Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create • Hacker News Board

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#21

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 5:58 PM UTC

ooqr wrote: post #17

mojomark wrote: post #9

"We identified the emergence of entire categories of new, uniquely human jobs... trainers, explainers, and sustainers." OK, great, but... a.) these jobs will only be "uniquely human" until AI becomes self-generating and sustaining. [1] b.) as these jobs emerge, surely they don't expect all of the millions of displaced laborers, truck drivers for example, to find work in these roles. AI is increasing overall efficienc…

Be realistic about point a). And for point b), it's always truck drivers brought up in these instances. Yes, think of the poor truck drivers. I'm sure they love doing a dull job. If a job is replaceable by machines, it's not worth doing. I get the worry that people will be without livelihood, but it's not as if this world has a shortage of work to be done. If we had no more work to do, sure, bring on the UBI. But we…

[deleted]

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#22

Post by Theodores » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 5:58 PM UTC

I don't think A.I. is the problem, it is automation that is the great fear. Regular code is as dangerous as A.I. as far as fear-mongering goes.

Automation really got going at the start of the industrial revolution and people have been scared of it ever since.

Today I put together some Google Form that writes to a spreadsheet. This means no more excel spreadsheet email attachments or copying and pasting. It took me an hour to research and prototype. With a few adjustments all was done. In this task there was no A.I. to teach, just a few boxes to move around and ability to listen to requirements.

I handed over the form to be maintained and updated by internal client. So no more work needed. Someone normally spends weeks collating the spreadsheet data. Now they don't have to do that. Now they will do cool stuff in Fusion tables, interpreting the data. Plus the company is growing and therefore that role will not be an idle one.

Whole teams of people can be swept away from back office jobs from the simple non AI changes such as better forms. Or people can be empowered to move their job on to the next level, e.g. data analysis rather than data entry.

I know computers can do amazing A. I. things but the much feared change is already happening and it is mostly based on if statements rather than A.I. Some get swept away and others embrace and effect the change. Attitude of the individual matters and there are winners plus losers with change brought on by automation.

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#23

Post by mahyarm » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 6:01 PM UTC

ooqr wrote: post #17

mojomark wrote: post #9

"We identified the emergence of entire categories of new, uniquely human jobs... trainers, explainers, and sustainers." OK, great, but... a.) these jobs will only be "uniquely human" until AI becomes self-generating and sustaining. [1] b.) as these jobs emerge, surely they don't expect all of the millions of displaced laborers, truck drivers for example, to find work in these roles. AI is increasing overall efficienc…

Be realistic about point a). And for point b), it's always truck drivers brought up in these instances. Yes, think of the poor truck drivers. I'm sure they love doing a dull job. If a job is replaceable by machines, it's not worth doing. I get the worry that people will be without livelihood, but it's not as if this world has a shortage of work to be done. If we had no more work to do, sure, bring on the UBI. But we…

People bring up truck drivers because its a job we can feasibly being replaced soon, doesnt require an expensive education and unlike coal mining, employs a huge amount of people.

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#24

Post by snowwrestler » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 6:03 PM UTC

I expect AI-empowered job growth to happen heavily in the medical biology field. We've just barely begun to scratch the immense complexity of the human body. It dwarfs any "big data" system today that you can think of.

Another candidate is environmental management, like environmental reviews, construction permitting, and pollution remediation. Again, there is almost no limit to the complexity you'll encounter when you want to model geological systems to make detailed predictions.

Technology usually leads to job creation when it creates new levels of abstraction upon which new careers will be built. These are most needed in areas where complexity overwhelms current technology. Biology and geology currently fit that bill.

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#25

Post by Animats » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 6:09 PM UTC

ooqr wrote: post #17

mojomark wrote: post #9

"We identified the emergence of entire categories of new, uniquely human jobs... trainers, explainers, and sustainers." OK, great, but... a.) these jobs will only be "uniquely human" until AI becomes self-generating and sustaining. [1] b.) as these jobs emerge, surely they don't expect all of the millions of displaced laborers, truck drivers for example, to find work in these roles. AI is increasing overall efficienc…

Be realistic about point a). And for point b), it's always truck drivers brought up in these instances. Yes, think of the poor truck drivers. I'm sure they love doing a dull job. If a job is replaceable by machines, it's not worth doing. I get the worry that people will be without livelihood, but it's not as if this world has a shortage of work to be done. If we had no more work to do, sure, bring on the UBI. But we…

If a job is replaceable by machines, it's not worth doing.

