Kevin Surace argues that AI and automation could eliminate most jobs within 50 years. Restaurant tablets cut server labor by 40%. AI medical diagnostics can access millions of papers instantly, far beyond what any doctor knows. Self-driving cars sit idle 92% of the time, making car ownership economically pointless.
What happens if humans are obsoleted in the next 50 years for the kinds of jobs that we've always done? Over the last 20 years, we've seen routine occupations head downhill. Here's an example of restaurant tablets. What happens is this reduces labor by 40%. You can place your order and you can pay for your order right there, and you don't have to talk to anyone. So now we're going up the chain and further up the chain, and we say, can doctors be replaced by computers? Well, computers have up-to-the-minute millions of peer-reviewed papers, and your doctor can store maybe a few hundred pages. In his or her head. But let's go further. We've all seen the self-driving car. Technically, we just need 92% fewer vehicles because your vehicle is parked 92% of the time. And if you can drive the cost of getting from point A to point B down below you owning a vehicle, there's no reason to own a vehicle. And I'm gonna pose the fact in my mind that in fact all of the jobs go away within the next 50 years.
