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To: Sherman Logan
Correct. The biggest socioeconomic challenge of the 21st century for the planet (not just the U.S.) is the transition to a post-employment society. Since the start of the industrial revolution over 200 years ago the fundamental equation of the economy has been "labor = money". "Labor" is going to become obsolete as robotics and AI really take hold. That doesn't mean that people will be idle, just that the concept of a "holding a job" as a prerequisite for functional participation in society is going to go away because the economy no longer needs that.

It's clear that nobody is really preparing for this transition, which is why it's bound to be rough.

67 posted on 05/04/2015 4:51:48 AM PDT by AustinBill (consequence is what makes our choices real)
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To: AustinBill

Thanks.

My eyes were opened to this by The Bell Curve. That was the primary focus of the book, not the difference between the races the media used to demonize it. BTW, every problem described by the book has continued and accelerated.

And still nobody wants to talk about it!

The Left wants our structural unemployment problem to be caused by evil greedy capitalists and conservatives.

The Right wants it to be by lazy and unmotivated slackers.

There is of course some truth in both claims. But the real problem is simply what you describe.

A simple example: Probably within 10 years the vast majority of those who present make a living driving vehicles will be displaced by automation.

The Pollyannas say, “No problem! We’ll still need people to design, build and maintain the self-driving systems!”

While true, they simply ignore two critical facts:

1. Numbers. For every 100 jobs driving lost, I suspect no more than 10 and probably less than 5 will be created to replace them building and maintaining the sytems. That means a net loss of 90 to 95 jobs.

2. IQ. Most of the people presently driving for a living are not going to be intellectually capable of designing, building or even maintaining these systems. They don’t have the intellectual horsepower to even be trained to do so. This is the key insight of The Bell Curve, which I recommend to all.

Thanks for your input.


68 posted on 05/04/2015 5:03:47 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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