AI Destiny and Robot Density

A stark warning from a recent Aspen Institute report: The U.S. economy won’t be able to absorb AI/robotics-driven automation (don’t worry, there’s an “unless”).

As far as how this cookie crumbles, there are two camps:

• Team It’ll Be OK: Historically, automation (from the Industrial Revolution to the ATM) has boosted growth, productivity, and “new collar” job creation. In the U.S., it has fostered a service- and knowledge-based economy.
• Team This Time It’s Different: All bets are off with AI, since it can automate physical and cognitive work.

Aspen gets Team #1, agreeing that AI and robotics benefit the economy. But its heart is with Team #2. AI will produce “deeper, faster, broader, and more disruptive automation,” the think tank warns. Still, the side effects of harder/better/faster/stronger tech can be absorbed by:

• Investment in education, job training, and reskilling
• Building out the public safety net
• Employer-employee contracts with workplace protections

Stat check: The U.S. has 200 robots per 10,000 employees, according to the International Federation of Robotics.