I think capital will always be looking for better returns, and as long as human beings can add marginal value somewhere in that equation, there will be demand for human labor.
Working in tech has taught me to stay vigilant. I've seen the cycles and seen people survive each one. Perhaps that's why I feel better prepared for this. Anyone whose job primarily consists of manipulating bits should probably assume that significant parts of it are going to be automated.
Where I disagree is the assumption that we're approaching some kind of escape velocity where automation eliminates useful human labor faster than people can adapt. People need to eat, firms want to make money, and both create enormous pressure to find the next place where human effort has value.
That doesn't mean the transition will be painless, or that everyone displaced will successfully pivot. But there's a very large leap between "AI destroys a lot of existing jobs" and "human labor no longer has economic value." I don't think we've demonstrated the latter.
Working in tech has taught me to stay vigilant. I've seen the cycles and seen people survive each one. Perhaps that's why I feel better prepared for this. Anyone whose job primarily consists of manipulating bits should probably assume that significant parts of it are going to be automated.
Where I disagree is the assumption that we're approaching some kind of escape velocity where automation eliminates useful human labor faster than people can adapt. People need to eat, firms want to make money, and both create enormous pressure to find the next place where human effort has value.
That doesn't mean the transition will be painless, or that everyone displaced will successfully pivot. But there's a very large leap between "AI destroys a lot of existing jobs" and "human labor no longer has economic value." I don't think we've demonstrated the latter.