Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future_8 pot

The Green Light / 207 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon prosperity.Thisiswhycapitalismhassucceeded,andoth- ereconomicsystemshavefailed. In time, I thinkit is likely that our perceptions will shift so that we begin to truly recognize the economic contribution that our individual marketplace decisions make. Someday,the majority of peoplewill bevaluedin economic terms not for what they directly produce, but fortheirparticipationinconsumptionmarkets.Ifwecan succeed in gradually extending that participation to the billions ofpeoplewhoarenow trappedinpoverty—and do so in a way that creates incentives to conserve re- sources and minimize environmental impact—we may findthattheresultingconsumerdemandiscapableoffu- eling an engine that can drive us to unprecedented eco- nomicheights. The Green Light The natural cycle in the tunnel is stable and reinforcing. The vast majority of the consumers in the tunnel now glowwithapredominantlygreenlight.Astimepasses,the collectiveintensityofthelightscontinuestograduallyin- crease. Suddenly, we see that vast numbers of dim green lights have begun to stream into the tunnel. These new lights have barely enough intensity to make it past the threshold,butonceinside,theyjointheriveroflightsasit courses overthe panels onthe tunnelwalls. At first, we sensethatthebusinessesinthetunnelarestrainingsome- what to meet this new demand, but as time passes, the cycleagainstrengthens.Thecollectiveintensityofthelight THE LIGHTS IN THE TUNNEL / 208 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon in the tunnel begins to quickly increase. We also notice that,overtime,eachofthenewdimlightsisverygradually becomingbrighter. As the newlightsstream into thetunneland arein- corporatedintoitsnaturalcycle,weseethatsomebright white lightsbegintopulse withnewenergy.New panels arenowappearinginmanyplacesonthetunnelwallsthat wereoncedark.Theentrepreneursandbusinessownersin the tunnel are responding to the rapidly increasing de- mand. As the number of lights continues to increase, the speed with which panelsareupdatedand thenumber of newpanelsappearingonthetunnelwallsseemstoaccele- rate. Although we had perceived the tunnel as being al- mostinfinitelyvast,itnowappearsthatthewallsarecom- pletelycoveredwithpanels. Evenaswesensethis,however,thetunnelitselfbe- ginstoexpand.Asnewpanelsrapidlyfillthespacesonthe expandingtunnelwalls,wenoticethatsomeofthebrigh- testwhitelightsarenowradiatingwithanunprecedented intensity.Still,astheever-increasingcycleoflightcontin- ues to parade through the expanding tunnel, we sense stronglythatitisthe seeminglyinfinite number ofgreen lights thattrulyencapsulates the collective energy, enter- priseandhopeofallhumanbeings.   CopyrightedMaterial– Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon APPENDIX / FINAL THOUGHTS    AretheideaspresentedinthisbookWRONG?  (Opposingargumentsandmyresponses)….   Page 210  TwoQuestionsWorthThinkingAbout……  Page 223  Wherearewenow?F ourPossibleCases……  Page 224  TheNext10-20years:SomeIndicatorsto WatchFor.……………………………………   Page 227  OutsmartingMarx……………………………  Page 237  TheTechnologyPara dox……………………  Page 239  MachineIntelligenceandtheTuringTest…….  Page 241    THE LIGHTS IN THE TUNNEL / 210 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon Are the ideas presented in this book WRONG? (Opposing arguments with responses)  In this section I have listed some of the arguments that maybemadeagainsttheideasinthisbook,togetherwith myresponses.Theseareeitherconventionalargumentsor thingsIhavethoughtoforseenelsewhere.  The economy will always create new jobs; we will never have structural unemployment as a result of ad- vancing technology Thisistheideabehindthe“Ludditefallacy”whichIdis- cussedatsomelengthinChapters2and3(seepages95 and 131). At present, I suspect that most economists wouldprobablybelikelytoagreewiththisstatementand, therefore, disagree with what I have suggested in this book.Here,inanutshell,ismyargumentforwhyIthink wewillendupwithaseriousunemploymentproblem: Astechnologyadvancesandindustriesautomate,this improvestheefficiencyofproductionandtendstomake the products and services produced by those industries more affordable. That leaves more purchasing power in thepocketsofconsumers.Thoseconsumersthengoout andspendthatextramoneyonallkindsofproductsand servicesproducedbyavarietyofindustries.Someofthose industries are relatively