But if robots are to blame, then Piketty is right, and labor’s share will never bounce back…leaving some kind of radical redistribution as the only option for preventing mass human misery. That is not an outcome that conservatives would favor.
Is it really that bleak? Or are we just falling for the latest iteration of the Luddite and Lump of Labor fallacies?
We envision new human jobs involving:
1. building/assembling the robots
2. marketing the robots to prospective businesses
3. maintaining the robots/robot tech support
4. building the factory that will build the robots
5. building the materials/components that will comprise the robot
6. programming & designing the AI
7. robot educational courses, robot consulting, robot experts
8. robot insurance/litigation
Some of these jobs already exist but there will be more as robots continue to replace existing jobs. The point is, in a dynamic economy, the loss of one type of job doesn’t mean total employment has to fall. Technologies that supplant existing jobs can spawn new jobs related to the new technology. The benefit for society is higher economic growth, more productivity, and a higher standard of living. Twenty years ago, if you wanted to find a formula you had to go to a library and thumb through a bunch of books; now you can find it in a couple minutes with a Google search.
The solution is not to attack technology, but be patient for the new jobs to be created. For example, 30 years ago there were very few computer jobs and no internet jobs; now millions of people are employed in the information technology sector.