Letter to NY Times - A.I.’s staunchest defenders would have us believe there is little to worry about because we’ve seen all this before and it worked out, most recently when computers and automation ended many factory jobs as we shifted to an information economy. In those past transitions, most workers successfully retrained for new and different kinds of work.
It’s different this time for three reasons. First, change is coming spectacularly quickly. Many of this year’s college freshmen are in majors that will be obsolete by the time they graduate. Second, many of the smartest people — even those in the A.I. field — are already wary about where this technology is headed and how it could be used, especially by bad actors. And third, there is a difference in the kinds of jobs that are being eliminated.
Previous technology shifts displaced millions of workers who were typists, telephone operators, assembly-line workers and bookkeepers, where the skills were learned quickly and required modest investments in education and training. The work and careers A.I. will eliminate in management, programming, law, medicine, health care, engineering, the arts and other fields often require significant investments in advanced education. Many in those roles are paying off student loans that will not go away when their jobs disappear.
All indications are that this time the great displacement will be bigger and much faster, and it’s becoming clear that we are not prepared. - Jay P. Maille, Pleasanton, CA
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