00:00AI isn't coming. It's already here.
00:04But what happens when robots can do every job human can?
00:09Will there be work left for us?
00:12Early adopters are racing ahead,
00:14but history shows that when technology moves too fast,
00:19society pays the price.
00:21Are we prepared for a world where AI and robots do it all
00:26and humans are left behind?
00:28What does the future hold?
00:30And why do we need to start asking these questions today?
00:35AI will replace jobs.
00:37Are we ready?
00:39Welcome to Into the Desert,
00:41exploring the wilderness of ideas.
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01:03AI will revolutionize the world in the next few decades.
01:07Companies are jumping on the AI bandwagon
01:10while many concerns are growing.
01:13Ultimately, this is not a matter of if, but when.
01:17As we have never figured out how to un-invent something.
01:23There are two aspects of AI's impact.
01:26First, AI will enable us to do things we have never done before,
01:32or at least do them better.
01:35What makes computers so useful
01:37is that they complement us very well.
01:40They are strong where we are weak,
01:42such as remembering and retrieving data.
01:45Human beings are just not good
01:48at processing long lists of numbers.
01:51Computers, on the other hand,
01:53are weak where we are strong,
01:55such as in understanding visual data.
01:58This is why websites use pictures
02:00to prove you are human.
02:03AI can help make up the difference,
02:05and this is exciting,
02:07especially in areas like medicine.
02:10The second is more problematic.
02:13AI, particularly when combined with robots,
02:16will be able to replace virtually all jobs.
02:20Can you think of a job
02:22that an AI robot couldn't do?
02:25The question here is not about AI and robots of today.
02:30Sure, there are a lot of videos about how dumb AI is,
02:33or how easy it is to mess up a robot.
02:36But that's like someone in the early 20th century
02:39saying cars will never catch on.
02:41They always break down.
02:43A horse is far more reliable.
02:46Well, we see how that went.
02:49The question is not today,
02:50but in a few decades.
02:54Others will suggest that AI will create new jobs.
02:57With the loss of farm jobs,
02:59you had factories to create new ones.
03:01Yet, AI and robots can run factories.
03:05And, in fact, many already are.
03:09When the automotive industry replaced the horse,
03:12it created new jobs to build and repair vehicles.
03:15New industries like gas stations emerged.
03:18Yet, with AI and robots,
03:21they can not only do the old jobs that remain,
03:24but also the new ones.
03:26So, where will people work?
03:30The closest analogy to what we are facing with AI
03:33comes from ancient Rome.
03:36Rome had a huge problem created by the influx of slaves
03:40resulting from their expansion.
03:42As slaves took over farm work,
03:44people fled from farms to the cities seeking work.
03:48But slaves worked in the cities as well.
03:51Why hire someone when slaves are cheaper?
03:54The result was the Bread, Circuses, and Gracchi brothers,
03:59who started the Roman Republic
04:01on its long road of collapsing
04:04into the empire of the Caesars.
04:07AI robots will be the new slaves.
04:10And I struggle to see what the new jobs will be.
04:13You might think IT.
04:15Yet, the current trend in IT
04:17is increased automation using AI
04:20to reduce staff and eliminate middle management.
04:23Even now,
04:25we have trouble employing
04:26all the STEM graduates we create each year.
04:29This is one reason why
04:31only 25% of Americans with STEM degrees
04:35actually work in STEM.
04:37Each year,
04:39we produce more new STEM graduates
04:41than new STEM jobs.
04:43How will the country survive
04:45if there are few jobs
04:46because most are done by AI and robots?
04:50This is something humanity has never faced.
04:54Another consideration
04:56is that early adopters
04:57drive the development of new technology,
05:00which often is a good thing.
05:02When large flat-screen TVs came out,
05:05development was driven by the very wealthy,
05:07as they were the only ones
05:09who could afford to purchase one.
05:11Yet, the main thing they drove
05:13was the price down to the point
05:15where most people could afford one.
05:16But, the basic function did not change.
05:20While early adopters
05:22may not cause problems,
05:24that is not always the case,
05:26as can be seen
05:27with the Industrial Revolution.
05:29The Industrial Revolution
05:31brought tremendous change
05:33and great improvement,
05:35but also a lot of problems.
05:38Here,
05:39the early adopters
05:41were the titans of industry,
05:42who shaped the growing economy
05:45to suit their own needs.
05:47In the early days,
05:48this caused great hardship
05:50for the workers
05:51who were at their mercy.
05:53Over the long run,
05:55it also caused tremendous damage
05:57to the environment.
05:59Eventually,
06:00the laws of the country caught up
06:02and corrected many of these early mistakes,
06:05but not without a lot of pain,
06:07suffering,
06:08and cost.
06:09The early industrialists
06:11got a free ride
06:12and built huge fortunes,
06:14but the bill eventually came due
06:17and it was later generations
06:18that had to pay.
06:20With the huge fortunes
06:22being generated
06:23by tech companies today,
06:25is history repeating itself?
06:27For AI and robots,
06:29the early adopters
06:30are businesses,
06:31and their primary need
06:33is to reduce cost.
06:35That is,
06:36jobs.
06:37If they drive technology,
06:40what will happen
06:41as the jobs disappear?
06:43Should that really be
06:44the main driver
06:45in how AI develops?
06:47How can people be expected
06:49to buy a robot
06:50to help around the house
06:52without a job
06:53to pay for it?
06:55How will companies
06:56sell their products
06:57if people don't have jobs
06:59and can't afford
07:00to buy them?
07:02If this is like most things,
07:04these problems
07:05will be ignored,
07:06allowing them to fester
07:07as early adopters
07:08drive the technology
07:10to suit their own
07:11short-term needs.
07:13Then,
07:14one day,
07:15we will become aware
07:16of the problem
07:17and wonder
07:18how we got here.
07:20Wouldn't it be better
07:22to talk about this
07:22in advance,
07:23before the problems develop?
07:27What do you think?
07:29What will be
07:30the long-term effects
07:31of our adoption
07:32of AI and robots?
07:34Will this be like
07:35other automations
07:36that will create
07:37new industries
07:37and new jobs for people?
07:39Do you think AI
07:40will limit itself?
07:42Let us know
07:43what you think
07:43down in the comments.
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07:46and often post replies.
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07:55Into the Desert,
07:56Exploring the Wilderness of Ideas.
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08:02this channel.
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