We are rapidly moving towards the automated economy.
For those who are unaware, things are changing quickly. Massive disruption is taking place to the point were are seeing a complete transformation. While it is not here yet, it is likely we will see the emergence in the next 5 years.
Half a decade is not a long time. By 2030, we could see a total remaking of our economy. It will not be complete by that date but the pillars certainly could be in place.
So what are individuals to do? How do we prepare for this? It is something we will look at over the next few articles.
The Automated Economy
Are you familiar with the automated economy?
It is a concept that is gaining a lot of traction with futurists and technologists. This is going to start penetrating the mainstream within the next 12 months.
The basic idea is straightforward: once machines can do most jobs—like farming, construction, healthcare, education—the essentials of life can be produced in abundance, with very little human labor. In that world, wealth stops being the reward for work and becomes a shared outcome of automation.
We can see this idea with the prospects of robots. What happens when there are billions of humanoid robots in operation. This will make up a significant part of the labor pool, pushing humans aside.
Of course, the knowledge of these robots expands rapidly. It is nothing more than a software update, providing all the new "skills" that were learned. We are embarking upon "physical AI" something that radically alters the economy.
The Age of Abundance
This is a topic I wrote about for the last 7 years. We are edging closer to the time when most aspects of the economy face deflationary forces so powerful that costs are either zero or near-zero.
In my view, most industries will follow photography. If we look at what happened with images, we see the progression.
It started with portraits being painted, then went to photographs by highly skilled individuals. After some time, ease of use entered so that the masses were involved. Until the 1980s, there was a cost associated with not only the camera but film and development.
The 1990s saw digitization, which removed the cost of pictures. This was complimented by the elimination of the camera with the smart phone. Naturally, professionals and serious amateurs still use cameras but most pictures are taking on phones.
Now we have the introduction of generative AI, which creates images. There is no need even to physically visit the location to snap a photo.
This is automation. We are going to see more of that in the future. Robotics will enter most industries, eliminating labor. That is a huge shock to the economy, one where labor is the source of income for most.
How do we get around this issue? That is what we will look at in the next article.