Rise of the Robots
Books | Business & Economics / Economics / General
4.2
Martin Ford
The New York Times-bestselling guide to how automation is changing the economy, undermining work, and reshaping our lives Winner of Best Business Book of the Year awards from the Financial Times and from Forbes "Lucid, comprehensive, and unafraid . . . ;an indispensable contribution to a long-running argument." -- Los Angeles Times What are the jobs of the future? How many will there be? And who will have them? As technology continues to accelerate and machines begin taking care of themselves, fewer people will be necessary. Artificial intelligence is already well on its way to making "good jobs" obsolete: many paralegals, journalists, office workers, and even computer programmers are poised to be replaced by robots and smart software. As progress continues, blue and white collar jobs alike will evaporate, squeezing working -- and middle-class families ever further. At the same time, households are under assault from exploding costs, especially from the two major industries-education and health care-that, so far, have not been transformed by information technology. The result could well be massive unemployment and inequality as well as the implosion of the consumer economy itself. The past solutions to technological disruption, especially more training and education, aren't going to work. We must decide, now, whether the future will see broad-based prosperity or catastrophic levels of inequality and economic insecurity. Rise of the Robots is essential reading to understand what accelerating technology means for our economic prospects-not to mention those of our children-as well as for society as a whole.
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Author
Martin Ford
Pages
352
Publisher
Basic Books
Published Date
2015-05-05
ISBN
0465040675 9780465040674
Ratings
Google: 3
Community ReviewsSee all
"Where Ford's first book was a revelation, his second book is a disappointment. He adds very little new to the conversation with "Rise of the Robots" - for the most part this book is a recycled laundry list of popular news articles about cool startups and technologies that are making progress in various areas of automation. If you've read his first book, [b:The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future|7488625|The Lights in the Tunnel Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future|Martin Ford|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349074225s/7488625.jpg|9623347] or [b:Race Against The Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy|12952273|Race Against The Machine How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy|Erik Brynjolfsson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329373179s/12952273.jpg|18109192], you're better of skipping this one.<br/><br/>A couple interesting points:<br/> - Zero jobs added to the economy from 2000-2010<br/> - Investment accounts for 50% of China's GDP<br/> - Hayek, Linus Pauling, and Myrdal authored the "Ad Hoc Committee on the Triple Revolution" report on weaponry, human rights, and technology/automation as outlined in MLK's final Sunday sermon<br/> - Typical worker pay peaked in 1973<br/> - Ford claims that globalization, "financialization" of the economy, and politics are NOT driving factors in the decline of jobs.<br/> - "The total value of imports from China amounted to less than 3% of US consumer spending"<br/> - "Progress in the human economy has resulted largely from occupational specialization" - and what could be more specialized than a computer program?<br/> - Is opportunity cost an invalid concept for robots/software if they can be "cloned" almost for free?<br/> - We put a lot of effort into securing out southern border to keep out immigrants who could take American jobs, but we leave our digital borders wide open by embracing globalized outsourcing<br/> - The Beijing Genomics Institute is running a study to identify genetic determinants of intelligence - the Western world is very squeamish about studies like this<br/> - Hayek was a proponent of a guaranteed minimum income, as stated in his 1973-79 book Law, Legislation, and Liberty<br/> - Ford suggests that a guaranteed minimum income could result in a revitalization of rural areas where the cost of living is much lower."
Max Nova