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In the year 2124, advanced technology has transformed daily life. Robots assist with household tasks and provide essential nutrients through a machine called ProLife 900. Interactive holographic newspapers and supersonic flying cars are part of the futuristic world. However, the advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning threatens job security. Experts predict that AI will enhance productivity but also replace human workers. The income gap will widen, leading to economic inequality and societal collapse. While robots excel at processing large amounts of information, human creativity and problem-solving abilities are still valuable. The decline of labor due to automation is reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution. Unemployment and poverty are on the rise as technology advances. The labor sector is experiencing significant declines worldwide. The future of work is uncertain as technology continues to replace human workers. Instead of 2024, imagine living a century later in 2124. As the sun rises, your windows with special light-sensitive sensors installed automatically open, letting the sun's ray stream into your bedroom. As you wake up, a robot assistant is at your service with a refreshing, ice-cold glass of water and your favorite pair of tiger fur sandals. When you get out of bed, it automatically prepares you to return from a long day of work. As you go to your retreat, you walk downstairs to see a robot prepping the ProLife 900, a machine that provides you with essential vitamins, hormone regulation, proteins, and everything you need to stay at peak physical and mental performance. While immersed in the capsule of the machine, you decide to find out what is new in the world, so you load your interactive holographic newspaper. Reading the news, you see that Apple's biggest competitor, Orange, has bought out BMW and is looking to continue developing their supersonic flying cars. Intrigued, you take an interactive tour of the car to wait out the last few minutes in the ProLife 900. As you leave the machine and walk to your closet, you see that your robot has set out your clothes, office bag, and ticket for the teleportation hub to get to work. After you gather your belongings and step outside, your trusty robot assistant has already had your somewhat-benew luxurious Rolls-Royce Phantom LXVI ready to take you to the teleportation hub. On the drive there, you pass by a group of old-timers, as everyone calls them, with their archaic iPhone 15s and Vision Pros, post-testing to the government's improved social security benefits. Idiots, you chuckle to yourself as you arrive at the teleportation hub 14. The trip is nauseating as usual, but your session in the ProLife 900 counteracts its effects. As drones fly you up to your office building, you think to yourself, what a great life L is. However, your utopia is about to come crashing down on itself. At your desk, you are met with a termination notice stating that you have been replaced as your company has invested in the superbots, robots who are capable of performing human tasks exponentially faster. You are not alone in this, as your entire floor has lost their jobs. A sense of dread fills you as your heart drops into your stomach. Based on a similar satirical video created by CNBC International, we might not have much time before this story becomes a reality. I'm your host, Neil Metri, and this is the first episode of NM News. Today, we will be talking about how technological advances like artificial intelligence or machine learning can impact jobs in the future. Let me give some background to those of you tuning in who might not be aware of recent technological advances like artificial intelligence or machine learning. Although you may not have heard of these terms in your life, you certainly know of the futuristic technology that is possible because of robots. To give you guys a definition, AI is defined by the Brookings Research Institute as involving a program in computers to do things that, if done by humans, would be said to require intelligence, whether it be planning, learning, reasoning, problem solving, perception, or prediction. Putting this into simpler terms, AI is the science and technology involved in making computers and machines able to replicate both human thinking and actions. AI is made possible by machine learning, a technology that attempts to mimic the human learning process by programming machines and computers to learn from and adopt a complex data set. Now, think of your favorite robot from a childhood show. Every one of these robots functions because of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Recently, advances in these technologies have found themselves in the workforce. Renowned software engineer Rutika Muchala describes this phenomenon in her TED Talk. She describes the three main reasons for this. Data collection, computer processing, and new algorithms. As machines, they have the power to process data and operate significantly faster than humans, leading to an overall increase in efficiency. In light of recent technological advances, experts' opinions have rarely shifted regarding the future of humans in the workforce. A key source to know is Nexford University, one of the largest online universities in the United States. Their research reveals how many market research analysts say that AI has the potential to bring about numerous positive changes in society, including enhanced productivity, improved healthcare, and increased access to education. Human error, a major thorn in the side of productivity, will be eradicated if artificial intelligence