Artificial Intelligence and the Jobless Future

During a class presentation a few weeks ago, I decided to devise an experiment to test the current capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this activity, I gave students three excerpts that were either taken directly from the course reading materials or completely generated by AI (ChatGPT). I then, for each excerpt, asked the students to guess whether they believed the excerpt was artificially generated. Ultimately, the majority of students were not able to consistently discern whether the excerpts were written by a human or AI. It is undeniable that AI technology has undergone rapid improvements over the past decade, and will continue to improve in the years to come. The truth is AI is catching up to, and in some areas exceeding human intelligence. It is now very difficult to tell the difference between an AI writer and a human writer. In the previously mentioned experiment, I asked students to actively look out for whether the excerpt was AI generated; though, in real-life scenarios, we don’t usually look out for that. We tend to assume that everything we read is human-written. What’s frightening is that much of the media we consume today could be written by AI, and, if it is, we would be completely unaware of it. 

Artificial intelligence, having boundless knowledge, lightning-quick reactions, and, theoretically, being less prone to bias, has the potential to be far superior to humans in almost every manner; therefore, it is logical to assume that as technology develops, artificial intelligence will gradually replace human work, as it simply is more efficient to hire “robot” workers. Many critics argue that jobs that require human interaction and emotional intelligence are impossible for AI to displace, but I would argue differently. AI has the potential to display greater emotional intelligence than humans through its large datasets, which would give AI the information to better understand clients and, therefore, tell clients exactly what they want to hear. Humans, for better or worse, all have self-interest; artificial intelligence can be programmed not to, making it the perfect employee. In my opinion, nearly all jobs, other than high-ranking politicians, are replaceable by AI. In this essay, I will branch off of some of Karl Marx’s ideas on the alienation of labor and argue the following: further technological development, particularly in that of artificial intelligence, will detriment our society by creating a jobless future, which will psychologically harm humans by stripping us of our purpose. AI development and a jobless future have broad implications for our lives, but for the purposes of this essay, I will focus more so on their psychological implications. 

In Karl Marx’s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, Marx presents the idea of “alienation from labor.” Marx argues that, in the past, work was less alienating because workers could wholly see themselves in the products they produced. With the introduction of industrial factories and capitalism, workers become less involved in their products and become just one part of the larger machine that produces the final product. Thus, the final product is unrewarding to the worker because it does not feel like their own. Marx (1844) asserts that this alienation from labor estranges one from their human nature and spirit. Basically, our human purpose is intertwined with our daily work, whether we consciously believe so or not. If we find our work unfulfilling, we often find our entire life unfulfilling as well. Pivoting off of this idea, imagine a society where human work is not needed. At first glance, it may seem utopic; though, under further examination, it seems logical that without work humans would lose all purpose. Marx argues that we find less pleasure in life when we are alienated from our work. Extending off of that, if we had no work at all, and no way to contribute to society, would we lose all sense of pleasure? With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, I believe that a jobless future is an inevitable future, which is a huge problem because it would rid humans of meaning.

The first point we must consider is whether artificial intelligence and technologically automated services could actually cause a jobless future. Sure, we all agree that some jobs, like truck drivers for example, can be displaced by automation, but other jobs can only possibly be performed by humans, right? The answer, well, is complicated and since artificial intelligence is still in its preliminary stages, researchers can only make their best predictions. In 2017, the accounting firm PwC made a report, utilizing previously well-established automatability datasets, which found that 38% of jobs in America are at high risk to be automated by the early 2030s. Sectors like transportation, retail, and manufacturing were found to have the highest risk of replacement, as high as 56%, while sectors like health and social work had lower risks. Additionally, the report found that those with just secondary-level education had an estimated risk of being displaced by automation of 46%, while those with an undergraduate degree only had a 12% risk. Essentially, lower-skilled work is more easily replaced by automation, while higher-skilled work is less likely to be replaced in the near future. In a report from McKinsey Global Institute (2017), researchers took data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the World Bank to break down 800 occupations and their automation potential. They found that in their earliest-case model within just 20 years more than 50% of work would be automated by two-thirds of countries. These predictions of the percentage of automated work are much higher in advanced economies, like Germany, Japan, and the United States. Because these countries have major industries that already, based on existing technologies, have a high potential for automation, automation has a greater opportunity for expansion. McKinsey predicts in their earliest-case model that by 2066, 99 percent of work in advanced economies will be automated. In their latest-case model, they predict that work in these countries will be 50 percent automated or more within 50 years. These predictions of the future of our workforce are jarring, and though they are just early estimates, it is undeniable that artificial intelligence and automation will drastically affect how humans work, what we work on, and if we work at all. Artificial intelligence certainly poses the risk of a jobless future, and we must be prepared for how that will impact human society.

