The same thing was said in 1900 when the French proposed closing the patent office because everything had been patented. And while we tend to focus in the story on things like robots, what we forget is that the labor saving devices that put people out of a job were things like pneumatic nailers (which made the job of framing a building go faster, so fewer guys can frame a house), and washing machines (which reduced the amount of time it takes to wash clothes) and commercial-quality digital cameras (which put film developers and camera film manufacturers out of business). Yet somehow, when these labor-saving devices came about, the world didnt end. Instead we created new devices and new ways of wasting time and new job titles to go along with the new jobs that were created. The fact that less than 2% of the population is involved with the production of food (when, back during the time of the French proposal to close the patent office, it was the majority of people) doesnt mean we currently see 98% unemployment. -- Of course the people who are complaining the most are the ones whose entire profession is now being ripped apart by computerization. But from my perspective, Im making a very good living writing software for a device that didnt exist 7 years ago, for a category of devices that didnt exist 10 years ago. So long as peoples want is infinite and governments dont step in and interfere, we will always have jobs as people attempt to fulfill the desires of others--be them through new culinary delights, new ways to live, new forms of entertainment or better ways to keep care of ourselves.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 18:08:18 +0000
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