From Entrepreneur, Murray Newlands discusses the changes he foresees as a result of the techology innovations and changes in expections. Murray writess:
That’s just the beginning of the changes we can foresee in the next five to 10 years as technological innovation and social expectation change the world dramatically; even more than the gig economy has changed things thus far. Here’s what to expect:
1. Artificial intelligence.
On-demand marketplaces have proven to be fabulously rich — demonstrating to investors that in what capacity they can be replaced, replacing gigs with AI or technology is a worthwhile endeavor. The technology has caught up to the need and desire for AI, and the next logical step is automation, eliminating the millions of dollars spent on flesh and blood workers.
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Though some recent doomsday studies estimate employment at about half of today’s rates by the time AI matures in 2025, in reality AI will replace much less than that. Though routine jobs and unskilled manual labor will drop off steeply, the same studies estimate that creative, visionary and human-intelligence-based jobs will grow, offsetting some unemployment. Artists, leaders, entrepreneurs and customer service relations will see an increase in job availability due to the inability to automate these sectors.
Though the impetus will be to fight these changes, the sustainable answer is to get educated. For example, taxi drivers who are fighting the influx of Uber and Lyft are wasting their time: Uber drivers are all going to be replaced shortly with AI. Every driver will need to be educated in something new, and the same will be true of many jobs in the next few years.
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3. Rise of entrepreneurship.
At the intersection of AI and continuing tech education is the entrepreneur. As more and more jobs are automated, employment rates fluctuate, and skilled labor jobs disappear, the people in demand will be those that can provide singularly human traits of vision, leadership, imagination, values and wisdom. Those things that cannot be provided by technology will be in demand as the planet looks to solve global water, energy and population crises.
Technology itself will be both the catalyst and the tool used to create entrepreneurial vision, as the influx of apps and machine intelligence has and will continue to allow entrepreneurs easy entry into building thriving businesses with a large customer base. Though the problem solving may focus on other sectors, it will continue to be easier than ever to be an entrepreneur.
Source: This Is What’s Next Now That the Gig Economy Has Changed Everything
