There seems to be a positive and a negative associated with nearly every type of technological development happening in this era. The rise of artificial intelligence has been touted by many as the next big phase of human evolution, but the resulting processes such as automation may cause a serious problem in our social and economic structures. Bill Gates has now proposed a novel idea to combat this problem.
Robot Tax
It has been estimated that nearly half the jobs in the world could be rendered obsolete in the next 25 years, and this is a terrifying prospect for middle and low income groups.
In order to protect the interests of the common people, Bill Gates has suggested that companies who employ automated processes should pay a new “Robot tax” in order to help the economy and let the benefits trickle down to the common man.
According to Gates, this new tax will allow governments to fund new jobs in the future, and also allow them to take care of other affected segments such as the youth and the elderly. He believes that this “inequity” is bound to develop in the future, and tackling the problem early will prevent greater issues from developing.
Others such as Elon Musk have proposed ideas like “universal income” in order to ensure that every person is taken care of whenever this technological overhaul happens.
The problem seems to be imminent, which is why several solutions are being proposed around the world at this point.
Man vs Machine
A lot of people may look at this as a hurdle, but Gates believes that automation is a positive step forward that will allow our species to thrive. Allowing machines to tackle laborious and repetitive tasks will free human minds and bodies to engage in more fruitful activities, and thereby allow our species to grow as a collective.
The impact of this level of freedom on creativity and self-expression could be truly immense.
We obviously don’t know how things will pan out for us in the future, but the fact that some of the brightest minds on the planet are pondering solutions to these issues should be comforting to all.
