General Discussion

About 20 years ago I thought that automation would destroy blue collar opportunities, taking on all sorts of jobs (in manufacturing, for example. or soon, trucking) that employ mostly high-school graduates. I thought white collar workers would be spared. I was wrong. AI is now coming for white collar jobs, and the college educated will experience the same abrupt disruptions that are trimming the blue-collar middle class. But I don't know how extensive the destruction will be. I'm in a medical field, and my experience with AI so far is that it can be employed to make professionals more efficient and productive. Symbol-laden tasks can be automated, allowing more patients to flow through -- so, eventually, shorter wait times for appointments, more comprehensive services, possibly smoother interfacing with multiple providers. Further into the future, however, AIs may begin taking responsibilities away from people, and I'm not sure where that will leave us. It seems like any job function that can be described in words will eventually be absorbed by an AI. Glad I'm nearing retirement, hopefully will be able to get out before Krasnov completely destroys my savings.