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Video: Humans Need Not Apply

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Dave Touretzky edited this page Feb 5, 2019 · 3 revisions
  • Title: Humans Need Not Apply
  • Subject: Effects of AI Automation on Employment
  • Type: YouTube video
  • Duration: 15 minutes
  • Year: 2014
  • Level: middle school and up
  • Watch online: YouTube
  • Publisher: CGP Grey

Description: a well-reasoned and witty look at how AI and robotic automation will impact human employment in virtually every area, from low-skilled jobs to white collar, professional, and creative jobs. Great use of visuals, and a good explanation of why this situation is likely to turn out differently than the three previous industrial revolutions (steam, electricity, and computing).

The video is only a little dated now. Self-driving taxis are out there but they still have human safety drivers baby-sitting them -- for good reason. The only truly self-driving cars in the wild are Teslas on autopilot when the owner falls asleep. The Baxter robot has been less successful than expected, and Watson's medical career has been a commercial flop. But as the video notes, these are still early days.

For a well-reasoned opposing view, see Job loss due to AI — How bad is it going to be?, whose authors argue that "Recent studies suggest the impact of AI on jobs in the near future will not be significantly more disruptive than the impact of automation in the past."

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