Rice computer scientist Moshe Vardi: Human labor may be obsolete by 2045
Rice University computer scientist Moshe Vardi expects that within 30 years, machines will be capable of doing almost any job that a human can. In anticipation, he is asking his colleagues to consider the societal implications. Can the global economy adapt to greater than 50 percent unemployment? Will those out of work be content to live a life of leisure?
“We are approaching a time when machines will be able to outperform humans at almost any task,” Vardi said. “I believe that society needs to confront this question before it is upon us: If machines are capable of doing almost any work humans can do, what will humans do?”
Vardi addressed this issue Sunday in a presentation titled “Smart Robots and Their Impact on Society” at one of the world’s largest and most prestigious scientific meetings — the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C.
“The question I want to put forward is, Does the technology we are developing ultimately benefit mankind?” Vardi said. He asked the question after presenting a body of evidence suggesting that the pace of advancement in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing, even as existing robotic and AI technologies are eliminating a growing number of middle-class jobs and thereby driving up income inequality.
Vardi, a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Science, is a Distinguished Service Professor and the Karen Ostrum George Professor of Computational Engineering at Rice, where he also directs Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology. Since 2008 he has served as the editor-in-chief of Communications of the ACM, the flagship publication of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), one of the world’s largest computational professional societies.
Vardi said some people believe that future advances in automation will ultimately benefit humans, just as automation has benefited society since the dawn of the industrial age.
“A typical answer is that if machines will do all our work, we will be free to pursue leisure activities,” Vardi said. But even if the world economic system could be restructured to enable billions of people to live lives of leisure, Vardi questioned whether it would benefit humanity.
“I do not find this a promising future, as I do not find the prospect of leisure-only life appealing. I believe that work is essential to human well-being,” he said.
“Humanity is about to face perhaps its greatest challenge ever, which is finding meaning in life after the end of ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,’” Vardi said. “We need to rise to the occasion and meet this challenge” before human labor becomes obsolete, he said.
Learn more: When machines can do any job, what will humans do?
The Latest on: Robots impact on society
via Google News
The Latest on: Robots impact on society
- From the Vault: ‘Ex Machina' Is a Fantastic Sci-Fi Thriller That Explores the Dangers of AIon May 6, 2022 at 11:42 am
Change language & content: ...
- The 12 Best Tech Inventions Of April 2022on May 5, 2022 at 11:43 am
Technology is advancing at ever-increasing rates. Here are the 12 most significant technological breakthroughs that happened in April.
- REVIEW: Image Comics' Metal Society #1on May 4, 2022 at 11:30 am
Rosa was born into a world where humans are expected to serve robots and live on the outskirts of an AI society. As the first issue progresses, it becomes clear that the upcoming fight could have a ...
- The robots aren’t coming for your jobs — at least according to these AI and robotics leaderson May 3, 2022 at 10:52 am
Amazon Robotics robots, evolved from the acquisition of Kiva Systems ... But opinions are mixed on the robotics revolution and its potential impact on society. Globally, 48% of respondents to a Pew ...
- How NFTs can allow everyone to benefit from robots and automationon May 2, 2022 at 8:02 pm
It’s here that NFTs could have greater impact on society over the coming decade. The introduction of machine NFTs represents an opportunity for everyone to benefit from advancements in technology. Let ...
- Global Security Robots Market Growth Dynamics, Opportunities, Trends, Applications, Industry Strategies And Forecast To 2027on April 26, 2022 at 12:09 am
Apr 26, 2022 (Heraldkeepers) -- Global Security Robots ... impact on the expectations of the world, industry and workers between 2020 and 2021. COVID-19 can disrupt our society and standard ...
- Amazon Astro Is the Cute Face That Makes Tech Feel Like a Friendon April 22, 2022 at 7:34 am
Its entry into the personal robot field will likely have an outsize impact on what we expect ... The robot's appeal to society's youngest members means we have to be very watchful about the ...
- New centre to design AI-enhanced smart robots ready for real world applications is launched by autonomous system pioneers at Manchesteron April 19, 2022 at 11:41 pm
research in ethics and human-centred robotics issues, for the understanding of the impact of the use of robots and autonomous systems with individuals and society Angelo Cangelosi, Professor of ...
- Hospital Robots Are Helping Combat a Wave of Nurse Burnouton April 19, 2022 at 4:00 am
Since two Moxi robots began operating in the halls of Mary Washington Hospital in February, they’ve given workers back approximately 600 hours of time. “As a society, we’re not who we were ...
- Sitting Out of the Artificial Intelligence Arms Race Is Not an Optionon April 15, 2022 at 6:13 am
The race to build autonomous weapons will have as much impact on military affairs in the ... In outer space, the Chinese now have a robot smart enough to sidle up to a satellite and place a ...
via Bing News