labor intensive, so they have to hire more workers to meet this demand—andso overall employmentremainsstableorincreases.Thisisthereason Appendix / Final Thoughts / 211 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon that, historically, technology has not led to sustained, widespreadunemployment. Myargumentisthatacceleratingautomationtechnol- ogywillultimatelyinvademanyoftheindustriesthathave traditionallybeenlaborintensive.Additionally,theprocess of creative destruction will destroy old industries and createnewones,andveryfewofthesenewindustriesare likelytobelaborintensive.Asaresult,theoverallecono- mywillbecomelesslaborintensiveandultimatelyreacha “tipping point.” Beyondthis point, the economy will no longerbeabletoabsorbtheworkerswholosejobsdueto automation: businesses will instead invest primarily in moremachines.Ihavealsoarguedthatthisprocesswillbe relentless,andifitisnotaddressedbysometypeofgov- ernmentpolicy,wemayultimatelyseeaprecipitousdrop inconsumerspendingasasubstantialfractionofthepop- ulation loses confidence in its future income continuity. That,ofcourse,wouldresultinevenmoreunemployment andadownwardspiralwouldensue.      THE LIGHTS IN THE TUNNEL / 212 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon If technology resulted in unemployment, everyone would already be out of a job because technological progress has been going on for hundreds of years Thisreallyjustamountstosaying“ithasn’thappenedyet, so it will never happen.” History has proven time and againthat,wheretechnologyisconcerned,somethingcan beimpossiblesincethedawnofcivilizationandthensud- denly, in the blink of an eye, become possible.Revolutio- narytechnologies,suchastheairplaneandnuclearpower, wherealldismissedas being impossible evenbypreemi- nentscientistswhowereinvolvedintheresearchthatled totheirdevelopment. Today,mostofusacceptthattechnologywillcontin- uetoadvanceandproducethingsthatwemightcurrently viewasimpossible.However,westillthinktoonarrowly. Weacceptthattherewillbenewtechnologies,newprod- uctsandnewindustries,butmostofusarenotprepared toacceptthatallthiswillchangethebasiceconomicrules that we take for granted. But why wouldn’t that be the case?Isthereafundamentalreasonwhyacceleratingtech- nologyshouldimpactnearlyeveryaspectofourlives—but notimpactthewaytheeconomyworks?AsIpointedout inChapter2,advancinginformationtechnology—because itenabledthecreationanddistributionoffinancialderiva- tives—hascertainlyplayedanimportantroleintheseveri- tyofthecurrenteconomiccrisis.Isuspectthatthisisjust a preview of the economic impacts that technology will haveinthefuture. Appendix / Final Thoughts / 213 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon The population is aging. Once the baby boomers re- tire, we will have a worker shortage not unemploy- ment Innearlyallthedevelopednations(andalsoinChina),the populationsarerapidlyagingandretirementplansarepro- jected tocome under intensepressure,astoofewyoung workers have to support too many older retired people. Doesthisimplythatthereislikelytobeanoverallshort- ageofworkersaslargenumbersofolderpeopleleavethe workforce? I think it is certainly possible this may be a counteractive force that might tend to delay the impact fromautomationtoacertainextent.Herearesomethings toconsider:   Theimpactofautomationonaspecificjobcategoryis reallynotrelatedtothenumberofworkersavailableto perform that type of job. Once technology advances tothepointwhereatypeofjobcanbeautomated,the machinestodothiscaneasilybereplicated.Machines donotneedtobeeducatedortrained,andsotheyare notsubjecttothebottlenecksthatcreateshortagesof workersinfieldssuchasnursing.Therefore,inconsi- deringtheoverallimpactofmachineautomation,the important criterion is not the number of workers availablebut thetypes of jobsthat canbe automated. Totheextentthatthereareworkershortageswithina specific job category, that would actually tend to in- creasetheincentiveforautomationtechnologiestobe developedinthatarea.WealreadyseethiseffectinJa- panwheresignificantworkisbeingtodonetodevelop THE LIGHTS IN THE TUNNEL / 214 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon robots capable of assisting with care of the elderly population.  Thecurrentconsensusviewseemstobethat,asare- sult of the 2008-9 financial crisis (and its impact on 401k plans), many workers will remain in the work- forcelongerthanoriginallyplanned.Thiswillgiveau- tomationtechnologylongertocomeintoplaybefore anyworkershortagesmaterialize.  