The Quest for Meaning in a World without Jobs

There is no doubt that life isn’t getting any simpler. For one thing, it seems highly unlikely that young people will continue enjoying a lifelong, stable job with a pension as those before us did. In fact, due to the rapid evolution of AI, many, if not all of us, will probably have to work several different jobs during our lifetimes.

Despite frequent questioning by the adults around me, I still have no clear idea of what studies or career I would like to pursue - besides, how can we expect teenagers to know what they want to dedicate the rest of their days to? Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems increasingly unlikely that there is any job that is going to outlive me, which leads to another, far more preoccupying question: if AI takes over all jobs, what in the world are we going to do with our lives?

You may think I’m overreacting. After all, they haven’t even gotten rid of cashiers yet, let alone teachers or lawyers. But AI won’t take over the job market from one day to the next - it will do so slowly, insidiously, and in ways that will be presented by companies and governments as better for humanity overall. As outlined in Noah Yuval Harari’s book, ‘21 Lessons for the 21st century’, a clear example can be found in the development of self-driving cars, which (in the theoretical example) could be connected and coordinated by a single AI program. Such cars would be immune to human flaws like drunk driving, checking text messages or breaking traffic laws - and thus potentially save the lives of the 1.35 million people who die in car accidents yearly. If such a great number of lives can be saved by an AI program, is it even ethical to deny its implementation?

Of course, AI cars are at least a couple decades into the future, but companies such as Tesla or Uber are working hard to bring these fantasies into reality. However, by eliminating the human driver, no matter how irresponsible or flawed, you automatically remove the need for bus drivers, taxi drivers and other such professions. Simultaneously, you also remove a major milestone in the transition from adolescence to adulthood - learning to drive, which is as much a marker of independence as it is to learn to cook or buy your first house. 

You see, the problem with comfort is that it often comes at the expense of satisfaction and a sense of fulfilment. Until recently, technological developments such as refrigerators or cars didn’t bring us psychological harm. Rather than giving us an existential crisis, they elevated our standard of living and actually aided our sense of purpose by giving us new reasons to work harder and obtain those flaunted customer goods. Even the Soviet Union was not immune to the power of washing machines and McDonald’s. Most importantly, these advancements were fundamentally different from AI, because they did not pose a threat. After all, a TV can hardly do your job for you. But what happens when AI simply becomes better than you? It has become apparent that you can dedicate your entire life to a single art and still be bested by a machine. Just ask Garry Kasparov. 

This brings me to the most important part of my article - the role of work in our society and collective psychology. Primo Levi, an extraordinary chemist and writer from the post WW2 era, wrote a beautiful book called ‘La Chiave a Stella’ or ‘The Monkey Wrench’, which praises the values of manual labour, as well as the joy one can take in executing a job they love. Work is what gives the adults around us purpose, status and meaning. People that are jobless are so often sneered at - silently scorned for living off government funds and regarded as outcasts for not partaking in what is essentially the basis of our society. For instance, the great shift of organisation from bands of nomadic hunter gatherers to kingdoms comes from the emergence of specialised jobs and our dependence on a large network of people to execute the work we cannot do. The whole reason why cities can have millions of people cohabiting is not solely out of our dubious love for our neighbours, but mostly due to the fact that we need each other to survive. Outside of our own limited specialisations, we are vulnerable. Most of us are masters of one, not Jack of all trades. 

But what happens when there is nothing for you to do? Sure, we all love our vacations, but can you really imagine spending your whole life doing…nothing? Feeling that you have nothing to contribute to anyone? The quest for meaning, which is already so frayed nowadays, despite the millions of therapists, health gurus, influencers and ads trying to keep it together, would fall apart.

While there is a lot of noise and attention on current wars and figures such as Donald Trump, there seems to be hardly any directed at long term threats - namely, climate change or AI. No one seems to have noticed, for instance, the fact that Google has begun using an AI overview in their search engine. Sure, it’s efficient, time saving and I most definitely used it for research in this article, but it also replaces the long standing practice of scanning through sources, fact checking websites, and as a whole, forming your own opinion on the matter. But because this type of change suits our short attention spans in a world of fast food, fast fashion and reels, it is unlikely that Google will ever take it down. You see what I mean? When something makes your life a little easier, people hardly ever take a stand against it. But if things get too easy, then what’s the point? 

Let me be clear, I believe AI isn’t a threat - rather, it is an inevitable transition in our evolution as a species. We will lose our jobs slowly and peacefully, much like horses were replaced by cars or self-checkouts were introduced without any great massacres or protests. It is unlikely that we will have to fear an AI apocalypse or the development of sentient, hateful AI life forms, as depicted in the Matrix, Blade Runner or the horrific book, ‘I have no mouth but I must scream’. It is more likely that AI will remain a slave to our desires and that it is our own selfishness that will bring us harm. If we are looking for a guide to the future, we had better take heed of movies such as ‘Wall-E’ or books like ‘Thunderhead’ instead, which depict the physical and emotional toll a lack of work will take on us.

As we move forward, it is inevitable that more and more jobs will fall in the hands of AI. Most vulnerable are jobs that require the absorption of loads of information and the output of answers - for instance, interpreters or doctors. Think about it, we already use search engines and ChatGPT for our diagnoses. What’s stopping us from AI doctors? If you’re looking for a career that will last you a lifetime, it might be wiser to invest in work that involves either hands-on work or human connection. For example, a plumber is at less risk than a doctor because replacing him not only requires an intelligent program, but also a sophisticated ‘body’ that can carry out delicate manual labour. It’s doubly expensive. Nurses, caregivers for the elderly, and social workers also have a higher degree of protection - likely because while you might accept AI driving your cars, you are less inclined to feel comforted by an AI giving you an injection or taking you to a foster home. 

Despite the fears that I have voiced in this article, it is important to remember that the future is not as bleak as it may seem. As AI develops, other jobs will emerge in relation to it, and to be honest, who can predict what will happen tomorrow? There are so many directions we could take - into space, into dystopia, into human - AI symbiosis or something else that we have yet to imagine.

Only one thing is certain. Our generation will have to be adaptable and we will have to be brave. It is true that everything is uncertain, but that doesn’t mean the world is ending. There is simply a new beginning on the horizon. And if we wish to find meaning in the future, we will have to find it within ourselves or with others. Our humanity is the only thing that we can hope to - and must strive to - keep forever. 

Sources:

World Health Organization: WHO. (2023, December 13). Road traffic injuries. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries

Harari, Y. N. (2018). 21 lessons for the 21st century. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB2679939X

Logos of the Century

There’s been an awful trend happening in the past two decades. The so-called ‘classic logos’ of many big multinational companies that we knew and grew up with are being redesigned. According to them, changing the logos is supposed to represent modernisation, but in truth, it is complete nonsense. If you’re not aware of this phenomenon, it’s basically a shift towards minimalism, which has, in turn, diminished the importance of the ancient art of typography.

‘Why should I care about logos?’ you’re likely thinking. Logos are powerful (and of course beautiful). They’re much more than that little green mermaid on your cup of caramel macchiato. A logo is important because it’s essentially the face of a business. A successful logo can create instant recognition and help the customers identify a brand quickly, sometimes merely by using the colour combination present. At the same time, it leaves an immediate first impression in our minds when we see it. They communicate the brand’s identity, personality, mission, and even their values, telling a story without words.