Don’t trust the AI doomers —tech won’t steal our work, but make it better

If the media narrative that artificial intelligence will destroy our jobs sounds familiar, it should: Fear of new technology’s threat to labor has persisted since Aristotle wrote about it in 350 BC. 

The Luddites in 19th-century England destroyed power looms to preserve weavers’ jobs. 

Karl Marx sought the seizure of the means of production in part because he believed the “improvement of machinery” made a working-class living “precarious.” 

Similar fears arose with the advent of electricity, computers and robotics.  

True, technology can be disruptive — but automating tasks is nothing new.

And throughout history, automation has led to surges in productivity, bringing a host of benefits: falling prices, rising demand, new industries, higher overall employment and higher living standards. 

The tractor eliminated millions of farm jobs, but allowed a small sliver of the population to feed entire nations — enabling mass education and pathways to other industries.

Cars replaced horse-drawn buggy drivers, but led to the auto industry, interstate highways and trucking.

Personal computers eliminated typist pools and clerical roles, but created new careers in software, IT and e-commerce. 

Each time, the result was more jobs, lower costs, higher GDP per capita and better lives. 

That’s what we can expect from AI — which promises the democratization of expertise and greater upward mobility. 

Think of a job as a bundle of tasks that must be performed to accomplish specific goals.

Some of those tasks are routine; others are social, creative and deeply contextual.  

AI systems excel at narrow, well-defined information tasks like summarizing text, spotting patterns in data and drafting boilerplate. 

That means they can strip out the lowest-value, most repetitive elements of a job and accomplish them faster, or speed up complex tasks so more customers can be served.

It is not, nor can it be, a replacement for the responsibilities, judgment and relationships of human beings. 

Lawyers may use AI to draft contracts or briefs — but must still edit, negotiate, counsel and ultimately represent clients.

The AI assistance makes legal representation more efficient, less expensive and more accessible to small businesses and everyday Americans. 

Doctors may use AI to help read scans — but will still diagnose and counsel patients.

They’ll just do it faster with AI’s help, seeing more patients at lower cost. 

Programmers may use AI to write boilerplate code — but they’re still the ones who design systems and manage trade-offs.

Faster, cheaper software development will lead to more good ideas becoming economically viable.

Electricians may use AI to identify problems — but they must install and repair circuits hands-on.

With a near crisis-level shortage of tradesmen, AI may actually lead to more customers and businesses being served faster. 

Further, we’re already seeing the proliferation of countless new positions involving AI integration and user experience.

An economist at LinkedIn who crunched the numbers found that 20% of job titles in certain markets did not exist until very recently — no doubt due to technical advances.

Moreover, AI is expanding skill sets for other positions, adding value to these roles.  

In short, AI is not a job killer, but a job accelerator.  

If AI follows past patterns of technological change, the higher production it enables means different types of demand will arise.

If we spend less time per task and generate more productivity per worker, we’ll unlock more time and funds for health, education, culture, the arts, personal development and enrichment — the irreplaceable elements of human flourishing.

AI doomers cry, “This time is different!” as they advocate for burdensome state and federal guardrails to prevent harm while the technology remains in its relative infancy.

Meanwhile America’s competitors, especially China, charge full steam ahead in the race for AI supremacy. 

It’s true that AI is different in the way it touches cognitive tasks directly.

Its ability to plug into an already digitized world enables rapid global adoption, bringing on a faster-paced change than in the past.

It does not, however, alter the fundamental relationship between technology, productivity, jobs and income.

And by bringing faster innovation and catch-up growth to communities that have lacked it, AI magnifies the upside.

The doomer narrative is not only wrong — it’s dangerous in its fatalism.

If the sun is about to set on work itself, then why should anyone use AI to build more valuable skill sets and lift themselves up?

No: By automating routine tasks, AI is creating more and better jobs, opening up new ways to meet our most basic human needs and beyond. 

AI is not destroying work — but renovating and improving it. 

Brian Morgenstern is senior vice president of public policy at Riot Platforms, Inc., a digital-infrastructure company.