Don't Be No Punk About Artificial Intelligence

I recently attended a few workshops on the future on AI (Artificial Intelligence).  There is a growing concern that the proliferation of AI could spell financial doom for those hard working Americans whose jobs are replaced by AI.

Cnet.com quoted President Obama in an article titled “Obama: Don't let AI Impoverish American Citizens”

“ ‘High-skill folks do very well in these systems. They can leverage their talents, they can interface with machines to extend their reach, their sales, their products and services,’ Obama said. ‘Low-wage, low-skill individuals become more and more redundant, and their jobs may not be replaced, but wages are suppressed.’

One possible fix he mentioned is a ‘universal income’ to redistribute money and ensure ‘folks have a living income,’ though he also said that would be politically difficult for a lot of people to accept. “

Let’s address this statement on “Universal Income”.  You damn right that mess is difficult to accept. That is absurd! This sounds like Communism to me! Capitalism should always be the focus over Communism!

Capitalism, automation and industrialization have ALWAYS been good for the economy.  Back in 1450, being a scribe was a very lucrative career choice.  Scribes manually copied books painstakingly copying each word by hand.  Some books took years to copy.  In 1450, most Europeans where illiterate, the supply of books was limited (by today’s standards), books were rare, very expensive and owned only by the wealthy.  Then, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press and AUTOMATED the process of creating books.  The result was drastic.  Scribes unemployment was at an all-time high, but knowledge flourished.  The end result was an economic boom which lead to the industrial revolution 300+ years later.

In France, during the industrial revolution, an inventor named Barthelemy Thimonnier had invented a sewing machine and was making a good living sewing uniforms for the French Army until a mob of angry tailors burned his shop to the ground.  As we all know, tailors are still needed today, perhaps not as many tailors as in 1840.  Textiles, fashion and hundreds of other industries were created by or are much stronger now than they were in the 19th century primarily from automation.

My statement to our President: “Don’t create policies like a fearful French tailor from the 19th century.”  Embrace the change without creating social crutches calling it “Universal Income”. In other words, "Don't be no punk about artificial intelligence!"

What do you think?