Many individuals who, despite the statistics, do not believe that artificial intelligence can realistically create a jobless future argue that we’ve heard narratives like this before. Indeed, there have been numerous times when people have feared that technological innovation would displace work, but ultimately new jobs were created as a result. For example, When the telephone was invented in the 19th century, many feared that it would displace jobs in traditional messenger services. While they were correct, the widespread use of the telephone also created several industries in telemarketing and customer service. More recently, in the 1980s there was concern that personal computers would displace secretarial and administrative jobs; though, as we’ve seen, the use of personal computers has created many more jobs in computer programming and software development, which have led to great economic growth. Time and time again we’ve seen that technological advancements change the way we work, but at the same time maintain employment levels by creating new jobs. So how is artificial intelligence different? The problem with AI is that, in theory, it does not require much human maintenance and can maintain itself. Let me explain: in the past, technological advancements would displace certain industries, but create an equal amount of new industries that help manage and develop the new technology. Think, for example, the personal computer where numerous industries now help manage its development. In the case of artificial intelligence, where AI is a far superior worker to humans, it wouldn’t make sense to manage AI with human workers. Because AI is exponentially smarter and faster, AI could do a much better job at managing AI than humans could ever. Thinking logically, why would you want a slower less intelligent individual to manage over a much smarter individual. Now, I do believe that at the very top there will always be some human leaders that guide the development of AI, but not enough to replace all the jobs that will be lost. AI has the potential to displace jobs in all industries; unfortunately, the jobs AI could possibly create are minimal, not nearly enough to prevent a jobless future where the vast majority of individuals do not have work.

Now that we have affirmed that artificial intelligence indeed has the potential to create a jobless future, I want to address how that will negatively psychologically impact humans. From the Marxist perspective, a jobless future may be seen as a double-edged sword. On one hand, the elimination of work by automation and artificial intelligence could be seen as a victory, as it frees workers from the “oppressive” conditions of capitalist exploitation. Without work, humans are able to spend more time pursuing their genuine interests, which work obligations prevented in the past. On the other hand, Marx would likely see the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the owners of automation as a continuation of the exploitation of workers. In fact, workers find much of their purpose through their work, so the elimination of work would further strip workers of both their power and purpose. Without work, and the means to actively contribute to society, humans would continue to suffer. 

Well-established research on the psychological impact of a jobless society on humans is limited because, well, we are decades away from a truly jobless society so most research would just be pure speculation; though, we can still look at existing studies of the psychological needs that our daily work helps meet, and how a lack of work may lead to an increase in mental health issues. In 2019, a study on unemployed individuals in Germany confirmed that unemployment causes mental distress not just because of the financial strain that comes with it. Unemployment deprives individuals of the latent functions of employment, which include time structure, social contact, status, activity, and collective purpose; these are all psychological needs that are crucial for our mental health. The researcher acknowledged that these psychological needs can be met through other sources. For instance, status and social contact can be met through voluntary work or training courses, which would benefit the mental health of unemployed people because it would help meet the social needs that unemployment has deprived them of (Zechmann, 2019, p. 658); though, there is something distinctly different between our current paid work and future voluntary work. People today work because of the money, structure, and purpose that work brings. When money is completely out of the equation because our work is not needed would most people still voluntarily work? It’s difficult to truly say, but I believe that, with all of our modern-day distractions, our time would not be used productively and more be used towards mindless entertainment, which would lead to an overall lack of motivation within human society. Additionally, in regards to volunteer work, it is also displaceable by AI. Today, people often volunteer because they understand that they are contributing to others and take joy in doing so. In a future where AI is thoroughly advanced, humans cannot even contribute by volunteering because AI would be able to volunteer much better. It’s sad to say, but I see a jobless future as a world where humans, as a whole, lose their sense of purpose. Even though our lives would be exponentially “easier,” rates of depression and other mental health disorders will dramatically increase. Karl Marx was right in that our work is important in meeting certain psychological needs - we need work to provide a purpose or else we will suffer.

Even though I’ve been speaking very poorly of artificial intelligence, I think it is an incredible feat for humankind. In essence, we have obtained the ability to create the ultimate form of intelligence so that likely in the future we may never need to work again. On paper, it seems great for humans, but is it really? Extending off of some of Karl Marx’s ideologies, humans need work, we find our purpose through work. Thus, when artificial intelligence displaces our need for work, our purpose in life is also stripped. What’s the point of existence, if, quite literally, you are not needed for society to function? While it is possible that humans can find purpose in activities beyond traditional work, it would require motivation without incentivization, which in today’s culture is near impossible. Artificial intelligence is an amazing human achievement, possibly one of our greatest; though, by creating a jobless future and displacing human purpose it may be the catalyst for our own downfall.