Our Jobs Are Disappearing - Maybe That's Okay

This article was written in response to the recent article written by Andrew Yang, "Silicon Valley Is Right — Our Jobs Are Already Disappearing" posted on thinkgrowth.org

A future where artificial intelligence leaves more than half of us unemployed may be a little too gloomy of an outlook, but I think it's good to heed the warning signs. I am a little more optimistic for the future, and I think new technology and more automation will continue to positively redefine the modern career as well as lead to cheaper cost of goods and services and an increased standard of living as it has done in the past. 

Typically, the purpose behind most new technology (along with the intent to increase profits and reduce labor costs) is to make our lives better and easier, so it should be of no surprise that this leads to less work to be done. Machines are particularly good at doing work that is repetitive, backbreaking, and just plain boring. Put a human in one of these jobs and it can be soul sucking. With less time wasted doing jobs that machines can do, hopefully people will then find or create new work that is more fulfilling and unique to being human.

Freelance is on the rise as well, and I think this means employment will continue to spread out, and everyone may not necessarily need to work 40+ hours to make a decent living, which in turn should keep unemployment from going up as well. 

My advice to you who have jobs that could potentially be replaced by machines in the near future is that you need to continue to develop new skills so that you are prepared to transition when the time comes. Full time employment can create the illusion of security, but if you aren't constantly learning and growing then I believe this to be the greatest risk you can take moving into the future. Unlike any other time in history, the internet arms us with an unlimited amount of knowledge and resources that we can use for self improvement. Adaptability is the gold of the future.

If artificial intelligence intends to minimize the amount of work we feel obligated to do then maybe this will allow each of us the ability to continue to fully discover what it means to be human and find the work we love to do. Or maybe I'm a dreamer and AI really will take over the human race!

What do you think?