I'm Starting to Think the Luddites Might Not Be Wrong This Time

So the Luddites were a 19th century group of English factory workers who destroyed weaving machines because "they took our jobs." Ever since, those who fear technology will increase unemployment and lower wages have been referred to as such. So far, their batting average is a respectable 0.000.

But things never happen until they do. After all, if we ever became so advanced that we created artificially intelligent cyborgs, it's hard to imagine we would have any jobs left, right? It might not matter, as we would be incredibly wealthy. But we would have to rethink economics, find something for people to do and prevent a sort of "techno-feudalism" from arising.

And everyday, I feel more and more that that is the future we are heading towards.

Fox47 News

"Attention Seattle shoppers: Amazon is about to open its long-promised convenience store with zero checkout lines.

"Customers must scan the Amazon Go app upon entering the store. Sensors will then track their movements and charge shoppers' Amazon accounts for the items they grab. Customers just walk out of the store. No cashiers needed.

​"Amazon Go's offerings include groceries, ready-to-eat meals, cold drinks and meal prep kits.
No employees will be necessary..."

For a more in depth look at this problem, check out the book Rise of the Robots by Martin Ford. It's disconcerting, although, given the amount of abundance such technology could bring, encouraging too, if we handle it correctly.