is implemented across the workforce. Being a programmer myself, I find myself frequently making elementary mistakes in syntax that often take longer than writing my entire code to debug. These machines can easily be coded to eliminate all mistakes, making it almost impossible for humans to compete against them. But just how significant is the gap between humans and robots? An article from J.P. Morgan has a lot to say on the issue. They have conducted extensive research into the impacts of technology across the globe, such as digitization and biological sciences. These unnoticed innovations, like robotic hands and recovery devices to help the injured, have been scaling up and speeding up human labor, resulting in humans falling further behind in the race. Based on this, you might feel that there is no need for humans in the future. Why should we have human jobs if robots can do everything for us ten times faster? Can't we live lavish lives and let the robots do the rest? To answer your question, how will you live life if your source of income has been taken away from you? How will workers of all forms, from degeneratives to J.P. Morgan-chased executives, be able to fund their lifestyle without a steady income if a piece of metal and wire has stolen their job? Hundreds of millions of people around the world remain unemployed to this day, unable to afford necessities. Management consulting firm McKinsey & Company has revealed that income has dropped in the middle and lower classes because of globalization. As we transition into a digitalized world, this transformation is inevitable. The rich will get richer and richer, while the poor and even the middle class will get poorer and poorer. Society is in danger of collapse as economic inequality continues to rise, and the world as we know it threatens to fail. So should we be making a switch to new technologies? The answer of many people remains no. A small reason for this boils down to the basic concept of a robot. Their obvious benefit is their capability to handle large volumes of information. When it takes a human to read a research journal, a machine might have read and extracted data from nearly a million research journals. However, humans have the advantage of being able to solve problems and connect special patterns to deal with novel situations. Unlike robots, our ability to piece together seemingly distant threads of information allows us to solve complex problems, sometimes leading to groundbreaking innovations. For example, a physicist named Percy Spencer invented the microwave oven just because he found a connection between the magnetron in his pocket and a melted chocolate bar. Spencer's creativity is a clear example of how humans can be superior to robots in some cases. Going a few years back in my own life, I regret admitting that I used online software to help me solve computational math problems that had me stumped for hours. However, the software failed to find a solution almost every time, and I ended up finding the solution myself. This is because computational math is about applying shortcuts and heuristics along with fundamental mathematical concepts to solve problems. A computer can only handle the algorithmic part of it, but it fails to connect the patterns to solve the problem. So what is happening to all this human creativity? Stanford's Social Innovation Review has an article discussing this. Unfortunately for us, our society is moving in the same direction as it did a couple of centuries ago during the Industrial Revolution. The American manufacturing industry declined because of advances in automation, which is similar to the introduction of AI. Xavier, Meta, Claude, and Deep Brain AI all recently developed chatbots that have been recognized as some of the most powerful in 2024. More and more people have started using them, just as they used steam power machines and McCormick Reapers in the past. The rapid expansion of these technologies has been reported to scare people, based on an article from Development Aid, a company focused on providing business solutions to other firms. This is because hundreds of thousands could find themselves losing jobs due to these innovations that reduce the need for human labor. As a result, unemployment and general poverty rose. A similar trend is being demonstrated in today's society based on additional research conducted by J.P. Morgan. In 1947, 66% of total income was because of labor in the U.S. In 2016, that number had fallen to 58%. The patterns for OECD countries are similar, showing an income-to-labor decrease from the 1990s to the late 2000s of 66% to 61%. The IMF estimates that in advanced economies, about 50% of the decline is attributable to technological advancement, while another 25% is attributable to global integration, which is itself facilitated by technology. The labor sector is experiencing steep declines around the world. Growth in areas of artificial intelligence and other technologies has expanded, leaving the labor sector in shambles. The innate creativity that comes with humans is rendered useless, as companies do not feel the need to keep their human capital for labor. An article from MIT has researched this issue. From 1980 to 2018, the ranks of cabinetmakers and machinists, among others, have been thinned by automation, while, for instance, industrial engineers, operations and systems researchers, and analysts have enjoyed growth. The growth described is attributed to the fact that high-skilled jobs are facing increasing rates of augmentation, or assistance from AI. In these types of jobs, human creativity is paramount and cannot be replaced yet, so AI is being used to assist these