Explore Topics:
AIBiotechnologyRoboticsComputingFutureScienceSpaceEnergyTech
Tech

What Is the Meaning of Life If Society Doesn’t Need You to Work Anymore?

David J. Hill
Oct 12, 2016

Share

From time to time, the Singularity Hub editorial team unearths a gem from the archives and wants to share it all over again. It's usually a piece that was popular back then and we think is still relevant now. This is one of those articles. It was originally published June 30, 2015. We hope you enjoy it! 


If you have a job, odds are society benefits from your work, and theoretically, the compensation you receive is how the marketplace values your contribution. All other things equal, the better you are at your job, the better the compensation. But the vast majority of people in the world aren't the best at what they do (think about the math for a moment). Truth is, most of us aren't rockstar anythings...we're just doing the best we can, but hey, we're still contributing as evidenced by a paycheck.

At the same time, most people aren't really satisfied with their jobs — possibly because a lot of positions aren't necessary. Most would rather do some other kind of work that more closely aligns with their passions or hobbies. But people need a certain amount of money to live, so they take work that meets their and their family's needs. It's a tradeoff, but most feel it's more ethical to sacrifice your interests for stable pay.

That's the world of today, but in the future, could both of these notions get upended?

Possibly. Some will soon find that the contributions they make to society are no longer valued compared to what artificial intelligence and robotics can achieve. Instead of just some humans being better at your job than you, low-cost technologies will be. As machines take over this work, would we really want to fight for these jobs? After all, if the contributions we're making to society aren't really what we care about anyway, why fight for jobs we can't stand, especially if a universal basic income was instated?

At an Executive Program hosted by Singularity University, four faculty members —Paul Saffo, Jeremy Howard, Neil Jacobstein, and Kathryn Myronuk — explored these topics during the Future of Work panel. The issue at hand: What are people going to do in the face of these disruptive changes?

Neil Jacobstein, co-chair of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, offers one possible route forward: "You have to spend some time educating people about how they can do self-development, how they can move up Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs — that's part of what education should be about."

Approached from another angle, Kathryn Myronuk, who focuses on Synthesis and Convergence, suggested the parts of society that are soon to be automated will become part of the 'background infrastructure' — like roads, electricity, and Internet access —  that enables our lives.

In a recent article, Ray Kurzweil addressed a similar question regarding what good humans will be when robots are everywhere. His answer was that we'll create new jobs that will require new skills. Reinventing work is an intriguing way to think about the future of employment, but whether it could be utilized for the masses remains to be seen.

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

With the acceleration of emerging technologies, we can expect growing pains with regards to employment, but that doesn't mean there aren't viable paths to a better existence. In fact, after we ride out the turbulence, we may all find we finally get to have the best of both worlds, wherein we value our work and our basic needs are met.

Here's a clip from the panel discussion to get a sense of where things might be headed:


To learn more about Singularity University's Executive Programs, click here.

Image source: Shutterstock

David started writing for Singularity Hub in 2011 and served as editor-in-chief of the site from 2014 to 2017 and SU vice president of faculty, content, and curriculum from 2017 to 2019. His interests cover digital education, publishing, and media, but he'll always be a chemist at heart.

Related Articles

Anthropic Unveils the Strongest Defense Against AI Jailbreaks Yet

Anthropic Unveils the Strongest Defense Against AI Jailbreaks Yet

Edd Gent
Hand holding a pill

Will AI Revolutionize Drug Development? These Are the Root Causes of Drug Failure It Must Address

Christian Macedonia
and
Duxin Sun
A wireless earbud, glowing blue, in an ear.

Meta’s New AI Translates Speech in Real Time Across More Than 100 Languages

Shelly Fan
Anthropic Unveils the Strongest Defense Against AI Jailbreaks Yet
Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic Unveils the Strongest Defense Against AI Jailbreaks Yet

Edd Gent
Hand holding a pill
Artificial Intelligence

Will AI Revolutionize Drug Development? These Are the Root Causes of Drug Failure It Must Address

Christian Macedonia
and
Duxin Sun
A wireless earbud, glowing blue, in an ear.
Artificial Intelligence

Meta’s New AI Translates Speech in Real Time Across More Than 100 Languages

Shelly Fan

What we’re reading

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

SingularityHub chronicles the technological frontier with coverage of the breakthroughs, players, and issues shaping the future.

Follow Us On Social

About

  • About Hub
  • About Singularity

Get in Touch

  • Contact Us
  • Pitch Us
  • Brand Partnerships

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2025 Singularity