, while creating a “super intelligence” that humans could never compete with. So could a real-life SkyNet actually become a reality? Well, hypothetically, if AI becomes so advanced as to outperform and outsmart its creator…then we as humans won’t be able to conceive its powers, because it’s already beyond our level of comprehension. Stephen Hawking even warned about the dangers of AI…he wrote that “Intelligent future AI will probably develop a drive to survive and acquire more resources as a step toward accomplishing whatever goal it has, because surviving and having more resources will increase its chances of accomplishing that other goal.”

Now If we’re getting into a less optimistic outlook where robots get to a self-learning level where they can begin replicating and outsmarting us on a deeper level, that could be cause for concern…but for it to get to this point, not only would robots have to be able to communicate and learn from each other, but would also need to be physically mobile. The capabilities of a robot would need to be so great, that I don’t believe we’re anywhere close to having the resources to make such a thing…in hundreds of years, maybe, but not now.

While some people want an idealized economy where machines do everything for us, the reality is that we will always want and strive for more. The hedonic treadmill is our evolutionary need to ALWAYS push the boundaries and continue advancing ourselves. I don’t see us ever complacent with the same lifestyle that doesn’t get better or increase over time. This means that human creation and innovation will always serve a purpose, if simply for our own selfish needs. For people who are worried about their own jobs being replaced by technology, I think it should serve as an important reminder that idleness is never rewarded, and that it’s up to us to constantly grow and adapt if we want to succeed. While the next several decades might lead to further automation of many industries, this should only open the door to us to be able to leverage our time into more fulfilling, creative work where our time is much better utilized.

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