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How to manage technology progress and middle class unemployment
I have written earlier http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=1565&do=blog&id=987181 and http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=1565&do=blog&id=987605
on technology progress and the huge middle class unemployment problem.The natural question is then “How to resolve this crisis?”. Here are somethoughts accumulated over a period of couple of weeks from my own reflection.
1. More education for the middle class: While this is obvious, this is along term effort. Nor is it clear that a large percentage of the public can be educated to the level of being the master of technological progress and not being replaced by AI
2. Infrastructure work: In the US, and I suspect in other developed countries, there are critical needs for many infrastructure work such as repair and maintenance of highways, bridges, and public buildings that need work. Such complex physical and good paying work cannot be done by smart machines yet.
3. In the modern sharing economy there are plenty of work sharing or freelance work, e.g.,Uber drivers, that can increase middle class income.
4. Skilled service work, e.g., gardener, barber, craftsman, and home builder that cannot be replaced by AI as yet.
Government officials, politicians, trade school leaders should take note.
Notes added 7/27/2106 This weeks TIME magazine reported an idea called Universal Basic Income (UBI). As computers become increasingly smarter and human productivity continuous to increase, it is no longer possible to offer employment to every living human being and certain jobs will not come back ever again. Thus society should try to offer every living person a basic unconditional amount of money for them to live - an entriguing idea.
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