Where The Jobs Have Gone

At the time of this writing, the biggest bubble about to pop has to be the notion of Artifical Intelligence. But along with the overhyped promises it brings come the nefarious threats: massive unemployment, as large corporate interests begin replacing human employees with digital algorithms. Big boys like Amazon -- itself notorious for being an unbearable employer -- have already begun laying off thousands of white collar workers and the trend doesn't seem to be slowing down. If anything, it's accelerating.

What, if anything, are we to make of this? Well, maybe more than meets the eye.

First, realize that "having a job" is something relatively new to western culture. In fact, the idea of "working for a company" only came into existence around the time of the Industrial Revolution, when massive manufacturers required massive numbers of human employees. In the mid-nineteenth century, there were no electronic systems. No plastic. No digital overlords. Back then, industry required workers with sharp minds and strong backs. Without them, no mills could grind and no trains could roll. And lest you think it was all about physical labor, let me remind you that office work was no less intensive: Purchasing, billing, correspondence and work orders were created, processed and distributed through humans. No photocopy machines meant high rises with floors full of typists, all churning out the same memos because that was the least expensive means of short run printing.

It's no wonder, then, that the mid-nineteenth century was the era in which the United States began to shift its population from rural wheat fields to urban slums. For the first time, more Americans chose working nine to five jobs for a steady paycheck over helping Uncle Ned and Aunt Betty back home on the farm.

This is a fact of which most current Americans have no knowledge, yet it points out a distinctly American characteristic fundamental to our culture: up until this point in history, the vast majority of Americans were self-starters. Whether they tilled the land or repaired wagons, far more people were self-employed, if only because there was nobody else who would employ them. Sure, there were small businesses in dry goods and transport, but for the most part, it was every man for himself.

Artifical intelligence is pushing us back into that culture. If you're the type of person who expects society to create and employ you, you're also somewhat historically illiterate. The whole point of being American is being independent and free, which means avoiding reliance on anything -- government included. So the real pain of artificial intelligence isn't that it's displacing employees; it's that it's forcing an increasing number of people to become self-reliant, a characteristic that government adminstrations have been undermining since about 1932.

Still "want a job?" Okay, have a company pay you for working with your hands: fix stuff, like pipes and wires and rotting roof joists. Trim trees and clean houses. Or rise up and do what your ancestors did: Make stuff, preferably things that robots can't duplicate or imagine. Forget about that "creative" career designing logos. Those days are over.

From here on out, it's back to our roots. Every man for himself, building a world for his family and supporting a society that prides itself on the rewards of innovation instead of the cheap, fast buck.

And while you're at it, you may want to pick up a book or two on American history. It's all there.