The world is sitting on an unemployment time bomb, the like of which it does not fully fathom at the present moment. This is because the way AI, IoT, and robotics are incrementally advancing in their capabilities, there is no field of human endeavour that will escape unscathed from the ever-expanding tentacles of these technologies in the not-so-distant future. While this will be immensely beneficial to the corporations that own and control these technologies, what of the people at large? Ultimately, there is also the not-so-unreal or unlikely doomsday prospect of AI becoming fully autonomous, going rogue, and deciding to take the destiny of humans and indeed all life forms, for better or worse, into its own hands. This may not happen in the next 5 years, but who knows? When you might have possibly created and unleashed a Frankenstein’s monster, do you have any clue about what the consequences might be? Moving on to more immediate matters at hand, are we prepared for the massive unemployment crisis that the world faces in the very near future? Imagine a future where there are no human teachers, engineers, doctors, accountants, cab drivers, pilots, actors, poets, painters, or farmers? Not all of that will come to pass in 5 years, but some of it might. Are we even thinking about it? The way things are evolving with regard to the incremental adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI, IoT, Machine Learning, and robotics, most of the jobs in 5 years from now will pertain to managing and harnessing these technologies across sectors. It certainly makes sense to equip yourself with skills that are likely to be in demand in this new era of technology. By all means, attend all the online courses available out there that teach you about AI, IoT, Machine Learning, and all the stuff that is deemed to be important. Stay in the know about the developments that will have a bearing on your future career prospects and ensure that you have a healthy online presence that helps showcase your skills to potential employers. But the nagging question is, will there be any real need for what you and millions of others like you bring to the table in this new technology (not human) shaped world order? The answer is that one does not know. While it is true that the advent of any new seminal technology always comes with its own share of challenges, but ultimately becomes mainstream and always opens up new pathways of employment after the dust settles, we are dealing with a whole new phenomenon here. The sheer scale and frequency of change ushered in by the fascinating as well as scary bouquet of  AI technologies (including Generative AI) have seemingly made it impossible for humans to keep pace and pivot to newer ways of performing a job. For whatever you might think you can do better than an artificial entity, it will be proven false faster than you thought was possible. For instance, the impending arrival of Agentive AI, with the ability to make autonomous decisions without human oversight and thereby achieve predetermined objectives, promises to be a total game-changer in terms of what it will be able to achieve and accomplish. That is because Agentive AI will be able to think critically like human beings and be able to display initiative in dealing with complex environments all on its own. What on Earth would you need humans for? The high priests of technology are, in fact, quite upfront and honest about the likely detrimental impact of advanced technology on people’s job prospects in the very near future. For instance, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, the AI company that came up with Generative AI assistant Claude, believes that Artificial Intelligence might replace 50% of all white-collar jobs in the next 5 years. Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, the AI company that came up with Generative AI assistant Claude, believes that Artificial Intelligence might replace 50% of all white-collar jobs in the next 5 years. Elder statesman and politician Bernie Sanders has expressed his fear that the benefits of AI will accrue only to billionaires, shining a light on an expected struggle against corporate greed as well as inequity brought on by the AI revolution. Elder statesman and politician Bernie Sanders has expressed his fear that the benefits of AI will accrue only to billionaires, shining a light on an expected struggle against corporate greed as well as inequity brought on by the AI revolution. Nothing highlights this more vividly than the New York Times article about the catastrophic state of employment amongst recent college graduates, with more and more companies looking to deploy AI in preference to recently graduated college students. Nothing highlights this more vividly than the New York Times article about the catastrophic state of employment amongst recent college graduates, with more and more companies looking to deploy AI in preference to recently graduated college students. The world needs to wake up and smell the coffee now. A strategy has to be put in place to ensure that AI and all the other wonderful technologies that it incorporates are harnessed to serve the interests of everybody and not just the all-powerful tech giant or those in a position of authority over the common man. Using it to fight disease, illiteracy, and climate change, for example, is something to look forward to, but not deploying it to serve the economic interests of a few. Like democracy, we have to ensure that technologies like AI are for, by, and of the people and used for their common good. The necessary rules and regulations have to be framed and implemented so that their use is properly codified and works within a system. Above all, people’s right to work and a livelihood must be strengthened by technology and not decimated. The time to act is now. Featured image by Tim Gouw on Pexels Featured image by Tim Gouw on Pexels Tim Gouw on Pexels

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

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