
The Automation Revolution and the Rise of the Creative Economy (2016) - LearnerHerzog
https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/21/the-automation-revolution-and-the-rise-of-the-creative-economy/
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DrScump
(April 2016)

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LearnerHerzog
Am I supposed to append the year? Done (I am still sort of new here)

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DrScump
When content is not recent, it helps to clarify things.

It's neither a criticism nor a value judgment about the contents.

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LearnerHerzog
Elon Musk predicts the mass unemployment due to AI & Automation will be a
large enough problem to where we'll require a "universal basic income". He
then questions where people will then find _meaning_ when their labor is not
needed.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6HPdNBicM8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6HPdNBicM8)

Also consider Peter Diamandis discussing how we are heading toward a future of
abundance in everything we need, making it significantly less expensive to
"get by".
[https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_f...](https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future)

While I agree we could see a universal basic income, I'd say Elon Musk puts
too much weight on what people consider _meaning_. While most billionaire
entrepreneurs love what they do, most of the working class see their jobs as
something that _prevents_ them from doing what they love. According to the
Washington Post, only 13% of people worldwide like going to work.
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-
leadership/wp/2013/10...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-
leadership/wp/2013/10/10/only-13-percent-of-people-worldwide-actually-like-
going-to-work/?utm_term=.0c9516fcc4f0)

So with these points of view considered, in a future where they go just as
predicted, it seems like automation will force a sort of renaissance period
with a massive rise in Arts and Entrepreneurship. _If_ people begin making a
universal basic income that pays their bills, and machines control everything
they can possibly control, suddenly we will have almost the entire automation-
replaced workforce spending their time on things that robots _can 't_ do in
the foreseeable future: Fine-arts, competitive sports/games, and
Entrepreneurship. I believe most people who hate their jobs already find
meaning elsewhere and now with empty days and no serious financial concerns,
it's either do nothing or do something that robots can't. Even the laziest
people will become bored of doing nothing

The pre-Renaissance period in Europe shows many similarities to what we are
experiencing now on a greater scale. For one, the printing press, among other
important inventions, had an enormous impact on the shaping of the
renaissance; suddenly, there was no need to re-write the same pages by hand,
and the world started moving much faster than they were used to. Secondly, the
decline of feudalism is comparable to what Peter Diamandis's "abundance life"
would cause: a sudden narrowing of the gaps between classes.

I could be wrong, but a universal basic income wouldn't change how most people
find meaning; it would rather provide people the freedom to attempt what they
never had time for.

