Think about how many used to be engaged in agriculture in the 1800s compared to now, and know just how much more food is produced today compared to back then.
Absolutely!
On an real basis, the price of food has gone down tremendously. Even when most of what we eat is prepared and therefore much more expensive than it need be, we spend a much smaller proportion of income on food than ever before.
Maybe my worries are simply modern Ludditism. We’ll figure out new and better ways for people to provide value and feel needed. As we have for the last 200 years. I certainly hope so!
But I’m really, really skeptical. Past performance does not necessarily predict future performance. And computers and robots are not just expansions on the machines of the 19th and 20th. They are at least to some extent replacements for our minds, the factor that is otherwise unique to humans.
Think about how many used to be engaged in agriculture in the 1800s compared to now, and know just how much more food is produced today compared to back then.
Is necessity still the mother of invention?