The impact of robotics on the economy.

For years, robots in the industry have ensured that simple work can be automated. So far, this has not led to greater unemployment, but the claim is that this will change.

The extra prosperity will therefore end up with a few, the owners and managers of (large) companies. Initially, the gap between rich and poor will therefore increase further. First, the lower educated will lose their jobs, and no replacements will come for them. In the Netherlands, they will end up in the safety net of unemployment benefits and social assistance. In other countries like the USA, this will lead to bitter poverty much faster. It is not difficult to imagine that this could lead to enormous dissatisfaction and perhaps even revolutions. Hopefully, this is only a transitional period during which policymakers make adjustments so that everyone can benefit from increased prosperity. Formulating and implementing effective policy is crucial to shaping this transition.

But ultimately, this development cannot be stopped, simply because it is possible and a lot of money and power can be achieved with AI and robotization.

Redistribution of prosperity

If eventually even the highly educated are forced into unemployment by artificial intelligence, the government will be forced to intervene. This can be done by redistributing prosperity between the (by then) super-rich and the unemployed. Because the national government will no longer have sufficient influence over multinationals, this requires cooperation. Let us assume the positive and that this is ultimately achieved. We then live with much freedom, free time, and prosperity until the moment the last job is replaced by smarter robots. At that moment or just before, the economy as we know it disappears and everything is free. Robots make everything, including the extraction of raw materials, and because they demand no compensation, they do this free of charge, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The prices of products and services therefore continue to fall until they eventually reach zero.

And then?

The economy has disappeared, being rich no longer makes sense because everything is free.

Does a shadow economy then arise, as currently exists between the underworld and upper world, or will we try to distinguish ourselves in other ways? At the moment, I do not know. What I do know is that the above scenario is realistic and that we must be prepared both for the period between now and the disappearance of the economy and the period thereafter.

But if we handle it well, we can actually achieve exactly what we have always wanted. More free time and enough income to lead a beautiful and fulfilling life. I therefore find this idea worth continuing to invest in innovation.