Andres Oppenheimer

It’s no secret that jobs are disappearing. As technology advances, various skills and services are falling to the wayside. However, would this jobless state of being become a Utopian bliss or a Dystopian nightmare? Andres Oppenheimer writes a book to address these issues and many more. I don’t think he is related to J Robert Oppenheimer, but that isn’t really important. What is important is the points that this book raises.

So Artificial Intelligence is coming to its own teenage years. I actually don’t know where it would register on a scale, but many bemoan these advances. Remember that episode of Southpark where those people from 1000 years in the future come back to the past to take our jobs and deposit money in bank accounts that would make them rich in the future? This is a bit like that, but it is something that is actually happening. Artificial Intelligence has already succeeded in most specific skills we give them. Deep Blue was already over 20 years ago as of this writing and a computer already conquered Go. Service jobs are disappearing since Millennials don’t like talking to actual people; they prefer screens and tablets. This is something I can’t wrap my head around, but it is mostly because I missed the boat on iPhones and other such screen-based devices. I like having buttons, but I didn’t like the Jetsons.

On the other hand, many argue that technology advances create more jobs than they eliminate. Tell that to the people of the Eastman Kodak Company though. Instagram conquered them with only 13 full time people. Kodak once employed over 200,000 people. This is going to cause a massive shake-up as people that aren’t creative or adaptable are going to be unemployed. What are you going to tell a Judge that gets replaced with a Robot? This robot doesn’t get tired, doesn’t make rash or biased decisions, and doesn’t need to be paid with money. I recall a situation back in 2011 where a series of judges were found to make more Draconian Judgments as they got hungry. Can you imagine that? A totally innocent person’s life is hanging on a balance of when their case is. You better hope you have the case right after breakfast in this case. Doctors are at risk as well. IBM’s Watson computer already works as a diagnostician, analyzing millions of cases and journals in seconds. What doctor can compete with that? Then there is the idea of replacing politicians with an AI. This isn’t too far-fetched either. It would avoid bias and they can’t be persuaded by bribery.

However, given that AI is in its Teenage years, it still has many kinks to iron out. GPS fails sometimes, especially if maps aren’t continually updated. When something goes wrong with a robot or an AI it really goes badly sometimes. Alexa and other assistant devices listen to things but sometimes turn themselves on for no reason. What about military robots though? Could Skynet come into existence?

Historically, there have always been jobs created, but this is not the case now. Management can be replaced by AI. Executives can be replaced by AI. Who is safe? The person that feeds the dog? How will we live fulfilling lives if we identify ourselves as working people? Oppenheimer grapples with these issues and more in this timely book. As such, I really enjoyed it.… (more)