Fear that technology will make us useless
Some sense the looming threat of technology and worry that AI could one day make them irrelevant. Certain professions, such as cashiers, drivers, and translators, are particularly vulnerable in the coming years. Moreover, a recent Goldman Sachs study found that AI tools could impact 300 million full-time jobs worldwide, which could lead to a significant disruption in the job market. In a study of role exits, researchers also found that over 75 percent of those leaving jobs went through a period described as feeling anxious, scared, at loose ends, or that they didn’t belong. These emotions were accompanied by a pervasive sense of being suspended “between the past which no longer existed and the unknown future.”
The threat from technology is not just that people could temporarily lose their primary source of income. It is much deeper than that. As technology solves humanity’s problems, some people will have less to contribute. Some may also feel like they do not matter when the skills they worked so hard to develop are no longer appreciated. Perhaps a few will even wonder if their lives are meaningless.
In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith warned that the division of labor would come with detrimental psychosocial effects for many workers. One study found that automation of previously human jobs is associated with increases in drug overdose deaths, suicides, homicides, and cardiovascular deaths. People need to feel like they can make a meaningful impact on the world. They need a sense that they matter, and that they can be of some use. One of the great questions of our time is how we can each remain relevant and preserve meaning.
Technology-resistant sources of meaning
To read the rest of the article in Profectus Magazine, including how to build five technology-resistant sources of meaning, click here: https://profectusmag.com/preserving-meaning-in-a-technology-driven-society/
And click here to read more articles about how to build meaning in life.