Saturday, March 5, 2016

The End of Work Is Near!

This item from the New York Times addresses the topic of distributing the output of the economy once technology does the vast majority of work thus leaving few jobs for humans.

This is a topic I've mused about on this site, particularly as an addendum to the post immediately following---Writer's PS---Subject for another post....another day!  
  
As I suggested, there is a need to start transitioning to a time of no jobs when technology does all the work and the need to devise fair methods of sharing the output if the economy to keep the economic wheels turning when few people work. 

It's interesting that others are also starting to muse about this impending problem which has already started to impact our society. 

I have argued for a reducing work week to keep up employment levels as we transition to a world of no jobs. Revolution, led by the growing armies of the unemployed will result if we fail to start the transition now to a world of little work! 

In the meantime, national leaders will have to implement social policy to limit the obcene acceleration in the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few to avoid social upheaval and revolution.

For some technologists, machine intelligence is not seen as a job-killing catastrophe, but something like a windfall that could lead to universal basic income.
NYTIMES.COM|BY FARHAD MANJOO