It's 9AM
Thus as it ever was
When I listen to what’s coming for AI
Not 400 years from now, but 4 years from now
I usually start talking about blacksmiths
Because when cars started taking over the roads
It put a lot of blacksmiths out of business
A lot of horse poop scoopers too
And saddle makers and buggy builders
But there are a lot of jobs that used to be done by people
That disappeared when we entered the computer age
In fact, computers disappeared
There was a working class of individuals who did the math by hand
In banks
At NASA
In big buildings packed with desks and persons and ledgers and pencils
Who computed things
Bank interest, debts, billing, etc, etc
And etc
They summed and divided and multiplied and figured
And when IBM opened up the first “computing machine” to businesses
Big businesses
They jumped on it and laid off thousands and thousands of people
Who were then re-trained and learned how to type or program or garden or weave
So when AI eliminates 99% of the “jobs”
People will have to work on something else
And they will
When I think about the future…
I think two things
The next decade is going to be tough
A rough and tumble rollar coaster of trying real hard to figure it out
At the National level, at the state level and in our neighborhoods
When I was thinking about ways to save Pine Bluff
The fastest shrinking city in America with high crime, low expections and even lower hope
One of the things I suggested was community gardens in every vacant lot
People who needed fresh veggies could just go pick them
Most of the Bluff is a food desert
Which means no grocery stores, and a few convenince stores stocking chips and candy bars
Not the healthiest option
And folks can go fish in Lake Saracen, which used to be called Lake Pine Bluff,
For PCB enriched bass, and bream and blue gill
But those folks who fish those waters have to know how to clean and filet fish
Then fry it up real crisp in a seasoned batter
But if you’ve ever had fried fish and garden fresh tomatoes, then you know that that’s a meal well spent
And people in Pine Bluff could build those gardens in the hundreds of vacant lots and work those gardens to the benefit of everyone
And possible make the town more walkable, so that people walked more
Then you would have healthier people eating “healthier” home grown food and while it won’t solve all problems
It is a step in the right direction
Then someone pointed out that “kids” would mess it up
And they’re right
Some jack-a-moe would vandalize the garden or gardens because that’s what PEOPLE do
A small handfull F#ck it up for the rest of us
And that’s why we can’t have nice things
So when you say AI is going to put PEOPLE out of work
My response almost always is…
So what
My Dad got laid off from the oil fields and went to work in a factory
When he got laid off from the factory after Bill Clinton got NAFTA passed and 90% of the factories in Pine Bluff
Shifted south for cheaper workers and no tariffs and a ton of finanical incentives
Leaving the city to die
Which put my Dad working in a gas station for minimum wage while he went to night school and graduated with an associates degree in electronics
Which got him a job at Texas Instruments for twenty+ years
Until the economy shifted and a new trade agreement with China sent lay offs rippling through that company too
So my Dad went through multiple rounds of lay offs, and if he didn’t always land on his feet
He kept going until things worked out
At least until Cancer put a softball size tumor in his stomach and he got laid off from life
Even I have been laid off from jobs
A good corporate gig that paid really well told me to get gone after ten years
Not from economic trade winds but something worse
Human nature and a jealous superior who wanted the team I built
And I’ve been grinding ever since
You say AI is going to replace PEOPLE
And I say GOOD
People have been replaced a couple million times in the past 250 years
We’ll figure it out
Even if I don’t give PEOPLE enough credit to be smart enough not to sabatoge their own communities
There are bright and smart people in every community who will lead the way
They are the “figure it out’ers” and you and I have relied on them since our Tribes settled down and got to the business of building things
AI isn’t coming
AI is here
I read where Elon Musk said ten billion robots will be on the streets in the next decade
Robots that are cars (waymo and tesla taxi, they’re here)
Cop bots that look like dogs (they are here)
A lot of people think humanoids, but a robot can be any shape and any size
Amazon in Little Rock at the port facility just shut down for over a year while they “made the building safer”
And oh yeah, also retrofitted 90% of their lines with robot arms to pick and push products,
It’s literally just a claw that moves and manipulates and it replaces a couple hundreds of workers who were laid off, with pay, last year
Who went on unemployement after 90-120 days of paid leave from Amazon
And then found jobs doing other warehouse work at Dollar General and Sysco and Target (all within twenty minutes of the Amazon facility)
At least until the robots arrive there as a corporate upgrade expense
What does this mean for you?
Your life?
Worry less and plan more and realize that whatever future they’re predicting
Has happened before and not just back when we all moved to the horseless carriage
It happened fifteen years ago to me
And twenty years before that to my Dad
And I bet you could name five people you know in real life who have been let go from their jobs at some point
It is what it is
Thus as it ever was
the Mission Brief a 5 book for $5 boxset of The Shadowboxer files.
And also, I told you that we’re running up against a hard out on the MASSIVE THRILLER BIG BOXSET because it’s just too many books for too little price
So here is your ONE MORE LAST CHANCE to pick up 25 books for only $20
Til Friday
That’s because I have some changes in May and This MASSIVE THRILLER BIG BOXSET will go up in Price.
If you’ve been on the fence, or just waiting, go grab your copy today before the price goes up at midnight.
Keep your head on a swivel, and get ready for a brand new Shadowboxer File in ten days!
It's supposedly called progress 🤦🤦