What happens if robots leave us jobless

Best scenario

In the utopian world of the future, the day begins with a virtual assistant opening the blinds. He will tell you about the weather and the latest news. Then you will sit at the table, where you will find a plate of fresh fruit collected by robots. After breakfast, you will go to your wardrobe and put on your weather-appropriate clothing.

A car with an autopilot will be waiting below, which will take you to a football match with your son. You don't have to go to work anymore. Now you can devote your life to activities for which there was not enough time before.

After the match, you take your child to a cafe and chat about how his day went. At night, while the robot assistant puts your son to bed, with a glass of wine you finish painting a picture that you abandoned many years ago.

In fact, such technologies require us to always be on our guard, otherwise we risk losing control of our work, freedom and relationships.

If we take it seriously, the fairytale version of our future is not far from the truth. In the field of AI, great strides have been made that can make our lives easier. The question is not whether artificial intelligence will improve our lives, but how it will do it.

More free time

AI can take over small routine chores. IBM's Watson Assistant is a great example of this. While he is answering customer questions, employees are focused on more important things. And this is just the beginning.

Companies are adopting new technologies that can identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees, and then assign responsibilities based on their qualities.

Artificial intelligence can help not only in the office, but also outside of work. For example, you no longer have to spend a day off shopping, because your faithful assistant will order groceries to your home. You don't have to drive and get nervous because you can do other things while driving home.

By freeing up time for more important things, you will reduce workload and stress levels, and therefore increase your level of happiness.

Of course, this medal has a downside. What will you do with your free time? At work, you can concentrate on complex tasks, but outside the office, having free time does not guarantee happiness.

I'm sure more time to watch TV shows won't make your life better. In an unmanned car, we will be attacked with advertisements, we will become lazy and complacent. Remember what happened to the people at WALL-E. Will a person be able to use his free time to good use?

Freedom from work

The potential for AI is truly enormous. It can solve fundamental problems such as world hunger and constant wars. Robots could plant, irrigate, and harvest food, and farmers, using the knowledge and power of artificial intelligence, would develop better crops.

What do you think if in 20 years AI will run for president? Robots could extend our lives by detecting cancer early, or use genetic engineering to heal us of all diseases.

This is the main problem. AI doesn't just give us more free time, it completely replaces us. People have always had a fear of technology that could take their jobs. The Industrial Revolution has deprived many workers of their earnings, and journalists in the Internet age have given way to bloggers.

However, a person quickly gets used to everything new. Our nature has the ability to adapt. The same will happen with the development of artificial intelligence.

Some argue that AI will help create more jobs and even become a new round in human evolution.

If we can solve the problem of money, then we will rethink our attitude to work. Let the cars take our places - this is not the end of the world, we will just adjust to the situation. In addition, if robots create things for us, the value and demand for handicrafts will increase. Even now, handicrafts are much more valuable.

Utopian future

Imagine that we have succeeded: we no longer need a job, life has improved, everyone is happy. What are we going to do? How will we communicate with each other? How to prevent a robot uprising? We need to always think about the distant future, and not just about the immediate prospects.

We do not know what it will be, and even more so we do not know how to make all people happy. The only thing we can do is keep asking questions and trying to answer them.