Faculty Director Gary Marchant will today give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution, followed by a three day Master Course, on the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and work. His talk – (When) Will a Robot Steal Your Job? – addresses concerns about AI in the workforce and what should be done about it.
Artificial intelligence and advanced robots are projected to replace humans in a growing number of jobs in the next few decades. In some ways, this is not something new. Technology has always changed how American’s work. “At one point, 50 or 60 percent of workers in America . . . were working in agriculture,” said Marchant, speaking with The Chautauquan Daily. “That went down to 2 percent.”
Historically, while technology changes how people work, it generally creates more jobs at the end of the day. Technology often opens up new and different employment areas. However, noted Marchant, not everyone believes that history will repeat itself. It’s possible that work taken by AI and robots won’t result in new jobs for humans.
Marchant’s lecture and the following course will discuss the economic, social, and personal implication of being replaced by AI. He will also cover some proposed solutions, including guaranteed basic income, a tax on robots, and innovations in education. Learn more here.