The robots will steal our jobs. That's how many people see the future of labor in the United States. But what do we stand to lose when humans aren’t doing the work they've done for decades?

Frank Pasquale is a Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. And also the author of New Laws Of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise In The Age Of A.I. and The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And Information.

We often overestimate what AI can do, even as it gains ground all around us. Listen as Greg and Frank discuss how AI should complement human labor, not replace it, augmented vs artificial intelligence and the delicate balance algorithms and individual discretion.

Episode Quotes:

Possible problems with algorithms becoming the norm over human insight:

My worry is that the cost cutting pressure in many of these areas is so high that we're going to see this pressure to repeatedly get rid of the professional, or make people jump through a hundred hoops that are automated, like a phone tree before they get to the professional. So the game becomes, how do I present my symptoms so I can finally get it to a doctor? I'm very worried about that sort of future.

How do we police the algorithms for flaws:

Ideally it's in the owners of these systems interest to invite criticism and to invite feedback and to get people involved in improving them. And in a way that could be a good business strategy. If you get more people invested in improving what you're doing, then you have this sort of group that becomes a community that can also enjoy being committed to investing in some way in one's own services.

Where automation is happening now:

Okay everyone who's really thinking about AI - they're looking for the self-driving car, they're looking for The Jetsons sort of scenario. And it's like, don't look there. Look to high-frequency trading and finance. And look to your newsfeed. Right? Cause that's where you've got total automation.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

Frank Pasquale on Twitter
Frank Pasquale on Linkedin
Faculty Profile at Brooklyn Law School
Professional Profile at Vermont Law School

His work:

Where Humans Fit in a Robotic Future feat. Frank Pasquale

unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc