Existence of full automation
Most people like to think of full automation as some distant future while the truth is that full automation is currently possible. Let’s look at examples;
Home automation
MAMA architecture can fully automate the home through a food and clothes hub.
MAMA architecture consists of self cleaning houses connected to a food hub that handles all chores involved with food and a clothes hub that handles all chores involved with clothes.
When people need food they order from the food hub through an app and it’s brought to them by pods that pass through small tunnels.
Once they finish eating they return the dirty dishes to the food hub using the pods that pass through the small tunnels. The dishes are then cleaned and stored.
When people need clothes they order from the clothes hub through an app and it’s brought to them by pods that pass through small tunnels.
Once they finish wearing the clothes, they return the dirty clothes to the clothes hub using the pods that pass through the small tunnels. The clothes are then cleaned and stored.
The houses don’t have a kitchen, closets, washing machine etc. allowing them to be simple enough to be designed to be fully cleaned by autonomous robots that can also pass through the small tunnels.
MAMA architecture hasn’t been developed because most people still can’t fathom the impact of full home automation and what it would mean for the world.
Transportation
Level 2 self driving is currently possible which is enough to allow us to have self driving cars through some policy changes. To understand how policies are important consider the reason the Ottomans couldn’t adopt printing presses.
The Ottomans said that the printing presses couldn’t print in different handwritings and so they first had to be able to do that before they were accepted in the empire.
Looking back, most historians agree that the reasons the Ottomans didn’t adopt the printing press early on, was because of lobbying efforts by the muses to make sure their jobs are safe.
This is what self driving technology is currently experiencing. It is already safer than 95% of normal drivers in most situations but policies are restricting its deployment until its 100% safer.
Self driving technology will not only disrupt car industry but the aviation industry too as we already have drone technology capable of flying airplanes.
People are lobbying against policies in favor of self driving technology because it would make them lose their jobs which many have invested most of their lives doing.
Health
Diagnosis, testing and prescription are all very suitable tasks for AI since it can process much more data than any doctor and hence can diagnose, test and prescribe much better than any doctor.
Consider that AI has already proven itself slightly better than radiologists on reading images and these radiologists have taken years to become expert with the added benefit that the AI can be multiplied to be available anywhere.
We also have surgery robots who could help with doing surgery which takes people more than 5 years to learn. The surgery robots can also be multiplied and deployed anywhere making the services available to more people.
So automation of jobs in the the health industry is currently available, and if we want to, we can have it in the near future.
The automations that automate jobs in the health industry are having a hard time getting into market because they risk making people lose their jobs that they have invested their lives to get.
Education
Education is already automated to a large degree. We already have free digital educational content which anyone can access and use as long as they have internet access
We are also able to listen to lectures of the best professors from anywhere around the world.
Professors and book writers are continuing to sing the praises of the current system and resisting automation because they want to save their jobs.
Retail
Retail is currently automated in countries such as Japan and even in countries like the US some roll outs have already started.
People glorify retail jobs because they want to save their jobs but as we have seen automation cannot be stopped with the advent of online shopping surpassing physical shopping.
Law
Most of the tasks of lawyers could be easily automated and that’s the future that is being projected by many experts.
In many law firms, automated software has already taken the jobs that were previously done by lawyers.
The roll out is slow because lawyers seek to protect their jobs that they have been working on for a long time.
Banking
Most of the tasks of bankers could easily be automated and the future of banking looks bleak.
If central banks decide to use a digital currency there won’t be a need for commercial banks at all significantly cutting banking jobs.
Most bankers are fighting this move since it would significantly hurt the banking business and their jobs.
Conclusion
After understanding that most automations are currently available and the biggest reason they are not being used is that people are afraid they will lose their jobs, let us now explain why people need jobs:
Why people need jobs
Although jobs provide people with more than money such as connections, friendships, prestige etc. we can all agree that the most important thing that most jobs provide a person is the salary.
Hence we can conclude that people need jobs to provide them with money that they can use for two types of needs:
The first reason people need jobs is to provide them with money to obtain basic needs such as food for their family, shelter, clothes, money to pay for education of children, health, energy etc.
The second reason people need jobs is to provide them with money to obtain subjective needs such as vacations, outings, money to buy gifts and luxury goods, money to buy access to art etc.
So to ensure the introduction of full automation is smooth, we will have to ensure we have a new method for people to obtain money for basic needs and a new method for people to obtain money for subjective needs.
Solution to obtaining money for basic needs in a world of full automation
Full automation will cause most of the population to lose their jobs and lack the money to buy basic goods. Most experts propose a sort of basic income to help people be able to obtain basic needs.
Basic income is a universal set amount of money given to people every month by the government to allow them to be able to buy basic needs.
The benefits of basic income are that everyone will be able to buy basic needs allowing full automation to be enjoyed by everyone.
Opponents of basic needs claim that basic income makes people lazy and that many people wouldn’t use the money to obtain basic needs and instead spend it on luxury goods, drugs, alcohol etc. increasing social pandemics in the nation.
Basic income is a fascinating idea but like most predictions about automation it fails to see the fact that automation will allow the basic needs to be given to people easily without the need for a basic income.
Through MAMA architecture people will be able to obtain food, clothes, shelter, water and electricity through the system without the government needing to provide some basic income.
The argument of basic income is like how many thought retail would be automated through self checkouts and robots while it was simply going to be automated through online shopping.
So I agree with the experts that basic needs should be provided by the government in a post automation world but they will be provided directly and not through a basic income scheme.
Solution for obtaining money for subjective needs under full automation
Full automation won’t make subjective goods and services such as travel, luxury goods, luxury services etc. available to everyone since there will still be limited resources on earth even after full automation and hence people would still need a method to earn money to use on subjective needs they want.
Most experts agree that even with full automation, we will still need jobs in the sciences such as maintainers of the automations, research and development etc. hence jobs will still be need to be done by people.
These jobs won’t be enough for everyone as scientific jobs such as research and development are not labor intensive and hence will employ a select few who have proven they merit the jobs.
Most futurists agree that most people will have to do do artistic jobs such as painting, acting, singing, dancing, writing etc.
What most people don’t realize is that most art can now be easily automated since we are approaching a digital singularity.
AI can now write articles, create comedy stints, create movies, paintings etc. which means that we are near the point where AI can easily mimic or create digital content easily.
Physical art that cant be easily automated, in its current format, cannot employ a large number of people since it needs many fans and shows to become viable as a means of income.
After all, whenever you have an economy where everyone is a creator it usually doesn’t work since all people seek to promote their work.
So I agree with the experts that art is surely the next big employer after service jobs but not in its current format.
For art to be the future of work it has to be in a form that won’t be easily automated and can employ a huge number of people. The following is an art form I propose as the future of work that meets both criteria’s:
Internet of transportation 