Will AI kill jobs? History says otherwise

New technology, same pattern

Every major technological revolution follows a similar pattern: a new technology comes along which upends the old ways of doing things, resulting in major changes to how we live, work, and think.

During the agricultural revolution, we built villages and towns, took on new jobs to support farming, and started thinking differently about things like land ownership and trade. The industrial revolution that followed saw us moving to cities, working in manufacturing, and developing new ideas like consumerism and automation.

Electricity, telecommunications, the computer, and every other major technological development has had the same effect: the world transformed in ways that we’d never imagined just a generation before.

The level of change these technological revolutions bring about is monumental. For example, in 1870 half of all workers in the United States were agricultural; by 1900, one generation later, that number had dropped to one-third. Now that number is around 4%. There are more people to feed today but that’s offset by how much more efficient agricultural work has become.

Artificial intelligence is the next great disruptor. We are witnessing an intelligence revolution where AI will give us access to capabilities, information, and insights that go well beyond human capacity. Just like the revolutions before, this one will fundamentally transform how we live, work, and think.

Technology as a job creator

One change we already see unfolding is how we consume data. We do not need to find data, search through results, or spend time compiling information in the same way as the past. As a result, how we think about information, including authorship, may change dramatically. This example is just the tip of the iceberg for what is coming.