#461 Confronting the Jobless Future with Martin Ford, Author of "Rise of the Robots"
Today we’re talking to Martin Ford, futurist and author of the book Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future; and we discuss the impact automation will have on the labor market in the next 10-20 years, how to think about structuring a society that has far fewer opportunities for employment, how far away we are from creating a fully conscious Artificial Intelligence.
All of this right here, right now, on the ModernCTO Podcast!
Check out Martin Ford's book Rise of the Robots, and check out his Ted Talk!
About Martin Ford:
Martin Ford is a futurist and the author of the New York Times bestselling "Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future" (winner of the 2015 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award and translated into more than 20 languages) and "The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future," as well as the founder of a Silicon Valley-based software development firm. He has over 25 years experience in the fields of computer design and software development. He holds a computer engineering degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and an MBA degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
He has written about the implications for future technology for publications including The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post and The Guardian He has also appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including NPR and CNBC, CNN, Fox Business and PBS. Martin is a frequent keynote speaker on the subject of accelerating progress in robotics and artificial intelligence—and what these advances mean for the economy, job market and society of the future.
About Rise of the Robots:
What are the jobs of the future? How many will there be? And who will have them? As technology continues to accelerate and machines begin taking care of themselves, fewer people will be necessary. Artificial intelligence is already well on its way to making "good jobs" obsolete: many paralegals, journalists, office workers, and even computer programmers are poised to be replaced by robots and smart software. As progress continues, blue and white collar jobs alike will evaporate, squeezing working -- and middle-class families ever further. At the same time, households are under assault from exploding costs, especially from the two major industries-education and health care-that, so far, have not been transformed by information technology. The result could well be massive unemployment and inequality as well as the implosion of the consumer economy itself.
The past solutions to technological disruption, especially more training and education, aren't going to work. We must decide, now, whether the future will see broad-based prosperity or catastrophic levels of inequality and economic insecurity. Rise of the Robots is essential reading to understand what accelerating technology means for our economic prospects-not to mention those of our children-as well as for society as a whole.