I don't have kids of my own, like many of you do. But I do have young family members who will be starting their working careers soon. Above you see my four-legged niece Willow Belle, my smart, baseball-playing nephew Ethan, and my lovely and talented niece Katherine. Ethan just started high school and Katherine just started college.
Five short years from now,as Ethan heads into college and Katherine heads into the career world,there will be about 9,206,340 LESS jobs in the U.S. than there are right now. Really. Those are jobs projected to be taken by robotics, artificial intelligence, and other technology by 2021. Don't believe me? Watch the CNBC clip below. No one knows how we will find work for those left unemployed by tech, and any future economic downturns. Are your kids ready for this? It's a good time to think about that.
Willow, being a very affectionate dog, doesn't really have to worry. And she can always get gigs as a Jerry Garcia K9 look-a-like if she does need to work.
I'm the taxi driver in this video who was taken out by technology, except fatter and with more hair. From about 2003 to 2007, I worked 7 days a week as a taxi driver, 15 to 18 hours most days. I lived in my cab because I couldn't afford an apartment, sleeping in it six nights a week and getting a cheap motel room one night. What did I get for busting my ass as a taxi diver? A lot of crazy stories. And I bulked up to 374 pounds, nearly died from MRSA infections, and wound up homeless and panhandling to survive for a year.
I'm not alone. This kind of thing is happening to millions of people as high tech like robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) improves at an exponential pace. Most of the taxi drivers here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where I now live, drive cabs just to get a car to drive around. They don't even try to make a living at it. I just talked to one yesterday. The same is true in cities nationwide. No matter who you are, no matter what you do for a living, this loss of jobs to technology WILL affect you. If you don't lose your job to tech, you may lose customers for your business who lost their jobs to tech.
This little video gives a quick and fairly good look at what is one of the biggest issues facing modern society that is being largely ignored. How secure does your job seem?
This is the big issue I'm putting my thoughts and effort into as we move forward in what will be a rapidly changing and highly interesting future.
