Martin Ford Explains How Artificial Intelligence Will Impact the Entire Economy

Technological Obsolescence  

Economic forecasts increasingly point to high unemployment in much of the developed being persistent for longer and longer duration. Martin Ford suggests that as machine learning continues to expand in power today's unemployment numbers are only a hint of what's to come.

Martin Ford, the author of some of the best work in the last few years on technological unemployment spoke recently at the Industry of Things World Conference. (See video below).

"This is a topic that sits on the intersection of economics and technology," states Ford. "Economists never really want to hear that 'This time is different,' they are always very skeptical of that. Yet in the realm of technology, this time is always different—that's the role of innovation."

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The issue is more about technology for Ford. "There is no rule of the Universe, or of economics that says people will always have to be part of loop." He sees a world of the future where machines increasingly are able to take over parts of the economy, leaving fewer and fewer opportunities for people.

Ford points out that despite the economy in the US growing by over 40 percent in the years since 1998, and with the population of the country growing by over 40 million people, the actual number of labor hours calculated in the economy as a whole was unchanged.

Job Creation By Decade

There is no area of the economy that won't be touched by machine intelligence Ford states. "In advanced economies, especially the most disruptive thing that is going to happen is when all of this artificial intelligence and robotics gets leveraged into the service sector because that is where nearly everyone works now."

Despite the drawbacks to labor in general in terms of real earnings and job growth, the cycle seems destined to continue and accelerate, as businesses will have no choice but to adopt automation and machine intelligence, or they will not be able to compete.

"Economists never really want to hear that 'This time is different,' they are always very skeptical of that. Yet in the realm of technology, this time is always different—that's the role of innovation."

As improvements in computers, robotic technologies, and other forms of job automation continue to accelerate, more workers are certain to be displaced, and job creation will become even more challenging states Ford.

Increasingly economists and politician are accepting Ford's and other thinkers like his ideas. The criticism that robots are coming for our jobs as speculation is increasingly falling away as the evidence of technological unemployment builds with each exponential improvement in machine learning.

Coupled with years of stagnating or declining wages for average workers, growing income inequality, increasing productivity, and consumption supported by debt rather than income – there is less and less doubt that these ideas are actually reflecting the notion that 'this time is different.

What we need to think about more than ever is how we will respond.

Ford, author of Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future and The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future is the founder of a Silicon Valley-based software development firm. He has over 25 years experience in the fields of computer design and software development. He holds a degree in computer engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a graduate degree in business from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

SOURCE  Industry of Things World

By 33rd Square

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