How to deal with the labor displacement issue due to the development of artificial intelligence (AI)

How to deal with the labor displacement issue due to the development of artificial intelligence (AI)
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Individuals around the world get worried when their workplaces are jeopardized. Dealing with joblessness is not easy in the modern world due to the harsh economic conditions. Issues that touch on labor displacement are sensitive elicit sharp debates. When job losses are associated with technology, then people have challenges embracing such technology. This is the case with artificial intelligence (AI), which has proved that some jobs that appeared as irreplaceable in the past can now be substituted. There is no doubt that AI is creating jobs, but at the same time destroying others. We cannot ignore that job displacement due to technology has adverse effects on workers. Hence, it is critical to examine ways of dealing with job losses that occur as a result of the development of AI.
Edvard Bruun and Alban Dukaworkers in their article titled, “Artificial Intelligence, Jobs and the Future of Work: Racing with the Machines” demonstrate the need to take drastic measures due to the job displacement AI will cause in the future. The authors indicate that technology has enabled tasks that were initially termed as “irreplaceable” to become redundant and hence machines applied to deal with them. The bigger problem is on the average workers who undertake repetitive tasks like working in an assembly line. The race for employers to cut down costs will force firms to embrace machines that are much cheaper in the long-term that human labor. Hence, due to the adverse effects of AI on employment in the future, the researchers propose the introduction of the Unconditional Universal Basic Income (UUBI). This entails where the government unconditionally transfers money to every individual in the economy. In other words, the program entails periodic cash payments to people, regardless of their position in society. The authors agree that the success of the UUBI scheme depends largely on political will. The program requires consensus across a broad political spectrum. While there is a political spectrum on the scheme, Bruun and Dukaworkers hold that both the center-right and a center-left government can reach an agreement on the issue. The UUB scheme is critical at a time when AI threatens to displace laborers. Unemployment has undesirable effects on workers and hence a program that can cushion them against poverty is desirable.
Robert Maxim and Mark Muro, in an article, “Automation and AI will disrupt the American labor force. Here’s how we can protect workers” present strategies on dealing with the displacement of labor due to AI. The authors argue that new technologies increase the productivity of the laborers who are not displaced. Workers who are not affec...