Eveniftheaging populationdoestendtoretardun- employment,thiswould,ofcourse,simplybeadelay- ingfactor—notalong-termsolutiontotheproblem.  Ithinkwecancertainlyexpecttoseeworkershortag- esinsomeareas,butthismayverypossiblybecombined withanoverallunemploymentproblem.Thedangeristhat increasingstructuralunemploymentwillunfoldinparallel withthedemographicproblem.Isuspectthatmostofthe projectionsregardingtheimpactofagingpopulationsas- sume reasonably full employment among younger work- ers.Ifthisdoesnotturnouttobethecase,thesituation willobviouslybemuchworse.AsIpointedoutinChapter 3, a payroll tax-based system for supporting retirement programsmightbecomecompletelyunsustainable.  Appendix / Final Thoughts / 215 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon Businesses will never fully automate because of the high initial capital investment and the lack of flexibil- ity this implies There are somevalid pointshere, and I think thatthese factorsmay,inmanycases,servetoretardtheprocessof automation—butinthelongruntheywillnotpreventit. Somebusinesseswillcertainlydelayautomationbecauseof thehighcapitaloutlaysrequired.However,overtime,ma- chines will become more affordable, more reliable, and moreflexible.Atsomepoint,astechnologyadvances,ma- chineswillbegintooutperformworkerstotheextentthat a non-automated business will not be competitive. Con- siderthecaseofonlinebanking:itgenerallyoffersarange ofservices,suchasautomaticbillpaying,thatcouldnotbe offeredbyahumanbankteller. Keep in mind that automation offers cost benefits beyond simply eliminating wages. There are also payroll taxes, benefits, vacationtime, managementissues (and if youeliminateworkers,youcaninmanycasesalsogetrid ofthefirstlinemanagers),etc.Therearealsosafety and liability issues; consider the safety advantages of a fully automatedwarehouse. Theneed for technicaland economic flexibilitymay alsotendtoholdbackautomationforatime.Ifabusiness investsheavilyinspecificmachinestoproduceaparticular productandthenthatproductdoesnotsellwell,itmaybe stuckwith equipment itdoes notwant.The obviousan- swertothatis that,inthefuture,automationtechnology willbemoreflexibleandeasytoadapttodifferentprod- ucts.Ithinkthemanufacturersofautomationequipment THE LIGHTS IN THE TUNNEL / 216 CopyrightedMaterial–Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon arefullyawareofthisissueandwillbuildincreasinglyflex- ibleproducts. Thereisalsotheissueofeconomicflexibility:abusi- nessthatemploysworkerscanlaythemoffinslowtimes, while a more automated business will be stuck with its machines.Again,Ithinkthat,inthelongrun,astechnolo- gy advances, businesses that don’t automate will simply not be able to compete: and that reality will overwhelm otherconsiderations. Anotherpointisthatbothofthesefactors(highcapi- talcostsandtheneedforflexibility)maytendtopushthe next wave of automation toward software applications geared toward eliminating knowledge worker jobs. Soft- ware is typically more flexible and has a lower up front costthanexpensivemechanicalautomation.AsInotedin Chapter 2, automation of these jobs, together with off- shoring, may mean diminishing prospectsfor knowledge worksandcollegegraduatesingeneral.  Machines may take over most unskilled labor, but they will never be able to do skilled or professional jobs that require lots of training and education I think this is a dangerous misconception that stems, in part, from a certain amount of hubris on the part of peoplewhoare welleducated.Theconventional wisdom isthatafencehasbeenerectedwithinoursociety.Onthe lush, garden side of the fence, are workers who have strongeducationsandtraining.Thesepeoplearebeneficia- riesoftheinformationage.Onthetoxicwastelandsideof the fence, are relatively unskilled workers. These people [...]... both technology and globalization They often survive by stringing two or three part time jobs together or work in lowwage jobs with fewbenefits The obvious solution is for us to find a way to offer these people additional training—so they can hop over to the good side of the fence I think that the problem with this scenario is that the fence is goingto move, and it may move very rapidly The good side of. .. society and economy would be dramatically negative In the United States, two thirds of workers and therefore consumers—do not have a college degree While efforts to improve education and training are laudable, the reality is that this is not likely to offset the