“People need the mundane”
My brilliant, opinionated, Nigerian, tech CEO friend proclaimed while debating the ramifications of the singularity.
We look over at a security guard across the street who stares at his phone, yawns, and types out a text message.
“Really?” I said. It seemed like an odd statement coming from a person whose life was anything but.
I imagine being one generation removed from what he describes as “the poorest place on the planet” gives him a unique perspective on just how much work ethic and luck it takes to first achieve ‘mundane,’ and then rise above it.
But as tech continues to automate away jobs, shouldn’t we encourage everyone to become entrepreneurs? Or artists? Or visionaries? Instead of clamoring for the stable status quo?
More importantly, could our economy support such a population of ‘passion’ followers?
The girl at the juice counter hand us our immunity shots.
Before my current role, I spent the past 3 years accelerating automation in the trucking industry. I witnessed casualties like my friend Angel, a dispatcher who unwittingly helped me translate his job into lines of code that could be executed miles away, cutting not just his job but most of the “good” jobs at the terminal.
Our Lyft driver Carla pulls up in a Honda Accord.
While I’m glad I’m not still actively ushering in the automation, I’m excited for a world in which security guards, juice pourers, and Lyft drivers don’t need side hustles. Their jobs are taken by robo-cops, juice dispensers, and AVs, and their precious time on the earth can be fully engaged in that which brings them joy and energy.
But how in the world will we make that transition?
