Our society is about to undergo a profound change that is likely to result in huge labor disruptions. By 2025, one third of jobs may be replaced by software, robots and artificial intelligence, but so far there has been little discussion or planning.
These changes will create political, social, psychological, military, legal, ethical and financial issues. We will need to decide the kind of society in which we want to live and how we can create opportunity and income for all. We will have to rethink who we are as individuals if we are no longer making many of our decisions or defining ourselves by our work.
Some are predicting that robots could attain human levels of intelligence by 2040. Stephen Hawkings, Bill Gates and Elon Musk have been warning about the dangers as robots become super intelligent and more autonomous. Meanwhile, the European Union has begun to consider legal rights that such robots might require.
Kate Kling, a retired clinical psychologist, and John Kling, a retired
neuropsychologist, both with an interest in societal changes that affect the well-being of individuals and society as a whole, discuss the dangers and opportunities in this future.