impact of geometrically accelerating technology In fact, I think that the Copyrighted Material – Paperback/Kindle available @ Amazon THE LIGHTS... investors would provide the enormous sums necessary to realize the technology Advanced nanotechnology almost certainly lies further in the future than the automation technology that is likely to threaten routine jobs So it won’t arrive in time to solve the problem in any case The Heads in the Sand Objection If other arguments against the ideas I have presented here prove insufficient, then I suspect that... well be office and knowledge workers who are the primary initial targets of these newtechnologies Offshoring and automation begin to penetrate small business and possibly combine to capture higher value jobs I suspect that most economists discount the potential for outsourcing to invade the small business arena because they assume that the costs and inconveniences associated with setting up offshore... Amazon THE LIGHTS IN THE TUNNEL / 222 tion to the idea that machines might someday begin to think and reason was first articulated by the founder of computer science, Alan Turing (Please see the last section of this Appendix) Turing initiated the field of artificial intelligence with his 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence.” Here’s howTuring expressed what he called the “Heads in the Sand”... the price of most goods fell dramatically, consumers would still need an adequate income Today, we already have digital products that have a zero marginal cost of production These products are, for the most part, not free because they have intellectual property rights attached to them We can expect the same if advanced nanotechnology arrives someday If there isn’t a way to protect and profit from these... wrong: The argument could be fundamentally wrong This implies that the economy is capable of growing and advancing technologically basically forever, without creating an unemployment problem In other words, even 500 years from now, when society presumably has technology that is incomprehensible to us today, the economy will still provide employment for the vast majority of people in the population The. .. see the section “Where are we now? Four Possible Cases” later in the Appendix for more on this In the future, wages/income may be very low because of job automation, but technology will also make everything plentiful and cheap so low income won t matter This is an idea that is often expressed in conjunction with a discussion of advanced nanotechnology Nanotechnology may one day offer the promise of. .. Amazon THE LIGHTS IN THE TUNNEL / 224 Where are we now? Four Possible Cases On the next page, I’ve reproduced the scary graph from Chapter 3, which shows the potential impact of machines throughout the economy becoming more autonomous Remember that this graph shows average income for a “median range” of people in the economy; it’s based on what statisticians would call a “truncated mean” with the poorest... back on track and continue climbing the graph 2 If the shape of the graph is basically correct, but we are still far away from the point where automation is going to become important, then we should, likewise, get back on track and continue climbing 3 If we are somewhere close to the point where the dotted and solid lines diverge, then we are going to see increasing economic impacts, and we will have . dramatically negative.In the UnitedStates,twothirds of workers and thereforeconsumers—donothaveacollegedegree.While effortstoimproveeducation and trainingarelaudable, the realityisthatthisisnotlikelytooffset the impact of geo- metrically accelerating technology. Infact,Ithinkthat the THE LIGHTS IN THE TUNNEL / 2 18. have strongeducations and training.Thesepeoplearebeneficia- ries of the informationage.On the toxicwastelandside of the fence, are relatively unskilled workers. These people Appendix. Amazon havebeenheavilyimpactedbyboth technology and globa- lization.Theyoftensurvivebystringingtwoorthreepart timejobstogetherorworkinlowwagejobswithfewben- efits. The obvioussolutionisforustofindawaytooffer thesepeopleadditionaltraining—sotheycanhopoverto the goodside of the fence. Ithinkthat the problemwiththisscenarioisthat the fenceisgoingtomove, and itmaymoveveryrapidly. The good side of the fenceisgoingtocontract, and increasingnum- bers of well-educatedworkersaregoingtofindthemselves suddenlyon the toxicside.AsIpointedoutinChapter2, we