Question:
Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced that AI will be doing the work of mid-level engineers this year. High paying jobs will go. Let's fast forward a few years to when robotics and AI are perfected and merged. Virtually no job will be secure. It is easy to imagine an 80% unemployment rate. Why employ humans as Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers etc when a robot will do it better, quicker and cheaper?My questions are:
1. What will all those unemployed people do to pass the time of day?
2. How will they finance those activities?
3. How will society function overall?
Answer:
The scenario you describe is entirely possible although economists believe a whole new set of jobs will be created once AI takes over our lives. This is what happened with major previous disruptions: once no one was needed to fix typewriters, we needed folks to fix computers. No one can predict what will happen exactly. Presumably, the government will offer everyone a "universal basic income" funded by corporate taxes to support basic existence. Maybe everyone will be given a portfolio of shares in companies at birth, and they will live off their stock market earnings. Yes, there will be plenty of time on people's hands. I imagine people will take up sports or art or pursue knowledge or just watch more TV to pass the time. Point is, no one knows how society will restructure itself once there is not much need for regular labor.
