There is no doubt that artificial intelligence, they key technology underpinning the Next Economy, is going to have a profound impact in our lives. How much? Well no one really knows and it’s what keeps many people up at night.
People either worry too much or are very excited about a future where artificial intelligence underpins all our life. I’m on the excited side, but I’m biased because I like technology. But I do worry for those less fortunate who sit on the sidelines while others decide what the future might be like is left up to them.
Here are four scenarios From Walls Street Journal “The Worlds That AI Might Create”
- Many jobs will disappear, and won’t be replaced;
- There will be plenty of jobs (just different ones);
- Our very existence is threatened;
- We’ll be healthier and live longer;
- AI will be a constant companion.
My take is that all and none at the same time will happen.
Everything will be different in the future of work, health, education, banking, traveling; you name it. The one that worries everyone the most is employment, but if history is any guide we know technology has always destroyed, replaced and created new jobs.
If anything in the future of work we’ll all be a hybrid of entrepreneurial-employees, what will change is the degree to which everyone chooses one over the other; whether or not that will work for everyone is to be discovered.
As with the adoption of any new technology, there will be challenges but one thing is certain: people will have to develop new skills to stay relevant, out of necessity and of choice, because no one is completely future-proof.