Ideal Systems
Less work, more life
I understand the feelings that may arise after listening to a song and realizing that artificial intelligence is involved. I want to offer another perspective: each of us comes from those who existed before us — parents, grandparents, distant ancestors and, ultimately, living cells that multiplied.
Sooner or later, technology will take over more tasks because machines can work continuously. But the essential question is how we organize the transition. I propose that governments require employers to provide lifelong income protection to people whose jobs have been replaced by robots, based on the wages they previously earned. Such protection should be a condition of introducing automation.
Robots can work around the clock without fatigue; companies may become more productive and profitable. That creates a possibility of sharing the gains with former workers. It would require policy, obligations and resources — it will not happen automatically. I am not the only person interested in reforms of this kind, including beyond Germany.
People could then spend more time resting, traveling, discovering the world, learning, raising children and choosing how to live instead of spending most of their time working for others.
Technological transitions have happened before. Mechanical transport, cars and airplanes radically changed how people move. What once required a very long journey can now happen far more quickly. The present transition may feel unfamiliar, but that is not a reason to abandon the discussion.
I hope that technological progress can make life more comfortable, reduce stress and allow people more freedom in how they spend their time. The purpose of this proposal is to make that possibility available to people, rather than allowing the benefits to concentrate only in the organizations that automate work.