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In response to Humans Need Not Apply

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

In response to Humans Need Not Apply

https://youtu.be/ggN8wCWSIx4

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English (United Kingdom) 0:00Humans Need Not Apply perfectly covered a lot of the issues that I've been thinking 0:03about recently. I suggest you watch it. In short, it's saying that pretty much every 0:08kind of work can be automated and that most- if not all of mankind will be made redundant 0:12at some point in the future simply because robots will be able to do it better. 0:16I don't question that. Let's say that we get to a point where everything's automated and 0:19the few people who came up with these ideas are now the only ones in employment. What 0:23will happen then? Will the rest of us become a race of slaves and beggars? I don't think 0:27so. Everybody seems to see this as a terrifying and very depressing outlook of the future, 0:32but I see it as an exciting one, full of potential. Our current system won't work. The entire 0:36idea of having to work for money in order to live will have to be thrown out of the 0:41window. I see the end goal as being a life of luxury, where everybody has everything 0:44they need and the work required to fulfil this is automated. Either that or robots end 0:49up destroying us. But let's say that this doesn't happen. 0:51I can imagine a lot of people would criticise this prediction, saying that it sounds too 0:55good to be true or that the world doesn't work like that. But I argue that the idea 0:59of everything being done by machines sounds preposterous, and yet there it is, looming 1:02on the horizon. In some areas it's already here. Invest in Google now, people! The future 1:07is exciting! I don't see any easy way of moving from a 1:10system where we work for money to one where we get everything given to us. Will we all 1:14gradually get increasing amounts of benefits? Will we have some kind of credit-based system 1:18where we all get 1000 credits a month and use it to spend it on everything we want and 1:22need? What's the difference between that and communism, a system that sounds good on paper 1:25but doesn't work well in practice? I'd like to see this as an incredible opportunity 1:29for creativity. With all the time in the world, what would you do? Would you try to become 1:33the best CS:GO player ever? Would you paint pictures, write music, make videos or explore 1:37the world? These things- I hope- won't be made redundant, even if computers manage to 1:42best us in all of these categories. Just because computers are doing everything, it doesn't 1:46mean that you CAN'T do it if you do so wish. I like to think that this sort of future gives 1:50us more chance to do what we want, rather than to take it away. 1:53The video mentions horses and how they became obsolete. But they didn't really, did they? 1:57We still have horses, it's just that their use has changed from working to recreational. 2:01Almost like pets. I wouldn't mind being in the same situation, given a computer, friends 2:06and the freedom to do what I want, when I want. I'd argue that the horses around today 2:10have a better life than those from, say, 100 years ago and I'd like to think that we'll 2:13be in the same situation in 100 years' time. But I understand that things never work out 2:17the way they should. Perhaps robots will destroy us, seeing us as useless or even a negative 2:22entity. And they'd probably be right. Perhaps the amount of science fiction writing we have 2:26today could actually have its use in predicting future problems and allowing us to resolve 2:30them before they occur. In all honesty, I'm more concerned about humans and how they'll 2:33take the transition, which will inevitably be radical and full of problems. 2:38Can you imagine older generations adapting to such a different way of life? Do you think 2:41that they'll accept it once it comes? I can imagine my parents calling me a hippy for 2:45even imagining this sort of future. They'd argue about job satisfaction and how it gives 2:49your life meaning, but obviously these are things our current system REQUIRES in order 2:53for it to work. If the entire game changes these old ideas will look as ridiculous as 2:56they are. Given the choice between working in a job and doing what you want, what would 3:00you choose? Obviously right now it might not be practical or even possible. But hold that 3:04thought. But back to the older generations. Do you 3:07think that they'll blindly argue for jobs to be kept and for the advances to be nerfed 3:10to try and keep things the way they are? I think they will. This won't solve the problem- 3:14it will simply make the inevitable changes more painful once they happen. What about 3:17those people who currently possess great power or wealth? Do you think they'll be happy about 3:21throwing away the hard work and good fortune they currently have for the greater good? 3:24The people who drive the robotic revolution will have an enormous amount of power and 3:28I can only hope that they do what is best for mankind, rather than for a select few 3:31people. You think that immigration is a problem now? 3:34What about when some countries are further ahead with this revolution than others? Why 3:37would some people want to live in a country where they have to work when their neighbours 3:40aren't? In the UK right now I imagine that the total number of jobs is going down. Those 3:44without jobs are on benefits. But if there aren't the jobs out there for everyone, what's 3:48the alternative? As jobs are automated and people get made redundant, will the proportion 3:51of the population on benefits gradually rise and will it slowly be accepted as a way of 3:55life? What about when living on benefits becomes a better way of life than actually working? 3:59Maybe we've seen the beginning of this trend already. 4:02What about the booming population problem? With all the time in the world, do you think 4:05that people are going to be sensible or do you think that they'll turn to raising a family 4:08to give their life meaning? Will the powers that be restrict the number of children that 4:11we can have? What if people consider that number too low? 4:14I take back what I said earlier. I see this sort of future as exciting, but very, very 4:18scary. And what's more, we'll more than likely see it in our lifetimes.

Published on Aug 22, 2014 See the original video here: http://youtu.be/7Pq-S557XQU What do YOU think will happen once the majority of jobs are automated? SPECULATE AWAY! Category People & Blogs License Standard YouTube License SHOW LESS COMMENTS • 1,111