individuals in solving complex problems. However, what is going to happen to the world when AI phases lower-skilled jobs out? The most obvious and research-supported answer is income inequality. So, are we supposed to lobby large corporations like Apple and Microsoft against artificial intelligence? The answer to this question is yes, but also no at the same time. This is because artificial intelligence has the potential to accelerate society's views correctly. As mentioned above, AI is currently being used as an augmentation tool in several domains and it has had positive results. Being a high school student, I am aware of the many educational and research-oriented tools online that students have used to either find sources or assist them with understanding difficult concepts and ideas. Overall productivity on assignments has increased, allowing students to submit better work than before, and this cannot be considered cheating, as the work is entirely their own, with AI being used as a tool to sort through the data. Scaling this to a global level, AI has been demonstrating similar degrees of success. A Raleigh-based firm named PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, or PWC, has developed an AI jobs barometer to gauge the impact of AI on global industries. One of their findings shows a 4.8x increase in overall productivity as a result of AI in certain sectors, with 46% of CEOs saying that it will increase profitability and 41% saying that it will increase revenue. Additional data from them shows a 25% higher skill change in AI-exposed sectors, indicating that AI is beneficial in transitioning the workforce to fit with growing technologies. This indicates that not only is artificial intelligence providing companies as a whole with benefits, but it is also providing individuals with a larger skill set. The whole is indeed larger than the sum of the parts, based on this information. AI also has benefits that extend beyond economic and individual growth. Because of AI, companies have begun to focus more on their ESG standards. ESG, which stands for Environment, Social, and Governance, is a set of policies that a corporation focuses on to improve its appeal, increasing the value of their shares. Recent research from the World Economic Forum has listed widespread improvements in ESG as a trend that is currently affecting the job market. Through my participation in a global competition known as YAS, I evaluated a certain company to determine whether or not their stock should be bought. I was able to understand the importance of ESG to corporations. For example, United Airlines created the first plane in the airline industry to reach net zero emissions, educated its employees on human trafficking, and donated millions to nonprofit organizations. All of this was done to improve their ESG rating, which helped the stock overall to become one of the best current investments in the industry. From this, it is clear that AI's role in the industry is necessary. To add on to this, the role of AI has also increased in the hiring process. An article from Harvard Business Review illustrates how AI tools are being used to speed up the hiring process and filter candidates. What a turn of events! Current workers are scared of artificial intelligence and other technologies, which can take jobs away from them. However, Harvard Business Review illustrated how these automations are working to expand the labor force. Their high volume of processing will allow for a larger influx of candidates to be considered, resulting in corporations getting the best possible workers. As a board member of the South Asian Student Association here at Green Hope, I had to deal with the grueling process of interviewing candidates for possible secretary positions. Had we been able to implement artificial intelligence in filtering candidates, we would most likely not have faced as much difficulty as we did. To conclude this section, AI has proven to have both positive and negative sides to consider. Although jobs might be lost and income inequality amplified, overall productivity in many industries might be expanded as a result. So what should be done to make sure we can use AI while also making our suffering as minimal as possible? Although this might sound counterintuitive, the best solution that many experts support is for companies to emphasize educating and re-skilling their employees, especially those who work in lower skilled jobs. It's pretty ironic, isn't it? To move forward, we have to move backwards and re-educate a section of the workforce that has been around for centuries. I, for one, was perplexed at the thought of this idea. Won't this cost a lot more time and resources that could be spent on research and development? Won't most workers want to preserve their current occupations instead of making the transition to something new? Demographically speaking, most people would not be wrong if they made that assumption. The Pew Research Center analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network, and they found that most workers are more likely to work in jobs with less exposure to AI than in jobs with more exposure. This is true among men, black, and Hispanic workers, younger workers, and workers with less formal education, amongst others. Most workers with weaker educations would naturally find it difficult to make the switch to operating with the complexity of AI. I would not want to learn a new skill myself if it meant giving up the job that I am passionate about, as would many others. So how do we work around this? Numerous research-based articles from completely unrelated sources all say the same thing. Workers have to be