Viktor Shvets on the AI repercussions

White and blue collar workers will be impacted by the AI revolution. The pace of change will decide on the discontent levels along the way.

This article in Bloomberg has Viktor Shvets’ take on the AI Bubble. Highly recommend to read it as it puts things in perspective.

The change that the new AI tools will have on every aspect of the economy and society will be profound. In many ways, we have not scratched the surface yet. The pace of change might be faster than what we have seen in the past and many workers (white and blue collar) might need help with the transition. Social discontent and revolts are also not out of the question (Marxism was a direct response to the industrial revolution).

Here are a few most relevant quotes from Viktor:

The pressures are already evident in the declining premium for college education (including ‘hot’ areas like computer science) and the growing signs of white-collar employment disintermediation […]. Given its exceptionally low cost and scalability, AI being ‘good enough’ is already sufficient reason for the propagation and erosion of marginal and, eventually, average demand and compensation for white collar employees.

It is only a matter of time — perhaps within a decade — before the fusion of AI with robotics, cloud computing, and 3D printing aggressively disintermediates blue-collar workers.

On the tremendous amount of AI infrastructure spending, Viktor says that it’s justifiable as being left behind can make a company outdated very fast in this fast changing world.

Finally, AI’s sheer size and depth of disruption yields unparalleled opportunities across numerous fault lines: everything from defense and security to transactions (such as the blockchain) and money; from robotics and automation to biotechnology; from education to news and entertainment; from fundamental research to innovation. Neither dot.com, the combustion engine nor even electricity was as pervasive nor as structural. This offers start-ups multiple niches and ultimately justifies some overcapitalization.