Work Force Reduction

AI represents a very real existential threat to our current way of life, but the benefits of AI will outweigh the problems, unless, of course, you are the one being replaced.
The AI dynamic has two facets: AI displacement—where AI takes jobs from humans outright, and AI augmentation—where humans become more productive by using AI tools. Unless we take our heads out of the sand, we are going to feel the devastating impacts of the first kind a lot more than we will benefit from the second.
A survey by Epoch AI finds that one in five full-time workers report that AI is already doing part of their jobs.
I am particularly concerned about the future of our kids. The education system is not currently gearing up to meet the technological needs of the near future.
After thirty-plus years of teaching, one aspect of the Educational System became very clear: it will not respond to an existential threat until it absolutely has to. Meanwhile, education is devoted entirely to a daily tabulation of the numbers: how many students are enrolled, how many teachers are needed, do we need more desks or more dry-erase boards, where are we on the curriculum benchmarks, etc.?
The general education model is designed to give students just enough basic knowledge so that, when they get a job, they can learn the specifics on the job. OJT training is supposed to carry them the rest of the way. The problem is this: we are continuing to prepare our kids for entry-level positions that will not be there. AI will be taking those jobs, and, in the very near future, the current model for education is going to be less relevant and, in a sense, disappear.
In a Star Trek episode, the Borg tell Captain Picard, “Resistance is futile!” If you recall subsequent episodes, he does not just throw up his hands and say, “Those Borg are bad. We should avoid them!” Picard finds a way to fight back.
We should do the same. We are not going to kill AI with a frontal assault. Instead, we need to learn how best to use it to our advantage.