It's not about truck drivers. If your job consists entirely of stuff that goes in and out over a wire, expect to be replaced by computers.

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#26

Post by cirgue » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 6:10 PM UTC

Theodores wrote: post #22

I don't think A.I. is the problem, it is automation that is the great fear. Regular code is as dangerous as A.I. as far as fear-mongering goes. Automation really got going at the start of the industrial revolution and people have been scared of it ever since. Today I put together some Google Form that writes to a spreadsheet. This means no more excel spreadsheet email attachments or copying and pasting. It took me an…

> I don't think A.I. is the problem, it is automation that is the great fear. Regular code is as dangerous as A.I. as far as fear-mongering goes.

I 100% agree. Modern business still organize themselves like firms a century ago but with faster tools to accomplish largely the same set of tasks. We have only begun to realize the productivity gains/decreased labor demand of technology that was boring in the nineties.

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#27

Post by pikzen » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 6:15 PM UTC

ooqr wrote: post #17

mojomark wrote: post #9

"We identified the emergence of entire categories of new, uniquely human jobs... trainers, explainers, and sustainers." OK, great, but... a.) these jobs will only be "uniquely human" until AI becomes self-generating and sustaining. [1] b.) as these jobs emerge, surely they don't expect all of the millions of displaced laborers, truck drivers for example, to find work in these roles. AI is increasing overall efficienc…

Be realistic about point a). And for point b), it's always truck drivers brought up in these instances. Yes, think of the poor truck drivers. I'm sure they love doing a dull job. If a job is replaceable by machines, it's not worth doing. I get the worry that people will be without livelihood, but it's not as if this world has a shortage of work to be done. If we had no more work to do, sure, bring on the UBI. But we…

>Yes, think of the poor truck drivers. I'm sure they love doing a dull job.

Yes, they're clearly doing that for the personal achievement that it brings them and not for, maybe, money. That tiny thing we all kind of need.

Jesus Christ, the arrogance of HN sometimes.

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#28

Post by suyash » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 6:20 PM UTC

camikazeg wrote: post #12

This is why as I look to the future that my two year old son will inherit as an adult, I'm going to make sure that he has a really solid grasp of philosophy. The cutting edge of today's technology and science are all digging deeply into age old philosophical questions that haven't seemed so relevant until recently. Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality in particular are going to beg us to answer questions about…

Philosophy is a fundamental education in any science.

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#29

Post by Someone » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 6:21 PM UTC

"Customer service chatbots, for example, need to be trained to detect the complexities and subtleties of human communication."

Yes, but for that to be economically a net win, way fewer man-hours will be spent training systems than now are spent by humans doing customer service. Net result will be a significant job loss.

Re: Jobs That Artificial Intelligence Will Create

#30

Post by bbctol » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 6:25 PM UTC

ooqr wrote: post #17

mojomark wrote: post #9

"We identified the emergence of entire categories of new, uniquely human jobs... trainers, explainers, and sustainers." OK, great, but... a.) these jobs will only be "uniquely human" until AI becomes self-generating and sustaining. [1] b.) as these jobs emerge, surely they don't expect all of the millions of displaced laborers, truck drivers for example, to find work in these roles. AI is increasing overall efficienc…

Be realistic about point a). And for point b), it's always truck drivers brought up in these instances. Yes, think of the poor truck drivers. I'm sure they love doing a dull job. If a job is replaceable by machines, it's not worth doing. I get the worry that people will be without livelihood, but it's not as if this world has a shortage of work to be done. If we had no more work to do, sure, bring on the UBI. But we…

Clean litter out of forests... for free? Visit the sick... for free? People don't like being truck drivers because they like driving trucks, they like being truck drivers because they like eating, sleeping, and raising their families. The unemployment rate is currently above 0, despite their being no "shortage of work to be done," because plenty of work that could be done doesn't have anyone paying in exchange for that work.

Who's going to pay people to do the things that are more useful, but don't fit in to the standard capitalist system? You? Some benevolent billionaire? The government, if we raise taxes and increase social spending to an extent that makes plenty of Americans recoil in instinctive horror? Yeah, I do think of the poor truck drivers, because I don't want them to starve.