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Will AI take our jobs? Will AI take our jobs?
No: there will always be jobs for humans No: there will always be jobs for humans
Partially: AI will take many jobs, but not all of them Partially: AI will take many jobs, but not all of them
Yes: AI will fully replace humans Yes: AI will fully replace humans
Labour displacement is normal Labour displacement is normal
Exponential growth never lasts Exponential growth never lasts
Capitalism won't allow for the end of work because of AI Capitalism won't allow for the end of work because of AI
AI has already taken many jobs AI has already taken many jobs
People want to work, but less. AI makes this happen. People want to work, but less. AI makes this happen.
The singularity is coming The singularity is coming
AI is developing rapidly AI is developing rapidly
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Will AI take our jobs?
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Partially: AI will take many jobs, but not all of them

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People want to work, but less. AI makes this happen.

Governments will plan the redistribution of work, directing everyone to work fewer hours while providing them with a basic income to keep the economy functioning.
Elon Musk Richard Branson
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Context

Centrally planned economics and a universal basic income will allow us to cope with the major labour challenges presented by automation and AI. Universal basic income is the provision of a basic level of wealth to all citizens of a state regardless of their work status.

The Argument

While Artificial Intelligence will take some of our jobs, that is not the end of the story. In reality, AI will create more jobs than it takes away.[1] Furthermore, universal basic income will stabilize the economy so that those who do lose their jobs have time to find another one-possibly in the technology sector itself. In San Fransisco, a robot owner tax policy striving to fund a universal basic income is currently progressing quickly. Company-wide policies, like Amazon's promise to fund 95% of the cost of retraining warehouse workers if their jobs are taken by AI, is also a viable alternative that suggests the AI "takeover" will be limited [2]

Counter arguments

In theory, this is a fantastic idea, but stable universal basic income is not yet possible. According to Bill Gates, “Even the U.S. isn’t rich enough to allow people not to work. Someday we will be, but until then, things like the Earned Income Tax Credit will help increase the demand for labor.” [3] Simply put, the timeline for universal basic income becoming a viable option and the transition to Artificial Intelligence may not match up. This would leave workers without jobs, as AI replaces them.

Proponents

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/analytics/assets/pwc-ai-analysis-sizing-the-prize-report.pdf
  2. https://venturebeat.com/2018/07/20/ai-weekly-artificial-intelligence-will-take-jobs-from-humans-but-itll-also-create-new-ones/
  3. https://futurism.com/4-bill-gates-thinks-countries-arent-ready-for-basic-income-yet
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 6 Oct 2020 at 07:37 UTC

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