For humanity, major socio-economic transformation is nothing new, but the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) requires the world to adapt and realign to a new reality more rapidly than ever before. How will we cope?  

It took 150,000 years to become an agrarian society and complete the transition from hunting and gathering. Over the next 10,000 years, the economy slowly evolved as populations grew. The real change came with the advent of the industrial revolution. 200 years ago, we began to move from farms to factories. Enabled by fast transportation, open foreign currency exchange, trade policies and communications, the economies quickly became global. We are still completing our most recent, 50-year shift to a services-based economy. Relatively speaking, these were all gradual shifts — and yet, they disrupted lives and dramatically transformed whole societies.

Now, we stand on the brink of a fourth economic revolution, one that will reshape society with rapid advances in robotics automation and AI. Expected to generate dramatic returns for society, the AI revolution is predicted to make a massive impact in 20 to 25 years, about half of a single work career.

It’s easy to envision a doomsday scenario about the displacement of workers in the face of this rapid advance. Will the coming AI disruptions leave millions unemployable?

I believe it will not — not if we plan ahead.

Doomsday Or Development?

Past innovations automated routine, menial work. Displaced workers could (and typically did) simply educate and re-skill themselves back into employability. In the past, they had the time to do it.

In contrast, AI’s looming threat is to replace high-level, judgment-based skill-sets, such as complex analysis, discretionary decision making and even creative ideation. Robotics will replace many of the services and manufacturing positions. What kind of jobs will be left for people to do?