4 Reasons to Get Excited About the Future of Automation
I have a phrase that I quite like saying,
“I’m always trying to automate myself out of my job so that I can do something even better.”
Automation, from a software script to a robot with arms and legs, frees you from your present toil. It allows you to focus on what’s next. As a human, you are likely to spend extra time to better yourself and the world around you.
I reject the belief we can’t prevent the ills of automation. This is technological determinism. It forgets that society grows with technology as we adopt new norms and regulations. The co-evolution of humans with technology has taken place for over a million years. Progress will continue!
Here are 4 reasons to get excited about the future of automation.
1. Your next kitchen appliance will be a general purpose robot arm
The greatest new kitchen appliance of the 2020s will be a robot arm. It is the missing link between the refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher. We have plenty of food but little time to cook and clean. Intelligent automation is almost ready. Then, custom gourmet creations ready for you to eat at home every day.
2. Towards Minecraft in real-life (IRL)
By the 2030s, humanoid robots will learn to operate tools and vehicles. They will work on home repairs and make your dream creations a reality. Robots will work longer hours, move with higher precision, and cost less. If you can afford the raw materials, robots will grant you an abundance of skilled labour.
3. Cancel dangerous work
In Canada there is a shortage of workers willing to perform dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs. Food preparation, trucking, construction, and cleaning industries need help. Even before COVID accelerated the need for these essential workers, labour shortages were constraining the growth of the country. Automation that solves the labour shortage is not only a huge commercial opportunity, it is the greatest opportunity in human history. Intelligent robotics can free up humanity to do more interesting, creative, and compassionate things.
4. Guaranteed Basic Income
If jobs are automated what will people do? How will they afford to live? A great solution is a Basic Income Guarantee. Everyone deserves dignity and stability in their lives. Futhermore, Basic Income is like seed funding for everyone. It will produce a wave of creativity.
Together, automation and Basic Income multiply it ways that give people more time. People will do incredible things if you give them time. Linus Torvalds took twice as long to graduate university. And during those 6 years of government support he created Linux (1990–1996). A Basic Income Guarantee will unleash entrepreneurship.
Basic Income does not go so far as to end work incentives. People will still want to make money to afford leisure activities like going out to dinner and a movie with friends. It is prudent too. A Basic Income social program is cheaper than the downstream costs of crime, healthcare, and poverty which we already are paying for.
Welcome automation
Michael Jordan never took his eye off winning the NBA championship. My version of winning the NBA championship is to replace dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs with compassionate, creative, innovative jobs.
I’ll leave you with this quote by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
“We should be excited about automation, because what it could potentially mean is more time educating ourselves, more time creating art, more time investing in and investigating the sciences, more time focused on invention, more time going to space, more time enjoying the world that we live in,” she said. “Because not all creativity needs to be bonded by wage.”
Happy automating! 😄
