“I fear that A.I. May Replace Humans Altogether.”—Stephen Hawking

 

Studies claim a 100% chance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) replacing all human jobs by somewhere between 2060 to 2200. More importantly, these studies also reveal that this process has already started today and is ahead of every prediction. AI built into services like aitranslate.com are already translating languages, which specialists expected to happen by 2024, and apps like aiva.ai already compose beautiful music. The newest AI-supported applications can already write essays, which was predicted to occur in 2026. In 2021, AI is driving trucks on our highways, which was estimated to happen in 2027. What's next? Retail salespersons, authors of novels—the list is long and frightening. Many studies predict that AI writing bestselling books will happen by 2049, and AI working as a surgeon by 2053.

This book will discuss options for preparing us for an emerging job market collapse and building wealth for generations in a world without the need for skilled labor transitioning our economy from nation-centered capitalism to human-centered capitalism. 

For three centuries, since the birth of modern capitalism, ignited by Adam Smith's book “The Wealth of Nations” in 1776, the general belief is that the desired way to make money is to get a job and sell our skilled labor to corporations and their helpers—the nation's governments. But today, with technology claiming more and more of our jobs, this paradigm starts to fail us since emerging technologies get the work done faster, better, and cheaper.

This book will explain why our generation is doomed to become less empowered in our current capitalistic model due to a shrinking value of skilled human labor. I will describe why our current form of capitalism will fail us if we do not make a fundamental adjustment, switching from nation-centered capitalism to a human-centered and decentralized capitalistic model.

The gap between the rich and the poor has widened in the past 20 years to unsustainable levels. And with every new economic down-turn, this gap is worsening. In Figure 1a later in this introduction, the graph shows data provided by the Federal Reserve's research group that hints at the reason for this development: the value of skilled labor is falling since the 1990s due to technological advances. The fundamental idea of capitalism, skilled labor, is at stake. 

In my book, I will explore remedies for replacing human skills with technology, driven by artificial intelligence (AI), robots, and technologies like blockchain. The newest OpenAI GPT release (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and other emerging technologies can be terrifying. Technology is starting to threaten reputable occupations like software developers, lawyers, journalists, and editors. For example, I am writing the text, which you are reading right now, using an AI-powered writing enhancement tool called Grammarly. 

Since the beginning of humankind, we have continuously improved our mental and practical skills, and we applied them to make a living. With the appearance of this new breed of technology, we might face a terrible realization: we, as humans, are no longer the only ones who can learn and perfect a skill anymore. We knew that we would lose control of this technological development one day. Have we reached the technological singularity, the point where technological growth is becoming uncontrollable and irreversible with unforeseeable changes to our human civilization.

I am sure you already feel that these advances in technology affect your personal and professional life. And maybe these technological improvements already changed the way how you make money. These new technologies 'think' and 'work' faster than humans, have more endurance, and are less emotionally attached to decisions. This time, it is for real. With new developments in AI and blockchain applications hitting the market every day, the meaning of work is changing for all of us and forever.

What implications does the singularity have on the way we make money and provide for our loved ones? How can we prepare ourselves? Let’s start at the beginning of modern capitalism.

The Scottish 17th-century economist and pioneer of political economy is the author of the book “The Wealth of Nations,” published in 1776. He is known as “The Father of Economics” or “The Father of Capitalism.” His book is driven by the idea of the division of labor and industrial productivity. It is considered an “Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” 

In contrast, this book in your hands is an Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Generations and focuses on making us, the people more wealthy. 

"When Will AI Exceed Human Performance? Evidence from AI Experts," Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University, AI Impacts, Department of Political Science, Yale University (https://arxiv.org/pdf/1705.08807.pdf)