How UWI Lecturer's Fourth Industrial Revolution AI doom will usher in UBI for Jamaica

“For a country like ours, that poses a huge challenge because what are our universities going to be teaching people to do when a lot of the things that you previously would hire people to do will be done cheaper, better, faster, and more reliably by robots and AI systems....”

Professor of sustain-able development at the University of the West Indies Anthony Clayton commenting on the coming of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and its effect on Jamaica.

In the next 5 to 10 years, artificially intelligent robots will usher in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, taking way jobs from Jamaicans.

So says Professor of sustain-able development at the University of the West Indies Anthony Clayton, l who says it'll have a really bad effect on Jamaica as noted in the article “Replaced By Robots - University Professor Warns Of Massive Job Losses When The Fourth Industrial Revolution Takes Place”, Published Sunday January 21, 2018 by Jason Cross, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Currently robotic systems powered by AI are restricted in what they can learn and do as pointed out by Dr. Clayton, quote: “There are actually a few things that the new robotic and AI systems cannot do faster, more accurately, and cheaper than humans. This includes a lot of service sector activities. Even in medicine, an area you would think could not be automated, there are AI systems now that are more accurate at diagnosing illness than any human being”.

But when they do, cheaper mass produced items will be coming from the First World Nations, who will use AI to wean themselves off a dependence on cheap Chinese products. But in the process, it'll push Developing World Countries like Jamaica into poverty, as we cannot compete with machines that can do the job of a human at a high quality level and at such a low cost.

AI will mainly disrupt jobs that are repetitive and dangerous such as fast food workers as noted in my blog article entitled “Fast Food Robot taking over by 2017 - How Drones like Amazon and PrimeAir and not Humanoid Robots will be the first Robots by 2015”.

Vehicular transportation might also be affected, as Taxis may be driven by AI, who may be deemed more efficient than humans to quote Dr Clayton: “Look at vehicles and the move to driverless vehicles and how many millions of jobs are going to be displaced, and it has already started. A number of countries, including the USA, the United Kingdom, and others are changing their laws to allow driverless vehicles on the roads. Countries are preparing for this new technological revolution”.

So what can we do to prepare for this coming Fourth Industrial Revolution powered by AI?

Fourth Industrial Revolution powered by AI - Dr. Clayton predicts Job losses as Degrees become pointless

Many will question the relevance of a University education, as AI can do the work better as pointed out by Dr. Clayton:  “What are we going to educate people for? People go to school to learn basic reading and numeracy skills, but after that, what are people getting an education for? Getting an education is, basically, for them to be absorbed into the employment market”.

This video below explains it all and makes the coming reality even more stark.

Already, we are in the early part of the AI revolution, with many working in Jobs that have already been made obsolete; it's really just a matter of time, Dr. Clayton asserts, quote: “It is a profound revolution. We are, potentially, going into a world where most existing forms of work will disappear. I do not doubt that we will invent new and worthwhile things to do. I am sure that people will be getting paid for doing jobs that do not currently exist”.

When AI becomes fully sentient, they may need to have rights just like humans as well.

As such, they'll have the right to work and earn a living. No job will be spared, especially as with the proliferation of the Internet and so many interconnected databases, the stage is set for AI to really dominate the world as predicted by Dr. Clayton, quote: “AI systems are taking over banking, medicine, and accounting, and we are only at the edge of what these things can do.

Jobs losses will be in millions, making many question the value of a University education, to quote Dr. Clayton: When you come to university, we try to fill your head with knowledge and understanding, but let's say that you have access to an AI system that gives you instant access to outstanding data analytic services to all of the world's libraries, what will you still need to know at university when you can ask your AI system any question and get an instant answer and get analysis behind it as well? There will be the question of why anybody would go to university when the jobs we used to train people for will cease to exist”.

Jobs that require a combination of skills that will include analytic skills and social intelligence maybe the only way to have employment as Dr. Clayton. argues: “You will need a combination of networking skills, social intelligence, the ability to manage complex logistics, to analyse problems and the ability to come with creative solutions because the full impact of it all will be felt in 20 to 30 years”.

Hopefully that doesn’t include teaching, as it may dissuade many from entering the field thinking that machines will take their work!

Jamaican and AI - UBI may become the norm once AI takes over

But all is not doom and gloom as Dr. Clayton claims.

Jamaica will easily adjust, by simply switching to UBI (Universal Basic Income), effectively paying Jamaicans simply to be humans and Jamaican.

This would be possible thanks to the NIDS (National Identifications that will usher in a cashless society as predicted in my blog article entitled “How NIDS coming in January 2018 means Electronic Transactions with GOJ to become standard”.

Giving a UBI of say, JA$100000 per month to each and every NIDS card carrying Jamaican, would become necessary and could be funded via scrapping all of the previous poverty alleviation programs and unnecessary Ministries of Government, which no doubt would also become automated.

Here' a video making the case for UBI

Additionally, sources of funding could come from Oil Mining, which the Private Sector Companies already have a future stake in as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Why Jamaican Private Sector funding Oil Exploration by Tullow Oil for US$300 per barrel in 2020”.

Addition all source of funding for UBI could also come from selling Hydrogen Gas produced via offshore windfarms as predicted in my Geezam blog article entitled “How PCJ Offshore Windfarm may be used to export Hydrogen and Uranium”.

Truly, AI taking away jobs is really a good thing; more time to spend with family and friends, as cheaper AI labour means money shifting back to government to be spend on UBI so that we can afford to live in a world without work.