Are we headed for a world where working is optional?

“If man is to be liberated to enjoy more leisure, he must also be prepared to enjoy this leisure fully and creatively.” -- Eleanor Roosevelt

It is hard to ignore the potential impacts of AI and robotics on the future of work. Each day, we learn of new applications and tools that can complete physical and intellectual tasks without human interaction. Significant functions have been reassigned to AI and robotic agents, from fully automated factories to data processing, farming, and business administration. It seems that no aspect of work will be untouched and that humans will soon be unburdened with what we today call “work.”   

Ultimately, it looks likely that every business activity will change as AI and robotics improve. For the first time in human history, working to produce products, deliver services, and perform many other tasks will be optional for many people and better performed by automated processes. This raises the most critical question for humanity: “What to do with free time?” 

Work has been a significant driver of human life for most of recorded history. People define themselves based on their work. People’s work, and the perceived value of their work, determine social status; some work is considered more valuable than others. How will society address a world where work is optional and not required? 

Optimists believe humans will use all their new free time in productive and creative ways, contributing to economic and societal growth. Pessimists believe humans will use that free time watching mindless videos, being passively entertained by AI-generated media, or watching reality TV shows. Which of those two outcomes happens will have profound implications for all aspects of life. 

It is too late to stop the AI and robotics revolution, nor should we prevent it; the potential benefits are too great. However, it is not too early to start thinking about and planning for a world where the burden of work has been removed. Science fiction writers have fantasized about worlds without work, often producing utopian models where poverty doesn’t exist and people use their skills for creative passions or dystopian models where a few have immense wealth and the majority live in poverty.  

For the Competitive Intelligence and Market Insights profession, the rise of AI is already changing how information is collected, analyzed, and presented. It has also highlighted the importance of getting information from unique primary sources to create an informational advantage. At Fletcher, we believe that one-on-one human conversations with knowledgeable sources produce insights that are unattainable through AI.

To learn more about our human-powered CI/MI services, please visit www.fletchercsi.com