The Reskilling Fallacy: Overcoming the Fear of Honesty in the AI Era
Ending the Penalty for Open Dialogue: Navigating the Future of Work and Society in a Post-Work World
Reskilling can be challenging and time-consuming, I have done it twice already during my career, and it takes everything you’ve got because bills don't stop coming just because you're "reskilling." Your family doesn't stop needing food. And starting as a beginner in mid-life is daunting. I often felt like it was not worth it, and moving into my parent's basement in my 40s and letting my wife and kids go their separate ways seemed like a genuine option. Drinking myself to death seemed like a reasonably practical plan, and I have no history of depression or mental illness.
I don't know how I got through it and pivoted. A lot of it had to do with pure luck!
So don't merely advise people to have grit and do x or y because while some of that can work, it's no guarantee, no matter HOW hard you try, and implying otherwise adds to people's sense of failure and shame as if it's their fault, and that's not fair.
Reskilling always presented serious upheaval in people’s lives, but now it's worse: new jobs that spring up in the AI revolution will NOT provide long-term job security in the face of rapid advancements in AI. Whatever human skills you use to do that NEW job may soon itself be emulated by AI. We can't kick the can down the road forever. Humans don't have endless skills.
Reskilling is an insufficient long-term solution and, frankly, a deflection. At best, it could smooth out the transition to radically fewer or no jobs, but all that effort to master a new career with a quick expiration date is unfair to ask of people. It will demoralize them and waste their time, only prolonging the inevitable.
Meanwhile, the solution is relatively easy in theory, but it offends the ideologies of too many people. So the answer is that when productive capacity skyrockets, we SHARE (yes, share, remember that word?) the vast surplus with everyone so that people have food, shelter, healthcare, and education. Believe it or not, that's ALL people need to self-actualize. People don't need excess wealth if they own their time and have basics as a natural floor in society. Then, anyone can learn, grow, create, connect, love, and contribute in ways that provide meaning and purpose. Of course, some may stagnate, but that's their choice. Well-being is a choice; it doesn't require anything but the things I mentioned above plus the free time to elevate them to their best and highest forms, and it's about time more people realized that.
Some options include universal basic income, AI taxes, robot taxes, wealth taxes, and other redistributive measures, which can provide a safety net for a labor force primarily replaced by automation.
It is crucial to have open and honest discussions about these urgent policy changes, economic measures, and societal adaptations. We should be able to talk about it without fear of losing our jobs or getting attacked by narrow-minded ideologues.
The situation can be confusing, scary, and insulting to our sensibilities. We've been locked in a race of survival and dominance forever, and this is suddenly a way to end that paradigm and begin a new one. But, unfortunately, some people don't want it. Their attitude has always been that there's no such thing as a free lunch and an honest day's work for a fair day's pay is the way it should be, period.
An attitude of self-reliance was necessary for our entire history as a species, so it was probably worth embracing as a foundational principle. But soon, to keep this principle accurate, we'd have to force it to be true instead of accurately reflecting reality. We'd have to actively prevent lunches from being free to protect our emotional attachment to always having a portion of the population so desperate for basics that they are easy targets for exploitation. I can't think of anything more pathetic.
What to do?
Let's unite to shape a future where technology serves humanity, not the other way around. Advocate for equitable policies, support innovative solutions, and engage in open conversations. Be sure to defend and encourage anyone who talks openly about these challenges because almost nobody talks about how muted these ideas are by the fear of losing jobs or facing public ridicule.
We have a fleeting chance to redefine what it means to live and work in a world transformed by AI. So please take action now, and let's build a future where everyone thrives and it's safe to have honest discussions.