In the past, automation has resulted in nothing more than elevation of the quality of human life in every area. There were literally no downsides to automation. When the first automobile was introduced, there was no permanent unemployment for horse carriage drivers. When the first combine harvester was introduced, there was no mass unemployment for farmers. All the people with newly obsolete occupations simply transitioned to something more productive, less taxing, and more enjoyable. Completely new occupations were opened up for people to explore and earn their income. However, can the same be said for the automation in this century? The 21st century automation is breaking new grounds, as it automates both blue and white collar work. Both menial labor, and high mental labor. This is quite an unprecedented development, one that lacks proper analogies, as it never happened before. Will we be able to create new employment opportunities, while the old ones get decimated by new forms of automation?

The IQ Barrier

The term ‘luddite’ was first introduced as a denigrating label to describe some elements of the English working class who engaged in wanton destruction of automated machinery, especially in the cotton and wool mill industries. Later, it became apparent that their concerns were unwarranted, as they relatively quickly transitioned to new kinds of occupations. However, the same fears are once again rekindled, so we must ask ourselves one critical question – will 2018 be the year of the neo-luddite? This time around, as machine learning, self-driving cars, robotic assemblies, robotic cooks, automated warehouses, automated fast-food restaurants, and countless other automation takes hold, can we just as easily dismiss the concerns of neo-luddites? If everything can be automated, from a truck driver to an accountant and language translator, what will people be realistically able to transition to? Obviously, the most creative and technical occupations will still be around, but only a tiny percentage of people will have the mental capacity to perform them well. What about the vast majority of people who can’t be engineers, doctors, lawyers, writers, or artists due to their mental ceiling?

Price For The Lack Of Planning

IQ – Intelligence Quotient – is one of the most thoroughly studied fields in neuroscience and psychology. It is an astonishingly accurate predictor for success in life, as a crime rate predictor, and as an extremely useful predictor for employers – much more so than any degree from universities. Unfortunately, it seems that IQ is heavily influenced by genetics. Meanwhile, we find ourselves in an unsustainable situation where many governments are importing millions of immigrants with an even lower IQ than the native population, while also out-breeding the native population. How is a lower IQ, fast-breeding population going to help anyone in the era of unprecedented automation? What will they do?? Machine learning already has the capacity to create melodious patterns, or what we call – music. Which means that even creative people may end up obsolete. Nevertheless, find out what’s new at propellerheads.se before that happens. Fortunately, some governments have not gone completely mad – Japan has zero immigration, very low birthrate, and high-automation. Therefore, Japan is and will remain a highly successful nation.