Via Reason:
The rise and spread of intelligent machines has led to increasing income inequality and anemic job growth. And this dynamic is likely to be permanent.
…
The American economy is becoming a “hyper-meritocracy” in which workers will either be big earners or big losers, Cowen believes. He blames this bifurcation on the rise of “genius machines,” which are increasingly doing the routine intellectual work that once supported millions of middle-income workers. If your skills enhance the work of ever-more-intelligent machines, you’ll likely be a big earner. If your skills do not complement the computer, you’re liable to be a big loser. “Ever more people are starting to fall on one side of the divide or the other,” writes Cowen. “That’s why average is over.”
Click the link to see more: Your New Robot Overlords – Reason.com
Points:
- “The recession revealed an interesting paradox: Average productivity per worker soared while unemployment deepened.”
- “…the average local and state government employee earns 40 percent more than the average worker.”
- “The health care industry is also bifurcated in terms of pay.”
- “…government has boosted the threshold costs of hiring new employees.”
- “…the most successful doctors, lawyers, teachers, marketers, and retailers will be members of teams skilled in the use of intelligent machines to inform and guide their decisions.”
- “…smart machines will constantly monitor and rate every professional and worker on the quality of their outputs.”
- “The big earners in our increasingly bifurcated workforce will be self-motivated, conscientious, and highly skilled.”
- “At the low end, many who lack motivation or talent will not upgrade their skills and instead opt for what Cowen calls the world of ‘threshold earners,’ making just enough income to get by. For high earners, learning will be a constant feature of their lives as they seek newer skills to complement ever-smarter machines.”
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