What AI Might Do To The Future of Work

The podcast episode explores the historical perspective on technology-driven job displacement, sparked by a recent observation of declining ChatGPT usage after schools let out, highlighting anxieties about AI's impact on future employment. Referencing John Maynard Keynes' 1930s predictions of technological unemployment and a future of leisure due to increased productivity, the speaker contrasts this with the reality of people continually seeking new industries and jobs. The discussion includes historical examples, such as the mechanization of agriculture and MIT economist David Autor's statistic that a majority of jobs in 2018 didn't exist in 1940, and considers whether AI might shift the focus back to essential, hands-on professions, questioning if this would be a negative outcome given the potential elimination of "bullshit jobs". The speaker acknowledges the real anxieties and potential social and political impacts of technology disrupting employment, while also suggesting that history provides a comforting perspective, and concludes by noting the excitement of the unknown future.