considered. For example, a CAP-20 article released just last year urges policymakers to advocate for a more assistive role for artificial intelligence, as well as upskill, reskill, and retrain their workers. The article also takes a shot at Congress, urging to put more money into unemployment for those who lost their jobs because of AI. Again, it is not only one source urging companies to prepare their employees for the advent of technology. An article on Wired, a hub for technology-based articles, makes the strange but factually sound argument that no one can predict with absolute certainty what the outcome of technology will be. However, it also suggests that companies should be focused on educating their employees instead of finding ways to replace them. The World Economic Forum supports this as well, with a survey reporting that 45% of companies believe that government funding for upskilling and reskilling is necessary. Last but certainly not least, Stanford Social Innovation Review's article discusses AI's impact on the future of work, as mentioned earlier in this podcast. Similar to Wired, they believe that management needs to be focused on augmenting its workforce instead of replacing it with machines. Also, they believe that the tech sector has been neglecting its employees in exchange for surveillance tools, which serve no real benefit. Nobody would have thought articles from sources so different from one another would all say the same thing. This makes one realize how ingenious of a solution this is. In essence, the solution is a win-win, right? Technology advocates are happy because they get to see the implementation of AI, machine learning, and whatnot into the workforce, which has already proven to raise productivity. Similarly, those who have a more conservative view on the matter are happy as well because corporations and the government are funding their training and reskilling programs. Because of this, income inequality will cease to be an issue, as it is not only the highly skilled workforce that has access to AI augmentation. If I were ever in a position to choose between a solution that both sides would benefit from in addition to addressing the key problems of an issue, I would certainly take it. The rest of the world should too. Let me do a quick recap of everything we discussed in this podcast. We started with a hypothetical story that might not be so hypothetical soon. As I said earlier, technology is advancing faster than anyone could imagine. It is almost daily that new technologies, whether as small as a 3D printed action figure to the first gene editing treatment, are approved around the start of the year. We can't be complacent in the face of these advances, as they have major implications for our future as a whole. Next, we discuss what new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are, and why they are being implemented in the workforce. Who wouldn't want a machine that can function almost exactly like a human, or process data a thousand times faster? They have the potential to make most of our jobs easier because of a lower risk of human error, coupled with the ability to constantly be improved and developed. Surprisingly, we found that many are against these new technologies, and that brings us to the next part of our episode. Opponents of new technology argue that lower skilled jobs will be lost to AI, just because they can perform these tasks much faster than humans, and much more efficiently. Also, AI is used as an augmentation tool on high skilled jobs dished out by large corporations, who become wealthier, while middle and lower class workers spiral down into poverty. As seen during the industrial revolution, individuals like Andrew Carnegie and J.D. Rockefeller made hundreds of billions at the expense of factory workers, who were paid almost nothing to oversee machinery. Based on this argument, it would seem fitting that we reject any possible automation, right? Wrong. Transitioning to the end of the podcast, we learn how artificial intelligence can boost productivity across multiple industries. Not only do companies as a whole benefit from access to advanced technology, but individuals have been shown to develop broader skill sets after being introduced to new technologies. Another interesting thing to know is that AI has led to improvements in the hiring process, resulting in companies finding it easier to find talent. Finally, we find a solution that appeals to both sides of the argument, prioritizing the workforce. Companies and governments need to pay more attention to their employees, which will prevent problems with income inequality and the loss of jobs, while increasing overall productivity. As a final note to all of you watching, I want you to reflect on everything we have just talked about. Take a minute to process all the information presented to you, and then think to yourself, what other wonderful things are we missing out on just because of inaction? If anything, this episode proved that we can indeed have our cake and eat it too. Together, we saw that a solution that benefits everyone could be reached if policymakers were willing to take action. Artificial intelligence is certainly not the only innovation that has the potential to change the world. We live in the 21st century, the zenith of mankind, and we only have up to go. However, society must continue to ask itself what it can do to exercise its creativity to its fullest. Think of where we could be if everyone didn't sit back but instead got up from their couches and chose to act. Once again, I am Neometry and this is NM News. Thank you for tuning in and I will be back with an episode next week. Bye for now.